Sleeping bag for 10deg and colder

Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
38
I currently have a western mountaineering badger which is a great bag. I do find myself getting cold when the temps dip below 10 deg. Any recommendations for a wider bag that’s better for colder temps. I love the badger because I toss and turn so a wider is a must. I also backpack hunt so weight is a concern. I am not worried about cost as much as I am about the quality of the bag.
 

ahlgringo

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Joined
Mar 27, 2014
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1,031
I was having the same problem as described. Needed a bag to cover 3rd season temps. I sold my Badger and got a GWS Kodiak as alluded to above. Problem solved
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
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6,389
Try the EE Conundrum and Hoodlum with an EXPED Winter mat under you and you'll never sleep in a traditional bag again. Mines -10* and works for any temp under 40.

eeconundrum.jpgeehoodlum.jpg
 

zacattack

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Aug 23, 2018
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Location
Michigan
I currently have a western mountaineering badger which is a great bag. I do find myself getting cold when the temps dip below 10 deg. Any recommendations for a wider bag that’s better for colder temps. I love the badger because I toss and turn so a wider is a must. I also backpack hunt so weight is a concern. I am not worried about cost as much as I am about the quality of the bag.
Check out the feathered friends puffin, it’s semi-rectangular
 

Vandy321

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Feb 5, 2019
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buy a kifaru woobie to throw on top of your badger...doubles as an excuse to buy a woobie for late season glassing.

I'm a weird cold sleeper, I've been toasty warm at a confirmed 3 deg night in my backyard in my badger, and then this Sept I was pretty cold, but not too cold to sleep in the teens a few nights, same pad, same tent, same base layer on.

I'm starting to think how warm I am prior or what I've had for dinner prior to crawling in my bag really makes the biggest difference.

Could also boil a nalgene full of water and it'll heat that badger all night if you put it down at your feet.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 21, 2021
Messages
87
if you’re looking for an excuse to buy another bag, feathered friends and western mountaineering are the cream of the crop. stone glacier’s chilkoot 0 might also be worth a look if you are intrigued by a hydrophobic down.

i would not buy a quilt for temperatures creeping down towards 0 unless you are extremely concerned about weight or you are looking to prove something.
 

Akicita

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Joined
Aug 3, 2016
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498
Location
Colorado
I currently have a western mountaineering badger which is a great bag. I do find myself getting cold when the temps dip below 10 deg. Any recommendations for a wider bag that’s better for colder temps. I love the badger because I toss and turn so a wider is a must. I also backpack hunt so weight is a concern. I am not worried about cost as much as I am about the quality of the bag.
You have the right bag. . . you need to consider layering up under it. I have been known to wear ultralight down pants and a Mountain Hard Wear Ghost Whisperer hoody in my Western Mountaineering bag on several winter mountaineering trips.
 

Cspraggins

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 17, 2019
Messages
201
Location
Tx
I have a western mountaineering bristlecone and its is beyond warm. its a -10F bag that is semi-rectangular. It certainly isnt ultra-light, but it still packs down well and I never worry about being cold.
 

Pro953

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Sep 27, 2016
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California
Just to piggyback here. What type of insulated pad is everyone using?

I had a older BA insulated pad I liked but it started leaking to I replaced it with the new q-core insulated. They were great and did it under warranty. I was in Wyoming last month and it dropped into the low teens/upper single digits and I was warm in my 15 degree bag still but I could feel the heat being sucked out of me through the ground. I threw on my puffy layers and that helped but would like more insulation from the pad.

It looks like the Q-core is only 3.2 where the Neoair xtherm is over 6. Maybe the pad was just not up to the task.

I have not camped in snow much so the first night o cleared the snow to the ground thinking that would be better, the second night I slept on the snow and seemed warmer as well. Does the snow ironically provide some insulation in these cases vs the bare ground?

This was a bit cooler than normal for me so it added to the learning curve a bit.


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*zap*

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Dec 20, 2018
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N/E Kansas
So, what pad are you using with the badger? Could be just a warmer pad may do the trick....maybe a woobie also....that may give you greater versatility unless your going to get another bag and keep the badger.
 

Pro953

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Sep 27, 2016
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California
Adding a waffle matt under your existing pad does 2 things;
it protects your matt from punctures and usually more than doubles the R value of your existing pad.

I’ve never felt the cold through a waffle paired with my Exped Synmatt…though Ive never used it in sub zero weather.

Interesting, might give that a test, plus a little coverage in case you get a leak you still have some insulation.


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Vandy321

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Feb 5, 2019
Messages
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Adding a waffle matt under your existing pad does 2 things;
it protects your matt from punctures and usually more than doubles the R value of your existing pad.

I’ve never felt the cold through a waffle paired with my Exped Synmatt…though Ive never used it in sub zero weather.
If you believe the "science"...it doesn't double the r-value, per say, but they r-values of the two pads are cumulative.

That's just what the r-value testing has shown. So a 2.5r foam and a 8r exped are a total of 10.5r
 

*zap*

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Dec 20, 2018
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N/E Kansas
There is a guy on utube in Norway that sleeps in tent and/or under the stars in very cold conditions and uses 1-2 waffle's over his inflatable pad and I believe the inflatable is not a crazy high r value but a summer pad....he uses a wm lynx gws. I will look for that info and post it if I find it.


 
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