Bag Choice – 3 season Rockies

I have had trips where it went from 75*F to 10*F with heavy blowing snow inside 2 hours, this on both the BC and AB sides of the Rockies and in the Chilcotin and the West Kootenays as well….and at the beginning of Sept. I had almost 2 FEET of snow at my station in the hills above Hinton, AB, one June and I much prefer a warmer bag.

I would buy the 15* bag and maybe even a Western Mountaineering, Integral Designs or Valandre bag over the Montbell. Some options, anyway.

Maybe consider the WM ultralite 20F bag, or the Montbell UL (non-spiral) #2. They are "in-between" options which might be good if you want a single do-it-all bag. Quite a few folks here seem to get by in a 30F with layered clothing in similar conditions, but I wouldn't want to be creeping any lower than 20F in that case.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the 30F bags don't usually come with a neck baffle/collar. Once it drops below freezing I really appreciate a proper neck collar because it stops the cold air seeping in every time I change position. The montbell #2 has a neck collar, but I don't think the #3 does (and not sure about the spiral, but I suspect not). The WM ultralite has a neck collar, and I'm sure the MB #1 spiral does too.

I could certainly do a 30 deg bag for 3 season rockies but that's not without accepting that it might be a little chilly in the worst case.

The WM Ultralight would do you right though and you'd be toasty warm most nights.

I had Feathered Friends make me an "Overbag" sans collar or hood with their best down and Gore-Tex, abck in '89. I used this exactly where the original poster wishes to camp and it is rated at 30*F. I am very resistent to cold and it still was not enough for Sept. temps. while my WM Alpin Super and Valandre Shocking Blue DO keep one warm at 10*F, no problem.

I am not too keen on skimping here as every cold morning you experience on a given trip really lowers your energy level and tires you out.

I've decided on the Montbell #2 SS for this year. Thanks for all your input. Hopefully I won't have to push the boundaries for the temp rating but I'll be sure to have the extra insulation layers in case.

Aaron

I had a Spiral #3 Long.

I would only recommend the Spiral version if your a big guy. If your skinny like me it doesn't make sense to get the spiral because it doesn't stay as close to the body as the normal ss version.

Interesting comment Peter. I've been tempted by the spiral #3 as a summer bag… lighter than the SS #3 and lighter than the WM summerlite (and a lot cheaper, because you can often get it on sale). But if you reckon it is too roomy for skinny types (which I am) then maybe it's not such a great idea.

Yea i'm 5'10" 140lbs and the long spiral #3 was really big on me. I also have the regular spiral #3 which works better for me imho.

The Zipper on the Spiral is shorter and the material isn't soft and silky like the regular SS. Its not as luxurious of a feel.

I think the spiral would be great with a down blanket inside for colder weather use. The down blanket would would fill the void in the spiral bag + skinny person setup.