AT Thru-hike sleeping bag

I would suggest getting a quality bag for March on the AT. You will have some very cold nights. I would suggest a Western Mountaineering Versalite (10* 2lbs), Marmot Helium (15* 1lb 13oz), or Western Mountaineering Ultralite (20* 1lb 10oz). If you went with the Ultralite you could bundle up on colder nights and use it all summer as a quilt with the full zip.

And if you bought it new from Hermit's Hut you would get an extra two ounces of down overfill on the 20F bag to help out the temp rating.

wow, those look like some really nice bags, too bad I'm on a college student's budget and they're all a bit too rich for my blood. Anyone know of a good bag that's around $200?

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It ain't the lightest thing. But if you don't mind wearing a hat and maybe a pair of pants to sleep in. Check out the REI bags MOJAVE and and SUBKILO. The Subkilo is a bit more pricey. But it is a matter of 12oz. But the Mojave is a great bag.

Click here for recent thread on the same topic.

If the bag you have is not too snug on you I think you’d get more versatility and bang for the buck by sleeping in it wearing insulated clothing. Or if the bag isn’t roomy enough for that you could use a quilt on top of the bag … and then switch to using just the bag when you get past the coldest weather and then the quilt during the height of summer.

In '07, AT thru-hikers gave the laFuma a thumbs down. They complained about the short comfort range and lack of durability.

You might give serious consideration to a quilt – either down or Climashield. You have time to make one, and it is not difficult. There are plenty of threads on it. That will give you a good unit for under $200.

The Smokies – and the whole durn AT in March and April, can be pretty cold, like near zero. Every year seems to feature an Easter Surprise of cold weather and snow. Many folks use 2 bags or quilts: one to use through April and another to use if or when they encounter cold weather again in the late season. The laFuma will probably work for the warmer season. I used 2 quilts in '07 while going through the Smokies and sent one home after the cold weather was past. Together they weighed 3 pounds. Then I sent the heavier one home until September in New England when I got the heavier one back and sent the summer quilt home. That worked just fine.

I'll bet you could supplement the laFuma with a light quilt for the cold, then decide which one to keep for the warmer months.

The WM bags are nice – but pricey! Again, I have a lightly used 650 fill Montbell SS rated to 15F; not the lightest bag but very good quality, warm enough and under $200 – $170 incl. shipping. Let me know if you are interested!
Best,
S.

Hey. I just posted a coupon code for backcounty.com in the gear deals section. Apparently it's good for stuff that is on sale. I saw that they had a Montbell super stretch #4 on sale for right around $200, then you would get an additional 20% off that with the code. It's rated to 35 degrees. I bought the golite ultra 20 quilt with that code today, but I can't recommend it yet.

If you haven't already, you might also want to post this question at whiteblaze.net as it is an entire forum dedicated to the AT. There are hundreds of people over there that can give you first hand information that few of us over here can.

As for a sleeping bag:

Warm
Light
Cheap

pick two.

There are plenty of under $200 bags out there that will keep you warm and are under 200 bucks, but they won't necessarily be that lightest in the world. That is not always a problem as many people have thru hiked with heavy sleeping bags, but I am assuming since you are posting this at BPL that you are interested in the lightest options.

The problem with some of the lesser expensive bags is that they fudge on their temperature ratings. You will need to look at loft rather than temperature ratings on many bags. As a general rule 4" of loft is good for 30*, 5" – 20*, 6" – 10*, 7" – 0* etc. One of the real cheap down bags that seems to get pretty good reviews (for the price) is the Campmor 20* down bag. It claims 5" of loft which would keep you warm at 20*, but does use lower quality down which is heavier and bulkier than high fill power down. You might also try and find a used bag. I bought a Western Mountaineering Ultralite used for $200 and although the bag had been used, it still has 5" of loft and works great.

Look at the EMS Mountain Light 20. 2 lbs, about $160 when they have a 20% off sale. It's a decent bag at a great price.

You will be sleeping in your bag a lot of nights. Nights 20 degrees and lower are not at all uncommon on the AT. This is the one place I would not skimp. A good sleeping bag will make all the difference in the world between a night of comfort and a night of misery. A well rested thru-hiker is less prone to injury and/or thoughts of leaving the trail because it is not enjoyable. Plus your sleeping bag is your last line of defense against possible hypothermia.

You will also be carrying that bag a lot of miles. You could get warm and cheap by going heavy, but your back and feet will pay the price for that.

Come up with the extra money to buy a top quality light and warm bag. You could sell something (like the LaFuma bag), hold a yard sale, or look for some odd jobs to raise a little extra cash, or skip a few restaurant meals or nights out on the town. You won't regret it in the long run.