most miserable cold night!

Get some of that silicone seam seal stuff and put some little dots on the bottom of the pad. That will give it some friction.

Women tend to sleep a lot colder then men. At 14 degrees I would be using a 0 degree bag.
Also, sleeping bags are usually optimistically rated unless it's a high end brand like western mountaineering. For 20 degrees you want 15-20 ounces of fill, for 0 degrees more like 32 ounces.

Once in a while, the weather man will fail you that way.

I keep my stove within arm's reach of where I sleep. I can make a hot cup of decaf coffee in the middle of the night. Something with some calories to it would be even better, like soup, with an extra slice of cheese on the side.

Last summer, before the season started, I was afraid that I might be cold at night with some new equipment that I was using. So, I sewed a small down blanket, only about 3×5 feet. I can use that inside my sleeping bag to augment it, yet it packs down to the size of a Coke can and weighs only 3 ounces.

–B.G.–

Slippery mat
Works better if you stripe both the mat and the floor .
I shot a short video to show this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPYPN3CeQCI&list=UU0PuLUKvG7Fxxex5BMVK4vw
I used dots on the floor because I liked dots then but stripes work well.

BTW, that 10f difference between expected and actual means that some emergency stuff needs to be used.
For example did you wear all your (not tight) dry clothing ?
You might have had stuff sacs to put on your feet and hands, that helps a lot.
(plastic bags work too)
Another hot drink could have helped too , providing that you have a somewhat tent friendly stove…
You can also boost your mat resistance by shoving under it your rain/wind clothing and your empty backpack .

Like Justin said, most bags, unless they're from a high end brand, are fairly liberally rated. Combining that fact, with the difference between the bag rating difference between men and women (assuming you're a female using a male bag), you were more likely sleeping in something like a 30-35F bag. It's possible that bag just may not be warm enough for what you're trying to do. I'd suggest some extra layers (down jacket, wool shirt / pants, etc), and perhaps maybe a couple hand warmers or a hot water bottle in the bag to help get some initial heat generated. You can also throw in a liner for not too much, though some of the brand name ones can run just as much as a new bag.

My guess is that you lost a lot of heat from your sleeping pad. The BA IAC is not really that warm of a pad. If you combined it with a foam mat, a second pad (I might suggest self-inflating) or replaced it entirely with something warmer like a Q-Core you would get a lot more warmth from your sleep system.

That said, you could always put boiling hot water in a Nalgene bottle wrapped in a cozy to boost the warmth of your existing sleep system but since it uses a lot of fuel to boil water I wouldn't rely on it if you meant to push the temp ratings of your sleep system often.

Been there, GGG #5 (did not go prepared)… checked out the bag, very few reviews, but it sounds like it is not the bag… other posts have some good advice @Bob I like Miso soup… the pad has the large side rails, no – so maybe it is to inflated… bungie cord your bag a ridegcrest & your pad together… I like the sea-to-summit orange 25deg. liner but do not expect more than 10 to 15 deg… if you do the dots in the bottom of the tent; pick Ursa major & minor & Polaris (big dot) and your B-day month; have fun with them… ZZZZzzzz

"The Karakoram kept testers warm into the teens in New Hampshire, and one cold-sleeping tester rejoiced that she was warm enough to sleep without socks during subfreezing nights in the Tetons."

In the winter I ALWAYS assume the weather could be 10 to 20F colder than forecast.. and take gear appropriate if that happens.

Never cut it close in winter. Taking a 20F bag on a night forecast to be 24F is cutting it too close… unless you are a known really hot sleeper and know that for sure.

Billy

A bunch of us used to go snow camping together. I asked one gal what she thought was the secret to staying warm. She said (1) eat food that is both thermally hot and spicy hot, and (2) sleep in the middle between two guys.

–B.G.–

im not going for it. there's only 2 videos on this sleeping bag and zero reviews other than blogs. im not gonna lie, all i had on was a light north face zip pull over and some adidas pants. i was warm till it hit 18 degrees. after that… i couldnt take it after 14. then again, the bag is only rated to 20

Ashley,

I still have one of the Karakoram bags from 44 years ago. I'm curious. How much down does your bag have in it? The one I have has 3 lbs 1 ounce of actual down. Total bag weight is 5+ lbs. I used it in Yellowstone in a tent at -20F and was comfy.

huh… this is the 50th anniversary bag. it's fairly new. dont think those specs are listed on eddie bauers website. i'll have to go look. i do know this… the bag is very light and compresses small

As a generalization, females often need a sleeping bag rated 10-15 degrees warmer. For 20 degrees, you need at least a "10 degree" bag, unless it specifies that the rating is for women. Keep in mind that unless the bag is rated to the "EN" standard, the manufacturer has probably been overly-optimistic in their rating too.

A pad like that is only warm down to around 40F. Below that, put at least a 48" long Ridgrest SOLITE foam pad on top. For temps below 30F, a Ridgerest SOLAR full-length pad on top would be better. Also, I think that BA pad has the insulation glued to one side (top). Verify that you're sleeping on that side.

Some things you could've done to stay warm:

* Wear all clothing, including dry rain gear.

* Heat up a well-sealed water bottle or two and put at least one at your feet.

* Eat a good meal or snack of hot, high-calorie food right before bed.

* in-bag sit-ups

* If the pad feels cold, sleep on your side.

* Try not to camp near water or in low-lying areas.

* Camp in a sheltered area under trees with foliage.

* With only a base layer on, sleep inside a space blanket or trash bag (and then inside your sleeping bag). You'll get damp from your own perspiration, but as long as you can eliminate drafts, you'll be warmer. The waterproof material acts as a "vapor barrier liner," and is often used in winter camping. Wearing rain gear works similarly, but doesn't completely block all perspiration of course. Put any insulating clothing outside of the liner, as it will get wet from perspiration.

* If it seems that you're losing heat through the pad, stuff any soft debris under your tent, giving priority to your torso area.

* You could even make a quilt or warmer pad by stuffing a trash bag with debris.

* If allowed, or if it's an emergency, build a campfire. You'll get warmed up gathering the firewood and preparing the fire too. There's a saying that fire warms you three times: gathering, cutting/preparing the wood, and then the actual flames.

* Do backyard testing to find out what works at what temps.

I have been cold in my 20F bag at 35F… the bag inside a tent and me wearing down pants and down jacket inside :)

I sleep cold.

I just ordered a 0F bag and heavier down pants and booties so I can be warm when it gets down to 15 or 20F

Billy

"any suggestions on staying warm with this sleep system?"

For a woman to be warm to 18F with them certainly does not speak badly of either the pad or bag(quite the opposite), and there's nothing "wrong" with them not being enough when the temps dropped even more.
To take it lower, you'd likely want to add a CCF pad, plus wear warmer layers like a fleece(or down) jacket and pants. Those aren't uncommon techniques for adding some low end to a sleep system. When temps are going below freezing, it makes sense to bring a warm bottom layer and puffy jacket to wear in camp, anyway, so it's not like carrying extra stuff, just making the most of what you carry by adding it to the sleep system when necessary.

I'd blame the pad. Switching my pad system made the biggest difference in my nighttime warmth. You may not "feel" it but your body will expend a lot of energy trying to warm up the earth. You don't get cold spots quite the same as you'd expect with an air pad as the air circulates, but it will chill you pretty deep. Try a warmer pad with a thin CCF on top and I bet you'd notice a difference.

A big +1 on back yard testing and using discretion when trusting weather reports. Backyard testing has saved me a lot of guessing. I like to test cold weather kit as it would be actually used. That is I don't pop out of a nice warm house at 11pm after downing an unusually large meal and snacks and then catch my winks. Cold weather camping, at lease for us, has lot of down time. Gets dark earlier and we are a lot less mobile in the tent than being out and about and moving around in the warmer months. Problem is my metabolism works at light speed and with the extra time being mostly stationary I tend to run out of heat. So when testing I will eat then hang outside in my worn layers and hit the hay when dark. This simulation taught me to modify my gear and game plan to stay toasty all night. I sometimes wonder though if the neighbors think the wife kicked me out of the house for the night ;)

jimmyb

This summer I met a woman on the trail who was freezing every night despite wearing a lot of clothes and using a 20 degree WM bag, with night temps between 25-32. After three days of getting to know each other better we joined her WM bag with my WM bag, and her cold problems went away. We established amusing proximity protocols, discriminating between "getting closer when required for warmth" (GOOD), "sidling up" (FEMALE PREROGATIVE ONLY), and "cuddling" (EXTREMELY BAD). We made it all the way to Whiney together. [sic] [recte Whitney]

In return for sharing my body warmth, I received some trail mix, some lectures about LNT, and a couple of Mini Babybel cheese wheels.

"We made it all the way to Whiney together."

I've known a few who whined all of the time.

–B.G.–

apparently whined and dined…

del

> big agnes sleeping air core insulated
There's your real problem. That mat will NOT handle those temperatures. It does not have the insulation value. Does not matter what insulation you have on top.

For 14 F you need either foam core (self inflating) or down-filled.
Or, stick a 1/4 – 3/8" CCF mat on top of the air core. And use lots of silicone stripes to stop the sliding.

Cheers

"EB Karakoram bags are EN rated, and probably conservatively so"
Not sure how that can be.
They either publish the EN rating or they don't…

del