sleeping bag decision

[fillthefreezer]

so as of right now our gear stable has 1 synthetic bag (cats meow) and 1 down bag (FF swallow) the wife wont run down but im looking to get her a lighter, more compressible bag and i do like having a synthetic bag i can take if heading to the peninsula or expecting LOTS of rain. im also thinking about going to a down quilt. so my thought is a slick bag and a EE quilt.
now the question, do i try to cover a wider range of temps in addition to moisture conditions by picking different temp ratings or just get 20 deg's in both

 

[Floorguy]

You could get an ee down quilt and a synthetic quilt

 

[armyjoe]

For synthetic I would definitely go with the Slick 20. I have one and its awesome. Rhino shield fabric on the shell so its extremely tough and the draft collar is a full neck wrap so it holds in the heat better then a standard straight draft collar. You wont go wrong with a Slick.

For Down I'd look at a Marmot Helium. Doesn't weigh much and it's warm as hell. Good cut on that bag to for moving around from back sleeping tto side sleeping.

I'd stick with a 20* area for bags. Even in hotter temps is fine and colder temps you can wear a jacket in your bag or even a woobie slid in it

 

[fillthefreezer]

For Down I'd look at a Marmot Helium. Doesn't weigh much and it's warm as hell. Good cut on that bag to for moving around from back sleeping tto side sleeping.

i would not swap my FF bag for a marmot bag, thatd be like going from a kifaru to a badlands...

 

[fillthefreezer]

You could get an ee down quilt and a synthetic quilt

ive kicked this around as well, if i went this route would i get 2 of the same rating?

the more i think about it i almost need 3 bags... 30deg down quilt, 20 deg synthetic _____, and 0deg down bag/quilt

 

[littlebuf]

I really think you only need 1 if you go with a quilt. when it cold close it up, when its really cold wear more clothes, when its warm its a blanket. but that's just me, I sleep pretty warm so 20* anything fits pretty well all my needs. hell ive taken cheap 30* bags well into the 20's and been fine. down vs synthetic is purely a personal choice. ive been in some really wet conditions and never had a problem getting my bag wet, don't know why its really that big of an issue other than the sake of internet banter really, downs been around a long time. kinda like the migration back to that brand new fabric in clothes, what's it called...?? oh yeah ,wool

 

[fillthefreezer]

I really think you only need 1 if you go with a quilt. when it cold close it up, when its really cold wear more clothes, when its warm its a blanket. but that's just me, I sleep pretty warm so 20* anything fits pretty well all my needs. hell ive taken cheap 30* bags well into the 20's and been fine. down vs synthetic is purely a personal choice. ive been in some really wet conditions and never had a problem getting my bag wet, don't know why its really that big of an issue other than the sake of internet banter really, downs been around a long time. kinda like the migration back to that brand new fabric in clothes, what's it called...?? oh yeah ,wool

i have not had a wet down bag either but ive never really pushed the limits with one either, never done days of rain on end with no way to dry anything. if im heading in knowing that will be the weather, maybe rolling synthetic would add a little piece of mind is my mind set.
and i do need at least 2 bags anyway, one being synthetic (one is my wifes, she wont run down, and upgrading it to a lighter, more compact bag will allow me to use it if conditions dictate a better choice)

 

[2ski]

I talked to a guy about sleeping bags this weekend at a high end sporting goods store. He said the west side of the rockies he would go synthetic, the east side go down. He mentioned part of the WM rep's thing is that no matter down or synthetic, ask anyone that's gotten their bag wet if they're ever going to do it again

An idea I've kind of been tossing around is to get one of those WM backs that unzip all the way so you could use it as a quilt too. By doing so with a bag that goes down to a colder temp, it could be unzipped in warmer weather to ventilate and control your temperature.

 

[fillthefreezer]

i think everyone is missing my question.
im looking for opinions if i should get different temps ratings to try to cover more situations.
if i replace the down bag i have, it will be with a quilt.
i am going to replace my synthetic bag with another synthetic bag that is lighter and packs smaller. possibly a quilt if i can sell the wife on the idea as this is her bag.
so i could get a 0deg quilt and a 20deg synthetic bag and be covered for every temp but i would be packing more weight than i do now, so i could get a 0deg synthetic bag and a 20deg quilt but it seems pointless to run a 0deg synthetic as i would be using it below freezing...
a 30deg quilt, a 20deg bag, would be awesome for weights but would leave me without anything for really cold.
or just keep running both 20deg.

 

[Brian F]

If the concern and reason your wife doesn't want down is because of moisture, check out Big Agnes new water resistant down bags. Lots of temp rating options.

 

[Rizzy]

I use a 0 degree bag year round. July is the only time I have ever get hot in it. It would be nice to have another bag for July trips, but not necessary for me. If I had money to burn then I might consider it, but for now the 0 degree works 90% of the time. The majority of the year its below freezing or worse at night where I go and I'm a cold sleeper to boot. I would purchase different sleeping pads with different R-values before different bags.
It's easy to unzip the bag, but impossible to zip it up more. Personally I don't notice much of a difference when wearing all my clothes if its in the teens, in fact shedding clothes seems to allow more heat to radiate from my body to the bag. Either way I hate being cold and trying to sleep so I err on the warm side.

 

[Mike7]

I have a Montbell 30 deg down bag and sleep comfortably in the winter down to 15 deg at least with clothes/hat, a good sleeping pad, and a sleeping bag cover(light wt bivy basically). And opened up like a blanket in the summer by itself, it is comfortable and weighs very little.

I am doing the exact opposite of some other recommendations/opinions you received above. I am considering a 35-40 deg synthetic quilt for summer use, for fall use with clothes as needed (can use as a blanket while glassing also), and for supplementing as needed over my down bag in the dead of winter. But Oct temps here at any elevation generally don't get less than 20-25, late summer temps less than 35-40, and winter temps rarely less than 10-15.

 

[larryschwartz]

i think everyone is missing my question.

FTF, I don't think you need more bags in different temp ranges. There are plenty of ways to add warmth to an existing bag, like wearing your baselayers to bed or using a bivy (I like the new SOL Escape Bivy which you can either put inside of your bag like a liner or over your bag like a bivy).

 

[TEmbry]

I can sleep better chilled than hot. I've used a 20* synthetic bag for all trips to this point, and usually wake up sweating.

I just bought a 30* down quilt. Will rock it for 90% of my trips now.

As for your temp range questions, it really depends on the use you are looking to get.

A lower temp down bag and higher temp synthetic quilt makes sense to me, it covers all temp ranges while offsetting the weight difference between the two since a low temp synthetic bag is substantially heavier than a high temp down quilt.

 

[fillthefreezer]

FTF, I don't think you need more bags in different temp ranges. There are plenty of ways to add warmth to an existing bag, like wearing your baselayers to bed or using a bivy (I like the new SOL Escape Bivy which you can either put inside of your bag like a liner or over your bag like a bivy).

youre probably right, i will just stick with the proven 20deg.
if im anticipating very cold i can always use a liner or something and i will be running a light bivy this year nstead of a tyvek groundsheet

 

[fillthefreezer]

I use a 0 degree bag year round. July is the only time I have ever get hot in it. It would be nice to have another bag for July trips, but not necessary for me. If I had money to burn then I might consider it, but for now the 0 degree works 90% of the time. The majority of the year its below freezing or worse at night where I go and I'm a cold sleeper to boot. I would purchase different sleeping pads with different R-values before different bags.
It's easy to unzip the bag, but impossible to zip it up more. Personally I don't notice much of a difference when wearing all my clothes if its in the teens, in fact shedding clothes seems to allow more heat to radiate from my body to the bag. Either way I hate being cold and trying to sleep so I err on the warm side.

i would not like using a 0deg bag year round as 95% of the time id be packing more than i do now, and more than was necessary