Sleeping Bag

[Deafirishman]

Good morning everyone !! I em currently in the market for a good affordable sleeping bag. I just have a cheap sleeping bag that I bought from Walmart a few years ago. I don't get cold very easy but do like to be comfortable. Looking for something that won't break the bank, lightweight but yet warm, roomy (as I tend to move around a lot)...I sleep on a cot but may use it to sleep on the ground if I decide to give spike camping a try. Thanks for all your suggestions and inputs.

[ElkNut1]

Aaron, you generally would use different bags for a wall tent camp with a cot setup over a bivy type sleeping bag. I like room too, hate mummy style bags in any situation. I like a big heavy bag with a pad & cot, all about comfort! (grin) If bivy hunting then agnes pad with skimpy 0 degree 3-lb bag! Lots to choose from there. The key is 3-lb & 0 degree!

ElkNut1

[Deafirishman]

Thanks Paul for the input. I will keep the 3 lb and 0 degree key in mind. The guys I hunt with prefer sleeping in the wall tent but I've always wanted to give bivy hunting a try. One of these years I'm gonna do it.

After posting this topic, I asked myself "Why do I keep telling myself I have everything I need every year and then turn around and keep finding more stuff to buy for the next season?" I guess we can never have enough stuff in our hunting arsenal

[Garrett Drach]

Deafirishman,

I've been researching sleeping bag for the past several months. From what I've gathered, in the down insulation market, you will fork out a good chunk of change (i.e. $500+) for a very high quality bag that is light and warm (this generally means you're looking at 850+ fill power down insulation). And the temperature rating listed on each bag can be subjective. Make sure the bags you are comparing are using a standardized temperature rating (the most popular I've seen is the EN rating system that is common in Europe). Otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges. If you want some recommendations of makes and models I'd be glad to list some.

Garrett

[Ben Nicholson]

I'm looking pretty hard at the Big Agnes Spike Lake

https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Bag/spikelake14


Looks like a pretty good bag for under $200.

-Ben

[Deafirishman]

Thank guys. I did check out the link at Big Agnes. They sure have some nice bags on their site. I'll definitely will keep this in mind when I purchase my next sleeping bag. Great recommendation. Again, thanks Garret and Ben. I appreciate it.

[WapitiTalk1]

Aaron, take a look at the Marmot Trestles 15 in xtra long, xtra wide. Pretty damn good bag at a reasonable price.

[six]

I'm not going to tell you to stay away from Big Agnes bags. I'll just share my experience with mine. I have a Big Agnes 0 degree bag. It's not my go to bag. It has a sleeve for a sleeping pad built in. Seemed like a great idea at the time as we were strictly bivy hunting. There seems to me to be a lack of insulation where the bag and the pad come together. I felt a little on the cold side the one night it got down to 18 degrees. I like to sleep in my tighty whitey's. I now know if it's going to get cold better put on a hoody and some sweat pants. My 10 year old loves the bag so I went back to an old family heirloom after I had a seamstress recondition it.

[Lefty]

I roll all over the ground. Im 6'1 260 and like a big bag and tent next to my truck. It is not a bag you pack in rated to -10, Big Johnson . Yikes I just looked it up, it now sell for $250 . I paid$ 140?
It is the only bag Ive found big enough.
I winter camp with scouts a lot. . A good pad, and another bag may be all you need, Or a fleece liner.. Maybe all you need is a good pad.
My brother use to camp with his kids in Canada and Northern Minnesota. He had a big feather tik. when it was warmer they slept on top, when it was cold the tik was on top. I slept under it once in -10 , everything was toasty warm except my nose
Don't be afraid to use Craigslist

Guys that pack in will have completely different suggestions.

[Raghorn_Reaper]

I just bought an Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt style bag. It's a pack in bag though. 30 degrees 800 fill...but only about 16 ounces. Tons of options...but pricey at 250+.

[Raghorn_Reaper]

You may also want to check out the light weight patrol military sleeping bag. Rated 30 - 50 degrees and only about 2 pounds and can be had for about 25 bucks.

[Dakota86]

I just bought a Big Agnes Farwell 0 Degree Synthetic - long. I tried it on at REI and it has many things I was looking for. Rectangular shape (mummy bags are too tight for me, this is 73" in the shoulders where mummy's are about 62-63"), my price range was around $150 (I paid $168 when they had their 20% off), weight was under 5#. Features I like is the pillow and pad sleeve.

[WapitiTalk1]

You may also want to check out the light weight patrol military sleeping bag. Rated 30 - 50 degrees and only about 2 pounds and can be had for about 25 bucks.

That's a solid recommendation Raghorn_Reaper. They're very light and compact. Just know that they are good for very temperate weather and if the mercury is gonna get anywhere below 40 or lower, they're not gonna keep a guy very warm.

[Deafirishman]

Awesome recommendations guys !! Much appreciated. I did check everything out that you recommended and ended up getting a closeout sleeping bag from REI and a relatively very cheap price. It's a Wenzel Tundra Sleeping bag and rated down to -10 degrees. I don't get cold very easily but wanted a better quality bag than the one I currently have. Its a perfect bad for base camp. Now if I decide to bivy hunt down the road, I will be looking again for a lightweight sleeping bag.

Again, thanks for the recommendations !!

[Lefty]

One thing that my give you an excuse to purchase other gear. I add more clothes as it gets colder. Depending on the bag I use socks are the first thing beyond my underwear. Then a base layer . Hoping for some good stuff this year. but poly and fleese are what I use now. a neck gator. then another base layer . Ill add a balclava in single digits or lower. A buddy of mine has a down vest over his base layer that he sleeps in the sub zero.

But maybe the best and cheapest method to add warmth is a good pad.A solid closed cell foam

Ive snow camped with a solid pad with an R-8, a closed cell pad with a R 3.5, and a cabelas pad rated above 6 then my bag and still sunk 8 inches at night