Is it OK if sleeping bag comes in contact with head and foot of tent?

[Ryan Gardner]

I have extensive 3-season backpacking experience.  I’ve never worried about my sleeping bag hood or footbox touching the sides of my shelters.  But high-altitude mountaineering (and expedition-length trips) is something that is new to me, so I’d like some input here.

I am trying to decide which shelter to use.  Usage will be for a 10-day Mountaineering course in the Cascades (we will summit Baker and Rainier).  I also want this to be the tent I use for Denali, which I hope to do with this same guide company.

I am 6’2″ and my buddy who will be going on these mountaineering trips with me is 6’4″.  We both use the long sleeping bags from manufacturers.

I’m debating between the MH Trango 3 and the Hilleberg Keron 3.  The Trango 3 is 92″ long, and with my bag inside there is no contact with the shelter walls.  The Keron 3 (at 86″ long) doesn’t compress my hood or footbox, but it is in complete contact with the walls.  I’ve read Denali trip reports that say not to let your bag touch the walls due to prevent your bag from getting wet over the weeks you are on the mountain.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Rachel P]

I recommend reading Tipi Walter’s review of the Keron 3 over at Trailspace https://www.trailspace.com/gear/hilleberg/keron-3/  

He talks about why it’s important not to have the bag touch the tent, (by Odin!) Think about all the condensation you are going to get up on those snowy mountains. He writes, “But after years of winter camping and long in-tent storms, I’m now convinced that you need a tent big enough to not touch any part of the sleeping bag.”  I found his review to be informative and entertaining and while the Keron 3 worked well for him it sounds like you will be constantly trying to dry out your bag if you get it.

 

[Matt Dirksen]

While I haven’t had the need to do it for a while, having a thin piece of ccf foam (1/8″) could be sandwiched between the sleeping bag and the wall of the tent. It’s a great hack if you don’t really have a choice on the tent length, and you don’t wan’t your bag soaked.

But given the two tents you are looking at, I assume that the Trango’s 93″ is reduced because the walls are angled, so I wonder if it wouldn’t be all that different from the Keron’s 86″, since the walls are vertical.

[Lester Moore]

You can also drape your outer shell jacket over your footbox at night to protect your bag from tent panel condensation – we did this on Denali with good success. The combination of a jacket foot drape, sleeping in a full VBL sack, and housing two people per three-person tent (North Face VE-25 tents) kept our down mummy bags well lofted and warm through the trip.

[Rob P]

You could go with the Keron 4 if your sleeping bags are touching the sidewalls of the Keron 3.

[Katherine .]

“You could go with the Keron 4 if your sleeping bags are touching the sidewalls of the Keron 3.”

He’s talking foot/head end walls not sidewalls, Keron 4 is also 86″ long inside, so not a tall-person solution.

Saivo is a touch longer at 90″ …but they angle in.

[Rob P]

Sorry…misunderstood the original post.

[Rick M]

Another expedition tent you might consider is the new version of EB Katabatic 3. Similar to the Trango 3 and $799. If you can wait for their usual 30-50% off sale it is a bargain especially with the lifetime guarantee.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

COLD WEATHER SLEEPING BAG PROTECTION:

When winter camping I zip up my GTX parka, cinch down the hood and place foot of my sleeping bag into the parka. If my bag touches a frosty tent wall it is protected from melting frost. Plus it gives the foot of my bag a bit of extra warmth.

If your head is also touching the tent wall, well then Bucky you need a longer tent. Problem solved.

[James Marco]

As others have said, you need a longer tent, and, likely for a couple weeks out in winter, a wider one, too. You should not come into contact with sidewalls nor end walls where you expect never having a chance to let you bag dry out. Others have said this, I just wanted to reiterate. Make sure you take into account the thickness of your padding, too. This is sometimes all too easy to overlook, though I’m sure you are familiar with the problem.

[Martin D]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>For me personaly it doesn’t matter. I always use a florless single wall with my buddy in the winter and I’m always leaning against the fabric somewhat, somewhere. Frost forms on the walls and my sleeping bag is usually never warm enough on the outside to melt the tent frost. It’s much more of a problem with dripping condensation?in milder weather than frost.</p>

[Matt]

Do what you need to avoid unnecessary moisture.  It all adds up to rob your bag of effective warmth.  If even the tent walls are frosted, the frost scrapes onto your bag, melts, and then uh-oh.

[Will Elliott]

I’m 6’2″. I have a Trango 3. I’ve used it climbing in the Alaska Range. Go for the longer tent. If the wind is really howling, the walls may be beating inward; if it’s really cold, there may be a good deal of condensation; if it’s really snowing, the walls may press inward; and you may have to hang out in the tent for many days at a time. However, not to second guess your reasoning, but won’t your guide service provide a Denali tent, leaving you free to own a lighter, more appropriate tent for other trips? The BD Eldorado is sturdy and fits tall people well. The Trango really requires a lot of shoveling to clear a platform and build a wall for it.

[Roger Caffin]

I’ve read Denali trip reports that say not to let your bag touch the walls due to prevent your bag from getting wet over the weeks you are on the mountain.

Believe them.
And make sure there is ALWAYS some through-ventilation.

Cheers

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