Would I regret using a 32 degree bag in sub zero temps?

[Stephan Doyle]

An 8000m down suit would complement a 32º bag quite nicely.

Hardly weight or space-effecient though. And much more costly than a winter sleeping bag.

[Serge Giachetti]

Like others have said, yes you'd probably regret it. Some super experienced adventurer types get away with that set up on marathon efforts where you might hope to get a quick nap or shiver bivy before getting moving again. Thats not to say its a good idea even for them. I have a conservatively rated 15 degree rated down quilt that I've taken to a bit below 0, but I wouldn't try the 32 if you care about your toes.

[Pete Staehling]

If you have to ask you should be very cautious. A few points to consider:

First some 32 F bags are very optimistically rated others more realistically so. Not sure about yours but that brand is likely to be fairly rated if it is like my MH bag.

Second people are really different and we definitely can't say how you will be in a given bag.

I will say that my Mountain Hardware 45 is comfy for me down to freezing and with a thin layer down to the mid teens (in a bivy). That said I have camped with folks who were freezing in much warmer bags when I hadn't yet zipped mine. So my advice is to go conservative by at least taking more supplementary layers until you know what works for you.

[Eugene Smith]

Prepare for the SUCK.

The MH Ultralamina is cut efficiently (*tight), so strapping on extra goose feathers and merino skin suits isn't going to work so well, unless you enjoy all night fire vigils. I can totally relate to making what gear you have work, but taking a 32F bag (optimal condition, clean, and fully lofted) into conditions where any bit of condensation could spell trouble isn't wise IMO. But….. if you want to suffer a bit through the night and just get through it, go for it. Lowering your expectations will be necessary. In my experience, additional layering to meet a temperature or stretch a bags warmth when in below freezing temps just isn't the same as having an appropriately rated bag/quilt to begin with. This isn't so much the case when the temperatures are mild.

Good luck.

[zorobabel frankenstein]

I used to do this regularly, and it seemed like normal winter sleeping to me at the time. I always slept with ALL clothing and hard shell on me to prepare me for the "normal" sleep/shiver winter experience, as I never got too warm :).
I was in my early twenties (high metabolism) and I only had one 0 C comfort rated sleeping bag and no money to buy a warmer bag or room to store it. I remember my hiking partners to have had even colder bags and they were miserable, but surprisingly, endured. They do have an aversion towards winter camping these days :).
I would avoid doing it again.

[James holden]

Temperature Rating: 32° F / 0° C
Comfort Rating: 46° F / 8° C
Comfort Limit: 37° F / 3° C
Extreme: 12° F / -11° C

… note the extreme rating at 12F …. thats for women of course, but its likely close to 0 deg for men … which means the average male would would be on the edge of hypothermia with the Ultralamina 32 at 0F … and would likely lose toes …

course you could add lotta down jackets, but that wouldnt be very weight or bulk efficient …

[carl becker]

I use a bag rated for the lowest "normal/average" temp expected. In shoulder seasons or mountains I take base layers top and bottom and a down inner jacket just in case. IMHO trying to get an extra 30 degrees out of bag would require to much extra weight and have no emergency tolerance if the temps dropped more than expected. If I expected zero temps I would take a zero rated bag with an R5 pad plus base layers which I suspect you will be wearing at that temp and my down inner jacket. For one trip rent if you can a zero degree bag or don't go. Good head wear might be a god send.

[Brad Rogers]

Yes, you would regret it. Especially in that bag that isn't a true 32* bag to begin with. I was on to of Mt Sterling (5800ft) one December and there was a guy up there in a Marmot Hydrogen (30*) and it got down to 9* that night. I was talking to him the next morning as he was huddled around the fire and he said he shivered all night and didn't sleep a wink. Will you survive? Probably, but it will be the most miserable night of your life. I don't think you would have the room to layer enough clothes to push it down to 0*. You might try and double bag and use a vaper barrier, but I would just buy or rent a 0* bag.

Also, don't forget a good sleeping pad. Many pads are not warm enough at 0*F.

[Jerry Adams]

It depends

I have bag that's maybe 40 degree F. Wear puffy vest, pants, booties down to 20 F.

Your bag has to be big enough so it doesn't compress inner insulation.

I need that insulation to stay warm before going to bed so it's the most weight efficient

Fleece or wool isn't very warm for the weight

[Owen McMurrey]

Some perspective:
I have two bags that are very similar, Marmot's Arete and Pinnacle. The Arete is EN-rated to 42.6F, while the Pinnacle is EN-rated to 10F.
There's your 32F difference in temp between freezing and 0.
The Pinnacle uses 22.5oz of 800 fill down vs. 8.4oz for the Arete.
Almost triple the fill for a 32.6F lower EN rating, which is similar to what you're wanting to affect with additional layers.
I'm all for taking a bag below its ratings with clothing that would be carried anyway, but would be leery of trying to bridge that large of a gap in insulation value with baselayers and a jacket.

[Devon Cloud]

Here is a huge problem with doing what you are doing… loft. The more clothes you put on to help with the rating issue, the less loft you have available not only in your bag, but in your clothes too. If you can put on enough clothing to make up the 30 to 40 degree difference, after you are zipped up into an extremely tight bag, your rating on your bag/clothing just fell to who knows what.

I am in agreement with the rental at REI.

[Richard Fischel]

from the rating of the bag to what i can make comfortable if i am wearing everything i've brought with me. this includes putting your pack under your sleeping pad, or dubbling up your pad, and putting your pack under your feet or slipping your legs into your pack as an improvised bivy. If I’m going to supplement a sleeping bag with something that’s puffy (anything more than a down sweater), I tend to drape it over the sleeping bag as opposed to wearing it in the sleeping bag, unless it’s a fairly wide cut sleeping bag or any of the various elephant’s foot style bags that are designed to work that way. what's nice about a jacket/parka with a removable hood (ff volant) is you can drape the jacket over the sleeping bag to sleep and still wear the hood. some high-carb snacks and a hot water bottle go a long way to helping extend the range of your sleeping bag. don't forget a pee bottle. the last thing you want to do is let out all that hard won heat with a middle-of-the-night exit from your sleeping bag. i can push it lower, without being dangerous, but not being comfortable either. i've heard it said more than once (and it may have been said first by mark twight) that *if you aren't wearing everything your brought to sleep in, you've brought too much.* in this situation i'd borrower/rent a warmer bag.

[Walter Carrington]

If you're just doing this a night or two and don't mind carrying more weight and bulk, you could get a cheap/heavy/bulky/large synthetic sleeping to use as an overbag. This would add probably 4 or 5 lb and a lot of bulk. The xtherm pad might be good enough.

From Eric Chan's post of the EN ratings, I'd think this ultralamina 32 bag wouldn't be very comfortable even at 32F

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