Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Power Equipment & RV => Topic started by: 840dc on February 28, 2011, 05:24:26 PM
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Looking for a new sleeping bag, synthetic, 20 degree, 3 pounds or under? I was looking at the North Face cats meow but seen some mixed reviews any suggestions?
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Depending on your price range getting one under 3lbs shouldn't be a problem. I have also heard mixed reviews on the north face bags but have never personally used them so I cannot say. I like the marmot bags but they can get pricey. Here's a website to check out and compare temp ratings and weight of the top selling bags.
Down
http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/LightDownbag.cfm (http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/LightDownbag.cfm)
Synthetic
[urlhttp://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/LightDownbag.cfm][/url]
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I have the Eureka Casper 15 degree bag, wighs in at 3 lbs and cost around 80 bucks.
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I have the Eureka Casper 15 degree bag, wighs in at 3 lbs and cost around 80 bucks.
that is a good price, It is crazy what some of the prices are for some bags but when your cold and cant sleep I would pay anything to be warm
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HAHA yeah I was thinking the same thing, heard good things about marmot, but can't seem to find a bag of theirs that's synthetic, 20 degrees, and under 3 pounds. Thanks for the reply guys.
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Yah I have yet to use it because I just got it this winter but I cant afford the 200-300 dollar bags. Im sure they are worth the money but I just have to much other backcountry gear to buy so im doin it the cheap way for now. When you start buyin top dollar back county gear it gets pretty close to a grand for tent, bag, pad, stove, pack and other misc. gear. Hopefully my bag works alrite up to late september.
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I hear ya there it get expensive for sure, I've been looking at the Big Agnes fly creek ul 1 tent also, that thing is lite! I think the best price I have found it for was 240.
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Just curious as to why synthetic over down? Are your conditions just too wet for down?
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all else fails just buy two of the $80 bags and put one inside of the other, I am not beyond that :twocents:
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Yeah I would love to go with down, but it seems to always rain like crazy in the places I have been hunting. I have thought about going that route but think it would be a gamble.
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I have the Eureka 30 degree model, and with a fleece liner I was extremely comfortable on my winter camping trip and it was 0 degrees outside when I woke up. I think the 15 degree model would work great and a small silk or fleece liner would make for a great backup if you get cold.
Brandon
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Just curious as to why synthetic over down? Are your conditions just too wet for down?
I'd guess in case of accident or mistake, bivy bag or under a tarp. I've been using a 650fill down bag with a Dry Loft shell for 15+ years, rated to -5. Never gotten it wet. I've rubbed the wet, condensation soaked inside of a tent all night never soaked through. I have a down bag from 1972, it would still be perfect if I was still 5"1.
Keeping your down bag dry is a written in stone rule for me.
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Now you go me thinking I could go with down. I was wondering about condensation. Thanks for the info.
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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.
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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.
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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 (http://marmot.com/products/helium?p=117,71)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 :IBCOOL: :IBCOOL:
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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 :chuckle:
Incredibly comfortable. Little chilly without a pad..
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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.
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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 :IBCOOL: :IBCOOL:
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 :)
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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
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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]).
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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.
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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
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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 (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.
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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).
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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.
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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
Western Mountaineering is premium stuff - great bags. One of these days I'll be able to afford one. I have a Kelty Lightyear that's rated at 20 degrees but I wouldn't want it to get that cold so I use it as my summer bag, a Marmot Helium for spring/fall and a Northface Snowshoe rated at 0 but I think it's about the same as my Marmot. It's synthetic so I use it when I might get wet. Main issue is that it's like almost four pounds and doesn't compress well.
The next bag I get will probably be a Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends in something around the -20 rating for those really cold winter nights like a November Montana hunt.
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The North Face Orion 20 weighs in at 2lbs 8oz. I was about to pull the trigger on this bag but decided to get down sleeping bag. In any case check it out below.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___47911 (http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___47911)
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Here ya go.
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?allwords=big%20agnes&searchdescriptions=True (http://www.sierratradingpost.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?allwords=big%20agnes&searchdescriptions=True)
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Great deal on those bags, ryoshi - good find. It looks like it comes with the pad and, if so, that's super cheap.
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For sure! ;)
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I will be getting this bag from Cabelas. It is rectangle in shape for more sleeping freedom because I can't stand mummy bag's and the long version is 88" and still less than 3#. On sale for $170 and great reviews.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Boundary-Waters8482-Rectangle-Sleeping-Bag/746422.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dsleeping%2Bbag&Ntt=sleeping+bag&WTz_l=Unknown (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Boundary-Waters8482-Rectangle-Sleeping-Bag/746422.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dsleeping%2Bbag&Ntt=sleeping+bag&WTz_l=Unknown)
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I picked this one up last weekend. It's 3lb, 1oz, so doesn't quite meet criteria, but pretty close.
http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Lamina%E2%84%A2-20-%28Regular%29/OU8449_R,default,pd.html (http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Lamina%E2%84%A2-20-%28Regular%29/OU8449_R,default,pd.html)
The nice thing is I picked it up for about $85 thanks to being on a friend's Friends and Family list at Columbia. :IBCOOL:
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I had a Kelty Lightyear bag. It was really light, but nowhere close to a 30 degree bag. I froze my butt off in it more than once. I upgraded to a Marmot Sawtooth 15 degree bag. I've slept out in it down to 10 degrees and was relatively comfortable. I've found that one thing to watch for is wearing too many clothes and sweating in the bag.
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Looking for a new sleeping bag, synthetic, 20 degree, 3 pounds or under? I was looking at the North Face cats meow but seen some mixed reviews any suggestions?
Stop your search and buy the cats meow. I have had one for 5 years and it is a very solid and warm bag.