Best one pound sleeping bag?

I haven't used it, but the Pounder seemed very thin to me when I looked at one–more of a 50F bag, not a 32F as rated. If you want the warmest bag for the weight, you're looking at down. The Marmot Atom and Western Mountaineering Highlight are two alternatives–both are sewn through, but can be used to 32F if wearing additional clothing and sleeping in a tent/bivy. The REI Kilo Flash (currently on sale) seems to be well made–and is baffled on the top unlike the two bags above–but is 3 oz. over a pound, putting it in the range of the WM Summerlite and (almost) the Marmot Hydrogen. The fit of these bags all vary–the Marmots are the most generous, then the REI, then the two WM models–so that may sway your decision.

Bag only, or quilt? Why an arbitrary pound?

Down gets you there easier and is ultimately the more durable bag.

Probably a custom bag or quilt from Nunatak as you get both efficient design and materials plus custom sizing.

The above mentioned WM and Marmot bags.

The Brit.-made PHD bag talked about on another thread on BPL would be worth checking out.

In the Synthetic realm, I would look at the BMW Cocoon quilts. In the realm of larger manufacturers, not much out there besides the Pounder and the 20oz. TNF Propel. I scoff at the 40 degree rating for the Pounder and have heard that actual weight of the bag sometimes is more like 19-20 oz.

Or a Rab Quantum top bag

Yeti (http://www.yetiworld.com/) used to do a bag that weighed about 450 grammes but it appears they no longer do …

Their home page is a bit Stephenson-Warmlite-ish …

My one chime: Marmot has a tendancy to overstate bag warmth and understate bag weight.

I've been on the hunt too. I've bought the WM Summerlite, Highlite, Linelight, the Monbell SS bag, I've looked at a bunch of others. The one that has the best loft/weight ratio by far is the Golite Featherlite 40. More loft than any of the 32 degree (and above) bags available in this 14-21 oz. range. It does weigh 19.7 oz. though (regular ,medium) and has no zip. I actually like not having to fumble w/ a zip in the middle of the night. Read Will's review here on BPL.

Dale,

The Marmot Pounder gets a EN 13537 lower limit rating of 54F. One of our members, Mitchell Keil, tried one and was very disappointed.

If you are trying to get close to 40F with synthetics and still stay near a pound, you'll have to make or buy a quilt and preferably use it along with a bivy.

Mummy bag- WM Highlite

Top bag- RAB Quantum Top Bag

Quilt- Nunatak Arc Specialist

A regular Marmot Hydrogen is 1 lb 5 oz, but accurately rated to 30 degrees F, IMO.

I don't doubt other's experience with overweight and overrated Atoms and Pounders, but Marmot's baffled bags like the Hydrogen seem to come in close on weight, and are EU rated consistent with their stated US temps.

Deleted.

That chart says it's for the 30 degree F Hydrogen, not the 15 degree F Helium. And that's the one I was referring to. The male symbol is approximately 0 degree C.

Jason, my bad — time for me to stop typing and go to bed instead! I have deleted my post above.

I think the best 1lb sleeping bag is a down quilt such as the Nunatak Arc Specialist

If you want a traditional bag and 59″ shoulders are big enough for you, the WM Summerlite would be my recommendation. Regular size is 19oz, 2 inch of loft, full baffles, full zipper, well made.

I haven’t seem the golite featherlite that Mark Cole suggested, but I would vote against it on principle because it doesn’t seem to have any ventilation options making good on cold night, but not so good on moderate nights when you want a bit less insulation.

I would skip the Marmot Pounder. It is not that warm. There was a short round-up of 1lb bags in Rock & Ice a year or so ago … which came out before the summerlite was widely available. Rock & Ice doesn’t have the article online anymore… but the wayback machine does at the URL

http://web.archive.org/web/20060126210229/http://www.rockandice.com/gear/141+Field+Tested.pdf

I have a friend who has a Marmot pounder. He admits the bag is not accurately rated, but claims he sleeps fine down to the mid to lower 30's with lots of clothes underneath. Personally, I don't think I could get there, so I don't do it. However, if this is what your are looking for, try it. His bag weighs slightly above a pound (maybe 2 oz? don't remember)

Before I bought a Pounder, I'd go with one of MontBell's new #7 UL Burrow Bags. I'm inclined to put a lot more trust in MontBell's list weight (my #3 is on the mark) and temperature rating. Lafuma also makes a 20 oz synthetic bag — I have no experience with it, but it's by far the most affordable of the three.

Dale, I don't think you can find a decent 1 lb synthetic bag unless its just for summer use.
I recommend the Montbell #7, in alpine (zipperless) for $150 (2006 model, 1 lb, 725 fill power, direct from an outlet in Japan), or 2007 zippered #7, 1 lb+ in 800 fill power.

These bags stretch as you move and sprawl out; no other bag can use this world-wide patent on full length stretch baffles. The interior baffles eliminate much of the dead air space, and continuously maximize loft by seperating the inner layer away from the outer layer. My #7 has more than 2" double thickness loft.

I used my 1 lb bag comfortably cool at about 30'F last winter. Think about that; a 1 lb winter bag.
PM me if you want the 2006.

Thanks for all the great input!

I picked one pound as a benchmark and knowing that there are few bags that I can afford that are much lighter. I knew from the start that a one pound synthetic bag would be summer-only gear, although I am a very warm sleeper. I assume that I would be supplimenting the bag with insulated clothing.

I currently use a Moonsstone Delta Cirrus bag that is rated for 32F and is 28oz. It leaves me in a bit of a bracket as I would need to spend quite a bit to get more performance and less weight. The WM bags are obvious candidates, but hard on my miserly nature :) I like Mont Bell's bags too.

I shy away from quilts and I should investigate them further. I do move around in my sleep, so they may not work well for me. Quilts are certainly one way to chop weight on sleeping gear and I really like the idea for summer weather.

You might investigate the Feathered Friends Vireo. It's an anchor for a potential sleeping system, e.g., can have snaps added for use of a parka hood.

Shell options, fill options, you can mix-and-match to your heart's content.

I owned a Marmot Pounder for a few months and ended up returning to REI because I concluded the rating was absurdly optimistic. I was never comfortable in the bag, even in the mid 40s, so I ended up with a WM Summerlite (last year) and a Nunatak Arc Specialist (this year). I think the Nunatak is warmer and more versatile, but the WM is a great bag too…

Dear Dale, If you would like to try a quilt with no strings attached, you are welcome to borrow my 28 degree Ray-Way quilt for an outing. It should fit to 6 feet, although cut a bit narrow. Sincerely, Linsey (U-District) mowoggirl@yahoo.com

The Yeti V.I.B. 250 bag is still available at http://www.globetrotter.de , even in a new 2007 version. Website is in german language only. Contact me if you need help.
I once had this bag, it's very flimsy, and a Nunatak Arc Edge keeps you warmer.

I'd suggest either a Nunatak Arc Ghost or Arc Alpinist, depending on the temps you're gonna encounter.

The WM POD 30 is by far the warmest 1 pound bag you will find. It just needs some minor modifications to fit the sleeping mat of your choice…

—warning shameless plug to follow—

Yes I happen to be selling a Pod 30 right now in the gear swap section if anyone's intersted.

That is soooooo tempting. If I was going to build a bag/quilt, that is the design I would follow. I think a top bag with a captive pad would help with my thrashing ways.

Lindsey Gay wrote "Dear Dale, If you would like to try a quilt with no strings attached, you are welcome to borrow my 28 degree Ray-Way quilt for an outing. It should fit to 6 feet, although cut a bit narrow…."

Thanks so much for your offer– I'm just a couple miles from the UW. I wouldn't need to borrow it, but I could ask you a couple dozen questions— is your quilt down or synthetic? Did you make it yourself? What was the cost?