Sleeping Bags…Help Me Decide

The versalite would be my pick, provided you are not a wide person. You simply cannot go wrong with Western Mountaineering!

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not very wide at six feet even and 180 pounds. Wait…175 pounds.

You mentioned that you "froze my butt off" but in your list of insulation, you didn't mention sleeping pad(s).

I'm curious as to what was between you and the ground? In my experience, when I've pushed the limits of temperature/comfort, I usually underestimate the required insulation from my sleeping pad.

AS

are you sleeping in a tent or hammocking?

when will you do the majority of your camping? late fall-early spring or late spring-early fall…

what is your sleeping pad? foam pad? airmat? nothing?

what part of the AT do you frequent? georgia requires different sleeping bags than the white mountains…

The Versalite has a 62" shoulder girth and is one of the wider WM bags. I have one and I've been quite toasty into the low teens in just a base layer. For reference, I sleep warm.

I completely forgot to mention that I was on the ground the first night and in a hammock for the rest. I didn't have a sleeping pad for either setup, and I can't say I noticed any difference in warmth. I did use a hot water bottle in the hammock though.

I did bring a pad, I but I lent it to my friend. He got a great deal on a "JR" sleeping bag. Too bad he couldn't fit into it.

AJ,

Not to comment on the best bag for you, but when I bought I chose a WM Apache and a WM Summerlite for my wife and I. In summer/spring/autumn I use the Summerlite and she uses the Apache. In winter I use the Apache and she stays home.

This means I only ever have to carry a bag pretty close to what I need.

Rod

AS,

You're about to get a whole heap of posts telling you that a bag only works if you have a pad between you and the ground.

They're correct!!!

Rod

Trooper, what length were your bags?

I'm thinking a combination like that would be perfect. My wife would stay home if it were to get cold.

The one I had was a long. But my friend had thought he got a great deal on his at $35-but it was a junior length. Because I felt pity for him, he took my pad.

Yup, like Rod said… gotta use a pad!

When sleeping bags are rated, they're rated assuming a given R-value under the pad… for example, a 30 degree (F) bag was probably rated such with an R-value of 4 or so underneath it… you had an R- of zero! You can lose ~a third of your warmth to the ground. No matter how good the bag, you need a warm pad to sleep warm…

That said, if you're considering the Versalite or the Lynx, I'd go for the Antelope. The Antelope is the same cut as the Versalite, but with another 5 or 6 ounces of down. Unlike the Lynx, the Antelope is continually baffled, which means that you can shift down from top to bottom if you're in warmer temps. Yes, I do this, and yes, it works. 2 pounds, 7 ounces of bliss in an Antelope…

+1 – get a pad. It will work well in the hammock or on the ground. Inflatables need less insulation in a hammock, foam pads work the same.

Brad,

Had I known that I lost a third of my warmth without the pad, I would have never loaned it. That is a staggering number.

My pad is an army surplus that I've had for 15 years. Since we are now talking about a complete system, what is the smallest packing while still providing warmth pad I can get?

If you'll regularly be on the lower end of the temp scale, a lot of people like the Exped Downmat 7 as a winter pad; some people use the short, but I like the regular length for cold temps. Big Agnes Insulated Air Core is also relatively small/light-ish for a thick, warm-ish pad. Downmat 7 has an R-value of ~6, IAC is ~4. Regular ol' foam pads range anywhere from ~1 to ~2.5.

insulation beneath you matters sooooo much more than above you when hammocking. you can check a # of underquilts out if the pad option doesn't work. some guys find them clammy in hammocks.

jacksrbetter (mount washington)
warbonnet (yeti)
tewa underquilts

> about to get a whole heap of posts telling you that a bag only works if you have a pad between you and the ground.

Indeed. I sleep warm and have been completely comfortable down to 30F wearing light weight base hat, a 16oz quilt, and A PAD. With the same clothing and quilt but swapping the pad for a hammock I started to chill at 60F. A thin aluminized shade got be down to around 50F. Below that requires a real PAD… or in colder weather an under-quilt. Basically you are losing almost half your warmth without a pad. Sometimes this doesn’t matter because what you are sleeping on provides insulation (like a nice bed of pine needles). Sometimes (like when in a hammock or sleeping on worse, sleeping on a nice slab of granite, your warmth will be sucked or blown away.

there are several groups dedicated to hammock hangers that would have some good suggestions. I have a few links (please suggest others when you find them) on my hammocks as shelter page.

As to a bag. The versalite is a great back. It has taken me to below 0F without wearing warm clothing and was a perfect size for me. If you are a bit thinner the Wm ultralight is also really nice. All that said… if you mostly using a hammock, I would recommend a quilt which is much easier to use in a hammock.

–mark

Just curious, have any of you noticed a difference warmth wise between 3/4 length pad and a full length? I can't say I have but I never tried both back to back.

If the last quarter is on the snow you will notice.
If it is on your pack and some other gear, you might not.

I've hung my hammock on the Tuscarora Trail in mid February. I had a Thermarest Prolite and a Walmart pad beneath my Western Mountaineering Alpinlite. I was wearing merino wool long underwear, shirt, pants, and Patagonia down jacket. I woke up in the middle of the night. It was 29 in the hammoc, and I was too hot. I took off the jacket and went back to sleep. I woke up a couple of hours later and it was 21 degrees. I was cold, but not enough to do anything about it. I answered natures call and went back to sleep. As has been said previously, you can't go wrong with WM.

Josh,

I've been looking at the Jacks 'R Better underquilts even before this trip. Seeing how they worked, I rigged my poncho liner up in a similar fashion to the underquilt, with a space blanket inside the hammock and the sleeping bag inside the space blanket. I was able to wrap all of this around me to give me insulation on the top as well.

This kept me comfortable until about 0300 hrs, at which time I went from comfortable to that cold layer of Dante's hell, skipping all the stages in between. During my cryogenics experiment, I was often thinking of Jacks 'R Better…

Trooper,

Take a look here for info:

http://www.hammockforums.net

If the hammock is going to be your main shelter you are really going to want to look into an under quilt and quilt system. Using a pad inside the hammock for most is a pain and getting inside a sleeping bag can get old after a while. Also look at the Hennessy SuperShelter System.

I recommend a Te-Wa underquilt.

i second jeff's suggestion to visit hammockforums dot net.

that is the #1 place on the internet as far as i'm concerned for anything to do with hammocking. also, a very nice bunch