Best sleeping bag choices to cover widest range of temperatures?

For a 0F bag make sure it’s wide enough, I used tight winter bags for years and was always felt cold.

Thanks for the heads up. I’m 6’1, 185 and seem to fit in my current WM fine I think. I was out in RMNP this weekend in I would guess somewhere between 5-10 degrees overnight and I was pretty OK in my WM Ultralite + base layer + mid + down. If it got any colder though I may have struggled to sleep.

Do need to invest in some down booties though..

It all depends on how cold you sleep and your shelter and gear, but after spending many nights in RMNP in winter I would not consider tent camping there in the mountains past October without at least a 15F bag, a VBL and a down parka to through over the foot box, especially cold places like Black Lake. I really like how a VBL can push the comfort level at least 10 degrees, but I don’t sweat a lot either. I use a Marmot 15F Pinnacle and a 30F Helium, but I live in WA now. If I still lived in Colorado and had the cash, I’d keep my 30F for 3 season use and get a 0 or 10F mummy-style bag for winter. Never used a quilt, but I’d love to borrow one for a short 3 season trip to get a feel for them.

I’d recommend taking a look at the Feathered Friends Flickr as a 3 season bag. Katabatic recently released a new series of quilts called “Flex” which also look promising.

If you sleep on the warmer side, the WM Versalite (10 degree bag) is an excellent choice and will be useable in the shoulder seasons. If you know you’re going to be out in consistently colder temps, the 0-5 degree bag may be a better option.

Down bag (well, now quilt) + synthetic quilt is the path I’ve opted for. Only had a fortnight on snow using it, but its been going well.

Hot – synthetic quilt

Cool – Down bag

Cold – Down bag under synthetic quilt

Synthetic overquilt keeps my sleeping bag much dryer, moving the condensation that would have occurred in the down out into the synthetic insulation. Also if things are going badly for some reason, I feel its a tiny bit of insurance to have a significant layer of insulation that won’t collapse when wet.

40 degree quilt for warm summer weather

20 degree sleeping bag for high elevation summer trips (40-25 degrees)

combine the 2 for winter weather, sleep in down jacket if needed (10 degrees probably the limit)

This works for California with milder winter weather. For Colorado, I bet you need a real winter sleeping bag.

if you’re not chasing an absolute low gram count, i’d stick with what you got for 3 seasons. the wm ultralite is tough to beat for a true “3-season” bag. for winter, for many, if not most, places, wm also has your answer with their antelope.  after much deliberation along with some trial and error, i’ve been pretty happy with a nunatak (not arc) alpinist and an antelope.

Thanks a lot for the information everyone. Sounds like for the kind of temperatures we get over here the 0 or 5 degree bag plus a 30 quilt would probably be the best option. It can get damn cold out at 11,000 feet in the middle of winter.

@Ricko I’m definitely looking to keep weight as low as possible, especially for 3 season. Mainly due to the fact I always have to carry 7+ lbs of camera gear. If I switch out my Ultralite for a 20 or 30 degree quilt I can save just under a lb and my base weight (minus camera gear) will be at about 10lb.

You cannot go far wrong with WM bags, for winter I alternate between a Kodiak and Puma and they are great.