Sleeping bag, synthetic, 20 degrees, 3 pounds or under any suggestions?

[archery288]

I have the Marmot Helium 15 degree 850 fill goose down bag..  I too have concerns about the wet weather we have here in Western, WA, but I couldn't pass up the weight and quality of this bag just because it was goose down.  I just make sure I pay attention to business and keep it out of the weather the best I can.  Never had any issues with the bag and always been toasty warm - knock on wood.  

http://marmot.com/products/helium?p=117,71

[MikeWalking]

Go with Big Agnes. You then buy the sleeping pad which slides in a sleeve on the bottom of the sleeping bag. Thus the pad wont slide out from under you and the pad is air inflated to 2.5 inches.

They will be my next buy for a summer bag.  I love the air mat sleeve.  Got one of their air mats now.

[Skyvalhunter]

Yea I love mine I have one down 600 fill(0 degree bag) and one 40 degree bag. The air pad is very durable. You cant go wrong with the setup. Good thing is if you sleep in a Hanassey Hammock the pad doesn't slide on you and you don't have any sore spots on your body.

[swanny]

IMO you can't beat Marmot bags. The Helium is a great bag. I wish they still make their Pounder Plus bag, +25 synthetic and weighs just over 2lbs. Unfortunately that bag is gone and they haven't come up with a close equivalent yet.

The new REI bags are pretty good too. Their down fill has improved and the temperature ratings are much more accurate. I know synthetic is great on the West side, but down seriously can not be beat. For the weight and compressibility, plus I truly think it feels warmer than synthetics do. The Halo +25 they make is a nice and toasty bag, very true temp and not to badly priced either.

[LittleJohn]

I have the Eureka Casper 15 degree bag, wighs in at 3 lbs and cost around 80 bucks.

I have this same bag, Spend a solid month in last year in Montana on a wilderness hunt. The coldest it got was -8 and I just layered my clothes before I got into the bag and was toasty warm. Great bag for the money

[MikeWalking]

Yea I love mine I have one down 600 fill(0 degree bag) and one 40 degree bag. The air pad is very durable. You cant go wrong with the setup. Good thing is if you sleep in a Hanassey Hammock the pad doesn't slide on you and you don't have any sore spots on your body.

Got one of those too. Kind of a pain getting in and out of a bag.  I get in the bag then crawl into the hammock  

Incredibly comfortable.  Little chilly without a pad..

[Skyvalhunter]

Yea they are tough to get in and out of. Before I got my Big Agnes sleeping system I would take one of those Windshield reflectors(Walmart version) that you put in the windshield in the summer to keep your car cool. The one side is a foil type material and you put that against your body on the inside of your sleeping bag and it would reflect you body heat back to you keeping you warm. Plus it is light weight. I just hated mine in a wind storm, one time the wind got me swinging so much I thought it was going to pitch me in the lake.

[deerslyr]

I have the Eureka Casper 15 degree bag, wighs in at 3 lbs and cost around 80 bucks.

I have this same bag, Spend a solid month in last year in Montana on a wilderness hunt. The coldest it got was -8 and I just layered my clothes before I got into the bag and was toasty warm. Great bag for the money

That makes feel better considering all of my hunting will be done in montana this year and I wanted to get back into the beartooths for late sept. and early October 

[uplandhunter870]

i have a kelty mistral +20 bag its full synthetic works great and i comes in right at 3lbs (im pretty sure at least), paid less than 60 for it great bag for the money

[uncoolperson]

pretty happy with my rei sub kilo... little snug, might be a touch too snug for some (I'm 5' 10", 160ish lbs [most of that's tub]).

[Maligator]

I bought my Mountain Hardwear Spectre SL +20 for $247 when it originally listed at $450 at the REI outlet online site. It was last years close out and it was even the "long" version so I was stoked! Keep an eye open since they always have sales and additional 20% off coupons online to make the bags even cheaper. Just a thought.

[Tim]

the thing with down is that with reasonable care it will last the rest of your life.Last year I took a western mountaineering bag to Rainy Pass for cleaning,the bag is about 28 years old and I thought it was done for.It came out like new,a grat investment
Tim

[xd2005]

I've been keeping my eye on this one for when I get my Columbia Sportswear Friends and Family code next month.

http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Lamina%E2%84%A2-0-%28Regular%29/OU8448_R,default,pd.html

With that said, it's a 0 degree bag and just under 4 lbs, not 3.

[mossy8352]

Now you go me thinking I could go with down. I was wondering about condensation. Thanks for the info.

You wont find Down with GoreTex anymore and I wouldn't buy one, you'd sweat like a pig.  But if you can find any kind of Dry Loft shell go for it.  Lighter, packs smaller, last longer than you. Think about it. A good bag is something you'll keep for decades. Some synthetics have short lives...repeated packing breaks them down. Cheap ones are nearly disposable after a few years.

I was wondering about Gore Tex or DryPlus as that is what I use over my down jacket and no issues for me so far. When I was a kid in CA my dad and I would ride into the back country and we used down bags but we used tree boughs under the bed and rolled up in a tarp to keep the rain off the bag that seemed to work good then (raining and in the twenties).

[Skyvalhunter]

The reason most sleeping bags so call "wear out" is from washing. If you buy a new sleeping bag purchase a liner for the inside to keep it clean in there.