Lightweight 3-season synthetic bag?

Look for bags filled with Polarguard Delta — one of the warmest/most compact synthetic fillings out there. For three-season use, look for 15F-30F temperature range (depending on where you plan to backpack).

The TNF Fission has good pedigree with Pertex Quantum shell and Plgd Delta insulation. The Marmot Pounder Plus is Primaloft, but offers a full-zip, which could make it a bit colder, but more usable in the warmer temps. And the Kelty Lightyear 3D +25 is an old standby with a good track record. I believe all three are rated to 25F, but 35F might be a more likely bet. The TNF and Marmot should each be about 2.25lbs, and the Kelty more like 2.5.
-Mark

Fanatic Fringe also has a series of synthetic quilts, if you are looking for something a little different than a sleeping bag. The weights range from 1lb. 7 oz. to 1 lb. 9 oz., and temp ratings are between 30 and 40 degrees. For my own curiosity – does anyone have one of these? If so, how do you like it? There seems to be a fair amount of anticipation for the BMW synthetic quilt, which will be made available for public consumption at an undetermined point in the future – maybe these are just as good as we are anticipating the BMW quilt to be, and available now.

Im gonna pimp MontBell again.

Good stuff.

I have a #4 with the Excelloft. Ive found that it works really well. In fact, I wish I could buy just the excelloft for gear projects.

wrt to PG Delta… Ive noticed that yes it is lighter, yes it is more compressible, but it will break down faster than PG3D…. so durability is a concern, in my book anyway.

I have a Pounder. It is good only for quite warm weather. In other words, above 50 degrees F I would recommend it. 40 to 50F you should be taking some rather warm clothing.

I don’t recommend the Pounder as a solution for you.

Craig

My vote is for montbell. they are my favorite sleeping bag company. I have a summer synthetic bag now discontinued called the clo-up sheet (similar to their down thermal sheets) and it has the lightest most compressible synthetic fiber I have seen. it has a good warmth to weight ratio, It has about a quarter inch of loft and I have used it down to 35 degrees

https://www2.montbell.com/america/asp/products/Spg_itiran.asp?cat=1105

the bags range from heavy sub 0 degree bags to ultralight summer bags. Take your pick

Thanks, Joe Robbins! For a while, I was feeling all guilty pimping MontBell over and over.

I didn’t “pimp” them this time only because I have no experience with their synthetic bags (although I love MontBell’s Thermawrap jacket which uses the same synthetic filling).

As for Polarguard, I thought Delta is better than 3D — and it’s the 3D that might have durability issues!?

For the cheapest light weight bag look at
http://www.majorsurplusnsurvival.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=027117&Category_Code=35

this is the bag my dad brought to philmont and beyond. it is durable and not affected by moisture. and did I mention it only costs $25
it has a full lenghth zipper and compression stuff sack. it weighs just over 2 pounds. I will post pics.

$25
$25
$25

But is it any good for true 3-season camping?

Let’s see — hollow fiber (synthetic), weighs only 2.3 lbs. — and yet supposedly good for 5F-15F! A MIRACLE! It’s lighter and warmer than any down bag I know!

Hmm, I think “… emergency use, adds warmth to all sleeping bags…” are dead giveaways that this bag is not meant to be your stand-alone “go to” bag!

BTW, what were the nighttime temps when your dad used it? Did he wear additional clothes or use a liner?

I was going to mention the inaccurate temperature rating when I posted som pictures but here I go.
most of the temps my dad has used it were in the low forties except for a few nights in the 35 range. he wears nothing but a polyester shirt and spandex short underwear. he said he would probably rate the bag to 30 degrees but if you wore more clothing and added a liner you could push it to 20 or 25. I dont know where the 5 degree rating came from, mabey an eskimo is working for the company :-)>

some pics of the $25 bag

not quite as beautiful as a mont bell bag, oh well.

doule sided zipper for foot box ventilation

you cant really see the draft coller and draft tube, but its there

the best way I could think of to show the width of the bag

this bag works great for my dad and my sister. so try it out, if you dont like it, its only $25 and you could cut it up and make a jacket or something.

Thanks, guys!

Joe:
Does your Montbell Burrow #4 have a full-length zipper? Since I don’t wanna buy a separate summer bag, half-length zippers like those on TNF Fission and Kelty lightyear seem to be less preferable.
And how do you feel about the temp rating? Is the ‘comfort temp’ around 30F or 40F? Do you need extra clothes/quilt/bivy to push it down to 20F?

Ryan:
Interesting product… the website call it a ‘double layer sleeping bag’, maybe you’ll need something like a quilt to reach the 5F rating?

the mont bell bags have full length zippers. I posted some pictures of the down version of the mont bell superstretch but I think they have similar features

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=1498&startat=20

Thanks, Ryan.

Xiangyu,

Yes, its a full length zipper. to my knowledge, all of the modern MontBells bags are full length zips. Some of the older synth bags they made had NO zipper, but not any more.

Im a bad person to ask if I think a temp rating is accurate. I could freeze in a 0deg bag at 40degs… but based on my experiences with other bags, I would say that the rating is true for the average person, and that I have slept in relative comfort in my bag down to temps that were cold enough to put ice in my water bottle. I dont remember what I was wearing at the time, but I dont think it was very heavy. The weather snapped colder than anticipated.

Joe:

Thanks. Sounds like Montbell is the right bag for me. :)

Now I only need to wait for a good price. Does Montbell put old models on sale when new ones come out?

they do, but the synthetic bags are new even for this year and the web specials page on their wewb site is sold out. so if you want a discount, look on ebay or the gear swap forums. or you will be waiting for a couple of years, or until montbell makes up some new technology

Web specials page
http://www.montbell.com/america/products/outlet.html

just a couple of months ago, it was filled with their old synthetic s, sorry

the $25 bag is comparable in temp rating and weight to the #4 or #5

just saying

but I fully recomend the mont bell bags. mont bell is my favorite sleeping bag company

Though I have had no experience with them, the Integral Designs Primaloft sleeping bags have a very good reputation.

Rich

Xiangyu,

I also looked at a TNF Fission before buying a Montbell Burrow #4. The Fission is warmer, a true 20F bag, but it felt like a straight jacket to me. The Burrow #4 is the most comfortable bag I own, but I consider it to be a summer bag, at least in the Colorado Rockies. If it gets colder than the mid-thirties, I have to slip on a puffy jacket to stay warm.

I own two MontBell bags — both of them down bags.

If you are interested in MontBell, I highly recommend that you get a No. 2 or 3 for 3-season use. You don’t have to camp all that high up for it to get pretty cold at night — yes, even in the summer — but esp. in spring and fall.

it depends where you are, because I use a #2 as a winter bag down to 5 degrees in virginia. yes I have used it to 5 degrees comforatably

and use an old synthetic clo-up sheet (no longer made but similar to the down thermal sheets in synthetic) for the rest of the year.

but I am planning to replace it with a nunatak arc ghost soon