Best one pound sleeping bag?

[James Pitts]

I have the Marmot Pounder Plus… I use it on Kayak trips. I don't know about that 54 degree rating I think someone posted… I would swear I have slept in it on colder nights than that with no problem. That said, I totally agree that Marmot is too generous with their bag ratings. That is NOT a 25 degree sleeping bag.

I have never carried it on a backpacking trip.

I do use it on trips with the Boy Scouts (car camping basically).

[Dondo .]

James,

I was referring to the Pounder, not the 2 lb.,2 oz Pounder Plus. The Pounder Plus gets a EN 13537 lower limit rating of 36F. If you go to Marmot.de you can find the EN13537 ratings for many of the Marmot bags.

[David Gardner]

Breathing new life into this thread.

Hey everybody, what is the “best” (as in lowest temperature rating)  one pound sleeping bag these days, price being no barrier?

[John Vance]

Just bag or quilt as well?

[David Gardner]

I’m leaning towards the Zpacks “30F Full Zip Sleeping Bag” at 17.4 oz for the long, standard width model, which can be used as both, but as a general preference, just bags, not quilts.

[James Marco]

https://seatosummitusa.com/collections/sleeping-bags/products/spark-ultralight-sleeping-bag-series
13oz for a 40F bag. My daughter used one down to 35F and was a bit chilly with normal (by test spec) heavy weight long johns, socks, on a womans Neoair XLite (R3.9), so, I would say it is a fairly true rating depending on the user. 10D outer, 7D inner, 3/4length zipper, 850FP dri-down. Note that this is sewn through but the price was OK.

[Steve H]

Take a look at the Feathered Friends Tanager (20 oz).  Very happy with mine.

[David Gardner]

James, thanks for the suggestion. I think I need at least a 30F rating for the bag.

Some more information: I’m going to take this new bag on the Sierra High Route this summer. Planning to average 10 miles per day, and at my pace that likely means 10-12 hours of hiking: wake up and get moving, stop for food during the day when it’s warmer, stop hiking and go to bed. Not planning to take long johns, down puffy or down pants to supplement for sleep comfort as those items add 1-2 lbs to my carry weight (although I do have some 5 oz wind- and waterproof hooded coveralls that are good for about 10-15 degrees below what would be comfortable without them, for those rest stops and when stopping at night before getting in the bag).  If it dips below 30 I’ll wear my clothes and coveralls inside the bag.

$429 for the Zpack 30F @ 17.4 oz/9.9 oz of 900 fp water repellant goose down

$399 for the Spark 28 at 20 oz/12 oz 850+ fp wrgd

[Joshua B]

If you’re not too big of a guy, how about the SOL Escape Bivvy at 8.5 oz?  I’ve used mine down to 40F pretty comfortably just wearing my fleece.  Add a hot water bottle if you need to push it further (or add a second Bivvy, you’ll still be about a pound).

[Kona]

Have you taken a look at gryphon gear and an Aries quilt?I think his fill weight is very conservative for his temperature ratings.he’s been making down products for quite a long time.

[Paul Leavitt]

I use a Hammock Gear Burrow standard wide (55″) 30F quilt. 17.8ounces with a Thermarest Xlite regular pad.  I have taken this combo to 30 degrees in windy conditions at 10000′ in the Beartooths.  With down socks , long johns and fleece top and hat it was very comfortable.  Your pad makes a big difference.  Under 30degrees I use a Xtherm and heavier Jacks or Better Sniveler quilt.  Below 20 F and On snow .  I take both quilts and the Xtherm.

Not sure why you want synthetic.  In 40 years of backpacking I have never got a down quilt or bag wet enough to be ineffective.  With Modern materials the shell is water resistant (DWR) and a few drops of condensation will just run off.

[jscott]

I’ve hiked for decades in the Sierra. and I grew up hiking in the PNW. I definitely want down in the Sierra. In the PNW, maybe not.

I have my down bag in a water proof stuff sack, carried inside of my waterproof Schnozzle in my pack if it’s raining. I carry a tent that is storm proof. why do I need synthetic material in the Sierra? It’s not just about weight savings, altho that’s pretty significant. Down takes up less space in a pack.

I find my Marmot bags to be spot on in terms of temp ratings.

[Link .]

. FEATHERED FRIENDS Flicker UL Quilt Sleeping Bag

. Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 32 Down Sleeping Bag .

. Marmot Phase 30 Sleeping Bag: 30F Down .

. Rab Neutrino 200 Sleeping Bag: 34F Down .

. ENLIGHTENED EQUIPMENT CONVERT .

. Western Mountaineering Summerlite Sleeping Bag: 32F Down .

. . REI Co-op Magma 30 Sleeping Bag – Men’s .

. UGQ OUTLAW HYBRID QUILT .

. NUNATAK 3D Quilt Three Season .

here are some that are close to what you mention

[Brad W]

If I needed a bag to be a pound I would just mod a Costco down quilt. $20, 1lb, good to about 50F.

[Gary Dunckel]

I’m with Brad on this one. We made two quilts from the Costco throws, and they tested nicely at +45* F inside my tent. One weighs 17.6 oz., and we sewed a 6″ extension (from a second throw) to make it little bit longer.

The other is the standard length, but it has a Pertex Quantum shell sewn onto the top for a bit of weather protection (and maybe a little additional warmth). That one weighs 18.1 oz.

Besides being roomy quilts, they work great when the house gets cold. Two people can snuggle in one quilt on the couch while watching TV when it’s below zero degrees F outside.

[Link .]

. Therm-a-Rest Ohm Sleeping Bag : 32F Down .

[Brad W]

@zia-grill-guy The Costco quilts really are great. I just took mine, added some kam snaps to it in the quilt design.

[David Gardner]

Wow, thanks everyone! So many choices! Definitely going with down – not sure how the synthetic thing came up – and temp rating in the 30-35 F range. Lots of research to do.

[jscott]

those costco down throws aren’t going to work on the High Trail–you need something way warmer than those.

[Michael B]

My next build will be in the style of the FF Flicker, 2.5″ baffles on the topside, 1.5″ baffles on the bottom side (side with the zipper) so I can flip it depending on the temps. I’ll use a sewn footbox bottom though, with a target weight <20oz like my current quilt. Should be much more versatile (read WARM) since the zipper will close off all the drafts if I want to. My current MYOG (essentially just like the WM Astralite, but 19oz)  does not have that option, although it is still quite warm enough for me. I’m just a sucker for making stuff.

[stephan q]

David,

I think the best one pound bag weighs 1.5lbs. Think of the extra mass as  .25l h2o. I have tried many times to sleep in the low thirties with super light bags. Over-stuffed a Halo 40, WM Highlite, MH Mtn speed, home filled EE quilt, and one other I can’t remember. Each time it dipped below high thirties I spent a cold few hours before dawn. Always an X-therm and similar sleep system.

Without thermals or a puffy, being able to zip up a full hood with 12+ oz of down seems my recipe.

I vote WM Megalite. Or the next lightest if you are quite thin. If it is guaranteed to be above 40 on your trip, my 0.02 cents is just that.

 

[Alexander L]

What’s the ARC specialist?  It’s not on their site.

[bradmacmt]

Inspired by this thread, I just bought a WM Summerlite on sale for $318… good snag IMO.

[Anthony H]

I really love my Zpacks 20F Classic Sleeping Bag!  It has one of the best warmth to weight ratio’s out there and comes in at 1# 3oz.  What I really like about the Zpacks Classic Sleeping Bag is that it combines the best attributes of a quilt and a sleeping bag. It has the weight of a quilt and can be used unzippered, just like quilt. But when it gets cold you can zip it up into a draft free, sleeping bag mode. It’s also uses some of the lightest material options – 900 fill power DWR goose down with a 30% overstuff and a lighter 7D nylon shell.  The wide closed toe box is also awesome and will keep your feet nice and toasty.  For 3 season camping and maybe early fringe season this is my favorite sleeping bag.

https://zpacks.com/products/20f-classic-sleeping-bag

[J R]

Call Ben at Goosefeet Gear. He will custom make a quilt or bag to your specs, and I bet he can beat anyone on warmth-for-weight.

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