sleeping bag degree rating
- Thread starter CreedeRx
- Start date
Davebuech
WKR
If you like down....Western Mountaineering Sycamore is my early season choice. With my bivy and a good pad I am comfy down into the teens. The bag is plenty roomy and also zips all the way open for those warm nights.
September is a crap shoot and especially at those elevations. You could be totally fine some years with those ratings and others be completely miserable. I'd run a 15 degree, but I think I tend to be overly conservative sometimes and there is no way I could run a down bag in a bivy.
airlocksniffer
WKR
I'd go 15 or 20. Better to have too much bag and have to vent vs not enough and freeze.
BroodBuster
WKR
Western Mountaineering bags are true to rating. Most other brands you'll probably want to add ten degrees.
And I've never run anything other than a down bag in a bivy
.
And I've never run anything other than a down bag in a bivy
.
mrbillbrown
WKR
I went with a 20*. Will have my puffy suit or woobie with me if I need extra warmth. Where we were last year in CO at 10,500 in late Sept it was 60 in the day time and overnight low in the 20's.
molon labe
molon labe
- Thread Starter
- #7
Jimbo V
WKR
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2014
- Messages
- 337
I went with a 32 degree bag last year 11000 ft September here in CO. I froze, so I upgraded to a 0 degree feathered friends. Bottom line, at that altitude in September the weather is unpredictable and can be surprisingly cold or wet or snowy or windy.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm envious of you guys that can use bivys, especially with down bags. Every time I've used one I've woke up pretty wet (even if I froze my ass off). I've used a few different versions and none of them breath enough for me. The latest one was a TiGoat, raven I believe, but I'm not sure on that.
gelton
WKR
I started out with a 15 degree marmot. Bad idea for 1st rifle in Colorado - got two feet of snow three years ago at 10,500 ft. I swore I would never sleep cold again and picked up a western mountaineering kodiak (0 degree). While it is a little warm for september archery, I have also been super happy to have it when its cold and wet out. (Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it)
Jimbo V
WKR
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2014
- Messages
- 337
gelton, I had a similar experience on a backpacking trip in Zions national park in the March time frame. I had a 15 degree BA bag and with all the clothes I brought I froze my ass off in my tent. 3 times during the night I turned on the jet boil and put a hot Nalgine bottle in my sleeping bag too. Ordinarily I'd say I woke up to do this task, but truth of the matter, I wasn't sleeping anyway. The day I got home I ordered a 0 deg Kifaru and don't regret $0.01 of it. I just use it like a blanket in the summer and I don't think it's too warm; it certainly would zipped up.
nirvanafan
FNG
What low temperatures would you expect at that elevation for the end of September? I know it varies a lot, but, are we talking 20, 10, 0, -10? What should someone prepare for?
nirvanafan
FNG
What temp did it get down to?
gelton
WKR
We went up the mountain a week early to scout before the season opened and were planning on backpacking in. On the Thursday before the season opened it dumped on us, so we hunted directly from the basecamp. At 10:30 in the morning in the middle of an open field, with the sun shining, my truck temperature showed 8 degrees. So I would think that it got close to zero if not below zero overnight. Keep in mind, 1st rifle in Colorado opens just one week after bow season closes. Had my dad with me so we got horses due to the snow.
Nirvanafan, I didn't have a thermometer or anything, but my guess would be high teens to low 20's (with a stiff wind). I didn't pack the greatest clothing, so I doubt it was as cold as I felt. The BA bags are off by 15-20 degrees in my opinion. Some of the better manufacturers are spot on on their ratings, so keep that in mind.
On a side note the NRCS has weather stations all over the western US and they have daily, hourly, or even minute data on weather, amount of snow, etc for current conditions as well as historical data. The ones I typically use are 10k ft or less because the goal of these things is for reservoir management so they're located to predict stream flow not necessarily extreme conditions. A rule of thumb is all things being equal, subtract 3 degrees for every 1,000 ft of gain. Weather at higher elevations can throw that off considerably, so it's just a rule of thumb.
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/snow_map.html
At those elevations, like you said it varies and it's pretty much a matter of odds. I'd say 20's is pretty much assured, 10's is possible but less likely, 0 could happen but most likely not, -10 is even less likely but still possible. Check out those weather stations and see for yourself.
On a side note the NRCS has weather stations all over the western US and they have daily, hourly, or even minute data on weather, amount of snow, etc for current conditions as well as historical data. The ones I typically use are 10k ft or less because the goal of these things is for reservoir management so they're located to predict stream flow not necessarily extreme conditions. A rule of thumb is all things being equal, subtract 3 degrees for every 1,000 ft of gain. Weather at higher elevations can throw that off considerably, so it's just a rule of thumb.
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/snow_map.html
At those elevations, like you said it varies and it's pretty much a matter of odds. I'd say 20's is pretty much assured, 10's is possible but less likely, 0 could happen but most likely not, -10 is even less likely but still possible. Check out those weather stations and see for yourself.
flyinsquirel
WKR
10-15 wouldn't be rare. I've seen it below zero, though.
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