Sleeping Bags???

[Ryan Faulkner]

This thread actually has two parts to it.

first of all, I have been looking for the lightest, 40 degree bag out there, and what I have come up with is the Nunatak arc Edge, and montbell UL thermal sheets. they both weigh in at about 12 oz. I have a Arc Ghost and Mont bell clo-up sheet (the synthetic version of the thermal sheets no longer made) I like both the bags but the Edge looks much smaler than the ghost. What would you recomend be the better bag for summer and fall use (with a cocoon jacket)? the thermal sheets are large, if they are the same size as my clo-up sheet, but have less down fill and lack the advantages of a variable girth bag. they would both be used in conjunction with a bivy sack. what do you think ? They both are rated at 40 degrees by Backpacker magazine. Whether they are accurate ratings, I dont know.

smaller Edge with more fill,
or the larger thermal sheets with less fill but more room for insulating clothing?

also, I looked at my Gear guide issue of backpacker magazine this morning and I saw 4 bags listed under bozeman mountain works.
a 39degree Sparc, 14oz/900 down
a 36degree cocoon, 15oz/polarguard Delta
a 33degree Catalysm 18oz/polarguard Delta
and a 30degree squall 180z/900 down

all the bags were listed as new, I have joined these forums after this magazine was published so I want to know if these bags were ever in production or if they may be up coming.

It confused me that they did not have tha Arc X bag, the only bag I knew BMW made

[D G]

Ryan,
I have BMW arc x and really like it. It has a girth at the shoulders of 55 inches. I also have an old Golite synthtic quilt rated at 40 F that has a girth of about 46 inches, which would make it about the same as the nunatak ghost.

In warmer weather, the narrower quilt is fine but in my opinion the narrower girth makes it much harder to prevent drafts and keep warm. I can’t recall the width of the nanatak edge but it is even narrower than the ghost. I would much prefer (in a down quilt) a little more width with less loft than a very narrow but lofty quilt. Remember that you can shift more of the down to the middle with less to the sides to increase the loft.

Nunatak can make you the old arc x. It is kind of a cross between the arc alpinist and arc ghost. As best as I can tell it has the larger dimension of the alpinist with the loft of the ghost. It is of course spendy!

[Ryan Faulkner]

thanks Daniel,

I am happy with my ghost, mabey I can get a custom arc edge? But right now I am leaning more twords the thermal sheets, partly because of the price, and time it takes to get a nunatak bag. Both companies are great, I have a down montbell bag too, it is great.
but I guess I could still be convinced that the edge is better.

I am still wondering about these mystery BMW bags though?

[EndoftheTrail]

I have the MontBell thermal sheet as well as their No. 3 down bag.

Per phone discussion with MontBell back when I was deciding, I was told that the thermal sheet is good to 50F (not 40). I’ve used it down to 50F in tee shirt and shorts, no liner, and I felt warm and comfy. Because I have the No. 3, I’ve not taken the TS anywhere lower than 50F. I imagine it’s good to 40F, but only with some assist — e.g. liner, long underwear, and maybe a light insulation layer.

[Ryan Faulkner]

thanks Ben,

I will probably be using it in the summer for weekend trips alone at 45 degrees with a bivy with only shorts and a tee shirt

or the bag in conjunction with a silk liner and bivy sack at 35+, on these trips I will also have a MB thermawrap inner vest, long sleeve under armor heat gear and golite wisp wind shell, also I will have rain pants, I plan on purchasing golite reed pants.

I plan on hiking the 100 mile wilderness this summer, and hopefully the jhon muir the next summer and the long trail the next and the colorodo trail the following year, these are all preperation trails for the AT I plan to thru hike in about 2.5 months in 5 or so years. this may be the bag I use for all. I am thinking more twords the TS, I will push the clo-up sheets temp rating tonight with the clothing I have described, if I am sucessful, the thermal sheets are the one. 30 degrees.

[John S.]

Is the thermal sheet hoodless?

[Ryan Faulkner]

yeah, here is a link

you are probably wondering why I did not include a hat in my list, I always seem to forget this. I wiil either have a set of possum down, hat and gloves, that I plan to buy, or use my fleece hat and gloves I have now

[Mark]

I also think the Thermal Sheet is the better choice. Doesn’t seem as coffin-like as the Edge. I would definitely choose wider, thinner and less drafty, v. narrower, thicker, more drafty. The zip adds some nice function, but not too hard to remove if you decided you didn’t want it.
-Mark

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