Bag temp ratings

B

Bob Frapples

Member
Mar 10, 2014
367
Is there a noticeable difference in a 20 deg bag vs a 10 deg. I\'m looking at colorado late august throughout sep for camping times. I see average temps are 75-40 so I\'m curious what would be too much for this time frame on usual season temps.

I\'ve been looking at the enlightened quilts but unsure where the trade off for $ vs usefulness.
I\'d rather have a little too much but not overkill.
 
Well, I get very cold at night it seems.

My 15-degree Big Agnes just isn\'t enough for me (but my son spent a month on a glacier in AK with it and thinks I\'m crazy.)

I would opt for more insulation every time I have the choice.

I also take extra insulation, because you never really can trust mountain weather -- ever. Not in July or or August, as far as I\'m concerned.

Extra insulation:

Puffy jacket
Polarfleece beanie
Polarfleece bag liner (they cost <$20 at Wal-Mart).

If you take that extra stuff, you\'ll get by with either option, but I\'d still get the 10 over the 20. Warm is never as bad as cold.
 
I have the 0 degree Big Agnes Farwell bag, along with a insulated core air pad.
I have been pretty cold in it at temps about 15 degrees.
I would definitely opt for a colder bag as I believe sleeping bag ratings are ~15-20 degrees off
 
I have to agree with everything being said here...definitely go warmer! I use the same sleeping bag camping in the middle of summer that I use hunting in October. The only difference is how much heat is needed inside the tent. You can never have a bag that is too warm, but it is no fun if your bag isn\'t warm enough.
 
I have a Eureka Casper 15 Deg. and a few others. I tried the Casper on a 17 deg night a week ago to give it a field test because my 0 deg bag is much heavier. I wore the same clothes I would as if hunting. I put on my outer waterproof fleece ligned jacket and a stocking cap. I was toasty warm. In fact a bit to warm. I am sure it will work if I decide to bivy away from camp for a couple nights. It weghs just shy of 3lbs.
 
I would tend to agree. Go with the warmer rated bag. But a lot to do with it could also be the amount of insulation you have underneath of you. And it is just a fact that some people sleep warmer or colder than others.
 
Another vote here for the warmer bag. I have a Big Agnes Lost Ranger with a 15* rating that I\'m confident wouldn\'t be warm enough for me in 15* weather. I can deal with being to warm by simply unzipping the bag to cool down. Warming it up without a cooperative companion in the tent would be next to impossible. Gender here is of most importance! :roll: go warmer
 
I don\'t have any experience comparing ratings of bags or the materials they are made of. I have a 5 degree rating on my BA mummy bag and I was comfortable with temps down into the high teens and low twenties. I agree with others on having a good insulation under your body. No matter the temperature rating of the bag, the ground will constantly draw heat away. I would opt for the warmer bag, you can always keep the zipper open right?
 
I used a Zero degree Wiggy\'s bag last year, which was really nice, comfortable and super toasty down to about 10 degrees. Really love it. But, it wasn\'t the lightest nor most compress-able backcountry backpacking bag I could have used. I believe it weights 5 pounds.

Because of that, this year on my backcountry elk hunt, I\'m going to use the Marmot Plasma 15 degree bag. It\'s only 2 pounds and compresses really small compared to the Wiggy\'s.

I went with the 15 degree vs another zero degree bag for 2 reasons.
- I use the Thermarest Xtherm which has a 5.7 R-value = It kept me very warm last year, so much so that I had to use the bag as a quilt most of the time because i was too warm.
- I\'m going to bring my Kuiu Super down hooded jacket and pants = an extra layer of warm if it gets down to zero.

I\'m a cold sleeper, but with the right combination or bag, pad and other layers, I can be ready for a wider range of temps.

Good luck!

Rudy
 
HAH!!! so this is where all the HONEST folks play!!

other forums will lead you to believe their 20 deg bags are magical and would shroud you with a coating of pixie dust that rocks you to sleep down to zero degrees.

me? i must be the coldlest sleeper. my 20 degree kifaru bag..what a joke! i froze at 40!! sold that thing.

i got a WM 20 and it is much much better. i still sleep in merino wool most of the time. in fact, i have NEVER sleep in my my boxers..i would freeze.

i would opt for the warmer bag. if my wife wouldnt freak..i would get a 15 deg WM bag..hahah.
 
So far, my Big Agnes Lost Ranger 15 degree bag has worked well down into the mid 20s (and I usually just sleep in my skivvies). :shock:

But, as Buglemaster stated, I do not think I would want to go any colder, it would be extremely uncomfortable.

Looking at a silk liner for it, just in case we get a freakish cold snap down into the teens. :ill:
 
OK.
Once again I used my Big Agnes 0 degree bag over the weekend.
I also use the insulated core air mattress and slept on a cot in my camper

I WAS COLD [ my son was warm in his 20 degree bag on a foam mattress] even wear longjons

Im thinking its the air mattress sucking my body heat.
So my next option is to try a thin blue foam pad on top of the air mattress to see if that helps.

So far, Ive not been pleased.
 
\"bowhunter\" said:
\"One layer underneath is worth two on top\" :!:
Click to expand...

I got a heavier emergency type blanket to put under me, I just got to find that happy medium between bag weight and $$$$$.

Thanks for info.
 
I have a military surplus wool blanket that I keep under my cot. If I start getting cold I throw it over my sleeping bag. Helps allot. I have a nice thick cot pad so I don\'t get cold from the bottom but I think it would help if I put the wool blanket under my sleeping bag it would help if I needed it. There are a couple of stores around here that sell surplus stuff pretty cheep.
 
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