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Camping tips:The Sleeping bag

sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
DAA said:
I use a Granite Gear cuben sack with an eVent bottom for my Feathered Friends bag. Very lightweight, very "stuffable", very waterproof. But also fragile, I put a small slit in it while stuffing the stuffed sack w/bag in it, into my pack. Which reminds me, I need to get some cuben tape and repair it.

But... On my last Uintas BP trip this summer, I did not use a stuff sack for my sleeping bag. Since switching to a smaller, lighter backpack (ULA Circuit), I found the "soft rock" of a stuff sack not very packable (hence the slit) and also not to carry very comfortably. So, last trip, I simply put my sleeping bag in a plastic trash compactor bag in the bottom of my pack, with no attempt at compression or stuffing. Then stuffed my gear in on top of it, forcing it to just fill in the cracks and spaces. Made my backpack seem more roomy and also made it more comfortable to carry.
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Thanks for the feedack Dave. I have been stuffing my bag into the bottom of my pack lately, without a stuff sack. Your experience has me thinking a stuff sack may not be the ideal solution for me. Thanks!
 
mesha

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
DAA said:
I use a Granite Gear cuben sack with an eVent bottom for my Feathered Friends bag. Very lightweight, very "stuffable", very waterproof. But also fragile, I put a small slit in it while stuffing the stuffed sack w/bag in it, into my pack. Which reminds me, I need to get some cuben tape and repair it.

But... On my last Uintas BP trip this summer, I did not use a stuff sack for my sleeping bag. Since switching to a smaller, lighter backpack (ULA Circuit), I found the "soft rock" of a stuff sack not very packable (hence the slit) and also not to carry very comfortably. So, last trip, I simply put my sleeping bag in a plastic trash compactor bag in the bottom of my pack, with no attempt at compression or stuffing. Then stuffed my gear in on top of it, forcing it to just fill in the cracks and spaces. Made my backpack seem more roomy and also made it more comfortable to carry.

Long winded way of saying - I think the GG cuben/eVent stuff sacks are awesome, but I no longer use any kind of stuff sack for my sleeping bag when backpacking.

BTW... I use Zpacks cuben bags for all my other bagging needs - food bag, ditty bag, clothes bag etc. All are Zpacks cuben.

To get back to sleeping bags... I'm going to probalby get a WM Megalite for BP'ing next summer. My FF Swift is just too warm (20* bag) and at 2 lb's, I can save some weight by going to a 30* bag. Love my FF bag in general, am only going WM just to try something else. Have tried to warm up to the quilt idea, the weight savings are just so attractive. I'm a thrasher and a cold sleeper though, and just can't quite take the leap of faith and go quilt. Will revisit and reconsider a Zpacks bag vs. the WM before actual purchase in a few months though.

- DAA
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Come and borrow any of my quilts any time. You can see if you like quilts before you buy one.
 
spencevans

spencevans

Overlander
Location
Farmington
So over the years I have made an estimated 50 week long expeditions to the High Uinta's. I was fortunate to have a father who was a school teacher and who loved to sped all his free time backpacking. It is always one of those trips I look forward to. Because I pack all of my own gear I am limited to how much I can carry. Because I also have very little children (5 and 8) I end up packing most of their gear as well. I remember last trip we were hiking in about 8 miles and my 5 year old only made it 2 miles before I was carrying his pack. My 8 year old, who in the past has been solid started to throw up as we were hiking. So here I was carrying my pack and two additional packs as well as 3 canteens. I carried that 85 lbs for 6 miles. Don't ask me how but I did it. Later on that night my 5 year old started throwing up in the tent all over my expensive down sleeping bags in the middle of a torrential downpour. The whole tent smelled like Honey Buns. To this day I can not stomach the smell of Honey Buns. So here I was, miles away from civilization with two sick kids, a bag that smelled like barf-honey buns and every thing was soaked. Luckily I was able to dump all the barf out in the vestibule and clean the bag with some wet socks but it still had a wet spot. The real life savers were the down mats by Exped. The kids (they were sharing a bag as pictured below) took my clean dry bag and I just slept on top of my down mat for a few nights. It was actually really warm. I can see why they use these things on Everest. They provide amazing insulation from the ground. More often than not, lately I just find myself sleeping on a downmat in my clothes and skipping the bag all together.

On the bright side the fishing was great and we caught a handful of 3lb Brookies. Warning: fish are larger than they appear cause I am 6'8" 320lbs.

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This is how my little ones Share a bag in the High Uintas.
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Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
Very cool story. It's those trips that really shape your kids personality. One day they will be in your shoes saying they were lucky enough to have a father who would take them backpacking the Unitas even in the worst of circumstances.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
Tonkaman said:
Very cool story. It's those trips that really shape your kids personality. One day they will be in your shoes saying they were lucky enough to have a father who would take them backpacking the Unitas even in the worst of circumstances.
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x2. I haven't done much hiking in the Uintas. We've got a trip for the highline trail planned this summer.
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Vehicular limbo
Exped DownMat, are they really all that? I'm plotting on building up my cold weather setup, and the reviews on the DownMat are pretty good. I like the size of it too, I haven't found an air pad as wide as I'd like yet.
 
Unimog

Unimog

Eric
Location
Stansbury Park, UT
Kevin B. said:
Exped DownMat, are they really all that? I'm plotting on building up my cold weather setup, and the reviews on the DownMat are pretty good. I like the size of it too, I haven't found an air pad as wide as I'd like yet.
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I haven't had a downmat, but a well insulated pad makes a HUGE difference. For comparison, go to http://www.tenpoundbackpack.com/gear-lists/sleeping-pads , sort the pads by r-value, and decide how thick of a pad you need to sleep comfortably. I have a neo-air xtherm, which has almost the r-value of a downmat and I love it as I am normally a cold sleeper. I have a different pad for warm weather as this can be way too warm even with no bag.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
I have a neo air xtherm as well, and I love it. In the summer you can feel the heat radiating back to you. Its never been too hot for me, but I'm always cold.

The one downside is that its noisy. It doesn't bother me one bit, but it was noisy enough to keep davy awake when he was 50 feet away. I'm a bit of a thrasher at night.
 
mesha

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
Kevin B. said:
Exped DownMat, are they really all that? I'm plotting on building up my cold weather setup, and the reviews on the DownMat are pretty good. I like the size of it too, I haven't found an air pad as wide as I'd like yet.
Click to expand...

The downmat really is all that. I have the synmat and it is super warm and comfortable. If the downmat wasn't heavier I would have it. The downmat is warmer than the synmat. If you are looking for a cold weather pad that packs up pretty small that is it.
 
DAA

DAA

Well-Known Member
Location
West Bountiful, UT
Yup, I'm a Synmat UL7 user too. I don't backpack when it's cold enough to need the Downmat. But I do like my Exped. Have an XTherm too, the noise doesn't bother me, but I don't care for the shape, prefer the full rectangle of the Exped.

- DAA
 
mesha

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
The synmat has kept me warm down to about 10 degrees. I haven't used it below that. I would think a synmat with closed cell pad on top would be good for below well zero.

It might be an option to consider so you can use the syntax for backpacking.

If you can afford 2 then buy the downmat. I am sure I will end up with one eventually.
 
clfrnacwby

clfrnacwby

Recovery Addict
Location
NV
I've spent the past couple of weeks researching winter bags as well and it seems WM's are always near the top of the list. I have my eye on the WM Kodiak GWS...looks toasty :D
 
mesha

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
clfrnacwby said:
I've spent the past couple of weeks researching winter bags as well and it seems WM's are always near the top of the list. I have my eye on the WM Kodiak GWS...looks toasty :D
Click to expand...

the kodiak is a great bag. Western mountaineering is very modest on their temp ratings. I would guess the comfort level of a zero degree WM bag to be more like -10. I had the puma for a while (rated at -25) I never found a night that I wasn't too hot. It was crazy. Most reputable manufacturers(WM, FF, Zpacks, wiggys, etc.) will be better than they claim. Mainstream bags(mountain hardware, TNF, Coleman, etc.) will more likely be survival rated.
 
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