Sleeping Bags

remember

• to get a bag/quilt 10F warmer than the rating since women run cooler physiologically
• to get a proper hood for a quilt for that rating

have you used a hoodless quilt before in below freezing temps near its limits? … there is a bit of a learning cuve

one can also get a 3 season bag/quilt and get 1 season synthetic quilt … this allows for much better moisture management in cold/wet temps, at the cost of a bit of weight … and might be cheaper

;)

Look at Westerm Mountaineering and Feathered Friends. ‘Spensive but well worth it because they both have excellent quality and conservative temperature ratings.

Personally I like my WM Megalite for the extra room it has to allow for a puffy to be worn if it gets into the 20s F. I had it overstuffed and now it’s good 20 F. bag.

Since you have two sleeping bags and are asking about a three season bag, you might want to consider a 30F sleeping bag/quilt for weight saving purposes.

On the cooler nights, you can supplement your warmth by wearing your clothes, laying your insulation layer/jacket over your chest inside your sleeping bag like a blanket, for additional warmth.

For the truly colder shoulder seasons/winter, you have the option of using winter sleeping bag.

A 20F sleeping bag for use in the summer would be uncomfortably hot….simply more bag than you would need for the warmer months = excess weight.

Just a thought.

Tony

I think black on both sides is fine.  If you need to dry it out in the sun it might be a little faster than a lighter color.  But you may have a bit of a hassle telling inside from out, especially after the sun goes down – if that’s important to you, you might get another dark color for the outside, or get a stripe on the outside.

My 3 season bag is a 10F quilt, but I do run cold.  I don’t find it too warm – just kick it partially off in warmer temps – but then I’m usually up at higher altitudes, where it doesn’t get all that warm.  But the first part of the PCT might be very different, I suspect, so perhaps a PCT veteran can weigh in.

Debbie

I used my 20* Rev on the CDT, was very happy with it.

I am about to buy another, summer quilt, and hope to layer it with my 20* for winter use.

Depending on how much winter camping you do you may want to consider doing that. A 3 season plus summer quilt is much heavier than a dedicated winter quilt but much more versatile as well.

I have a black/black 20 deg Revelation. I think that color choice is the safest bet in terms of trying to dry out the bad. Telling inside from out hasn’t been an issue, never thought about it and I frequently zip and unzip the footbox.