Little more gear shopping… budget down sleep bag?

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Have knocked out quite a few high dollar pieces of gear, but still have a ways to go. Currently looking at sleeping bag for first half Sept in W Alaska.

Would like keep weight and price reasonable. Drop hunt. I’m pretty cold tolerant.

So many options out there.

Lil help narrowing things down?
 
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Also open to synthetic. Speaking of which, came across one by “Ascend” that’s 0 degree and good reviews, and a -15 with mixed. Reviews are BPS / Cabelas, though.

As well as used if anybody has like-new out there.
 
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JR Greenhorn

Lil-Rokslider
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I've had good luck with Kelty bags. Their down probably isn't premium, but they can be had pretty cheap for down, especially on sale. You could spend more and save probably half a pound, but then you'd be spending more.

One thing I really like about Kelty is their fabric is fairly breathable. It makes for more comfortable sleeping. I also have a Sea to Summit down bag (Tk II) which is much lighter, but it's clammy to sleep in.



Regardless of what you get, get a Sea to Summit eVent compression dry sack for it. Mine has been dropped in the lake more than once (canoe trips), and it just floats until you go out and get it. Not a drop gets inside. Same story with a saturated pack after days of rain. You can always count on a dry sleeping bag.



I'm pretty sure Ascend is a BPS store brand. I've no experience with their gear.

A friend has some Cabela's Instinct gear (not sure if they still sell that), including a sleeping bag and 2 inflatable pads. It's good gear, but I think you get a little more for the price with the big-name outdoor brands.
 
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Last week in ordered a reduced price 0 degree synthetic Kelty Cosmic. It arrived last night. Pretty heavy at 4 pounds and bulky, but seems like nice enough quality and holy cow it’s warm! I imagine some nights with zippers open. Anyway, nothing fancy but for 90# kinda hard to beat. Best i could tell in my research is that you really need to make a big jump in sleeping bag price to pick up anybody meaningful features and attributes.
 

BigNate

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Reasonable price is subjective. I bought a Wiggys bag many years ago and it was worth every penny. I'm sure technology has changed since then but, buy once cry once definitely applies. Oh, a good ground pad makes a huge difference also. A poor pad with a good bag is very noticeable!
 
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Sierra Designs Get Down

I was hesitant to go down considering we are renting a tent and have no idea what condition it will be in, if we have a floor, if we’ll be renting cots. Seemed like synthetic was safest bet. Plus it’s a base camp hunt so we will likely only be setting up one time after we are dropped.

I’ll look into it though. Still plenty of time to return.
 

Decker9

WKR
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Apr 10, 2015
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If your looking for a down bag, I’d also look at Taiga works out of Vancouver BC.

I use a WM antelope for late season / winter hunts, but needed a new early season backpacking bag and went with a -7c down bag from Taiga. It’s 100% on par with my WM bag on all counts, except temp rating. Also comes in at half the price of a WM bag.

Gotta say, their web sight could use some work though. I called in to place my order, they were top notch to deal with and answered all my questions.
 
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