How many sleeping bags do you use?

[Lophophaps]

In a recent discussion a point was raised: do bushwalkers who go out all year round (including snow camping) have two sleeping bags, one for warmer months and one for colder months? There were two main views. The first is that a sleeping bag for the warmer months is too cool for winter, and a warmer bag is needed. The second view is that with extra clothing such as down booties and a duvet the summer bag is adequate for winter camping. It was accepted that nearly all or all bushwalkers who use a quilt will use a sleeping bag in winter. Price was also a factor. With good sleeping bags starting at about $500, having two bags may be a financial drain.

How many people who use sleeping bags all year round and camp in winter or at other times in sub-zero night temperatures have two bags, one for warmer months and one for colder months? Also, what extra clothing is taken for colder camping?

[warnabrother]

I use a quilt through winter ! not sure why it was accepted that quilt users use a sleeping bag.
In fact, having a winter temp quilt allows me to use it through summer

[Zapruda]

Good question, Lop.

I use three different bags throughout the year and do 90% of my walking and skiing in Kosciuszko and Namadgi. I spend, at a minimum, every second weekend in the bush so I need to cover a wide range of temperatures.

I use Western Mountaineering bags for their quality and true (for me) temp rating. These are paired with either a Thermarest Xlite in summer or a Thermarest Xtherm every other time. I wear long pants and a top to bed in the colder months and often just my tee and wind pants or shorts to bed in the summer.

The bags and where I use them are:

WM Summerlite 0c - Summer in the alpine, and the coast, Blue Mountains and Budawangs year round.
WM Ultralite -7c - My favourite bag, I use this in the alpine in shoulder season, parts of winter and also spring snow.
WM Antelope GWS -15c - Snow bag / deep winter.

Depending on where I end up camping I wear my down jacket to bed or put it on at some point in the night. This is a rare event and only when I unavoidably end up in frost hollows.

I take a thermometer with me when I go on trips so I often have a pretty good idea of what the temps are. For example, I recorded a min of 0.8c at Grey Mare hut this weekend and was just warm enough in the Summerlite 0c with a t-shirt and shorts. I had the hood fully cinched.

I use a hooded down jacket for around camp before bed.

Cheers

[whynotwalk]

I'm in Tassie, and have a Mont Spindrift winter bag (-15C). It's a little heavy, but is toasty warm. I also have a Mountain Designs summer bag (a future museum-piece brand?) I'm not sure of its model or temp rating, but it's nice and light. However I've been caught out in cold summer weather in the Tassie's highlands, and have had to wear my wardrobe to try (unsuccessfully) to stay warm.

I recently acquired a Paria quilt, that promises to be comfy to -10C. Its weight is between the other two, but its warmth is closer to the Mont. After two coolish quilt trips, I have a feeling the quilt will be my go-to on most trips, except in cold/snowy winter weather.

cheers

Peter

[Moondog55]

As usual my answer is "It depends"
Mainly because I do so little warm weather walking and camping.
But I guess 3 that get regular use
An old LW synthetic bag for summer than gets boosted with clothing if a nite gets cold, my faithful old Ultra for winter and for the shoulder seasons an UL down half bag combined with an UL synthetic quilt from Nunatak boosted with a down parka at need
Of course there are other bags in the stash for car and base camps and plans for a deep cold overquilt for the Arctic

[Gadgetgeek]

right now I've got 5 sleeping cover sets, three sleeping bags, two TQ/UQ sets. Since I started collecting stuff in Canada, my big bag is an older synthetic -20C bag. I figure its efficient to have the bag I need when I need it, and since they have a relatively slow turn over, it makes sense to me to have more options. I'm also an unabashed gear junkie who gets cold, so there is that.

[J M]

I have a -2C quilt (thanks Mike!) for spring/summer/autumn and a 0F EE quilt for winter. With the benefit of hindsight, I definitely would've gone a full sleeping bag for winter. I find quilts just a bit more fiddly to stay warm in and when it's really cold out I don't want to be accidentally losing my lovely warm air if I turn over a bit too vigorously.

[Moondog55]

I have many more than I use. But I keep a reserve just in case, there are always 2 in the ute for instance plus CCF mats etc, always one in Ceciles car, too heavy and old to bushwalk with the gradually work their way down to car camping and then emergency use only in the boot or toolbox.
Any bushwalker with less than 3 systems hasn't fully evolved

[Zapruda]

Any bushwalker with less than 3 systems hasn't fully evolved

Is it weird I use an old mountain designs bag on the couch in winter...

Saves on the gas bills.

[Orion]

For years I had just one bag for all seasons, all uses. It was rated 5°F/-15°C and was, by modern standards, a little heavy. But back then I didn't think it was heavy. In the summer I opened up the zipper and in the middle of winter I wore extra clothes.

Now I have multiple bags as well as a summer quilt. In a typical year I use a different one for summer, winter, and shoulder seasons.

[warnabrother]

Any bushwalker with less than 3 systems hasn't fully evolved

my mat changes with the seasons more so than my quilt..

[CasualNerd]

When I had just one bag it was plenty warm in snow but weighed 2.4Kg. I'm sure like most people it depends what you can afford, I carried a way too warm sleeping bag of that weight for years in summer before I bought a second, lighter bag.

[Lophophaps]

Thanks for the interesting views. I suspect that by the time a person goes walking all year round he or she will have a fair bit of experience, and bushwalking, climbing, XC skiing and other outdoor activities will be major and probably the only recreations. I've got about four sleeping bags and a lot more sleeping mats. I've only used one bag all year round, with extra clothing when snow camping. The current bag was bought ages ago, a J&H Rockledge, tapered, full zip, weighs about 1.1 kilograms. Before that there was a Lighline, weighed just under a kilogram. My down jacket weighs more than the Lightline. When snow camping there's a 3 mm mat that cover the entire floor.

My sleeping bag is perhaps a tad heavy for summer but it works well in very cold summer conditions. Camping above frost hollows and out of the wind assists.

[Moondog55]

Is it weird I use an old mountain designs bag on the couch in winter...

Only if you are wearing climbing boots

[north-north-west]

S2S ApII is my go-to walking bag. Snow camping sometimes I'll take the Mont Nemo, which is both warmer and heavier.

Roman Palm Passport and WM Highlite for car camping. One or both depending on location and season. I'm a cold sleeper so the WM isn't really warm enough for summer in the higher areas I favour, particularly with Tozzie's changeable weather.

I'd like a good quilt for summer/autumn, though. If the funds were there I'd go to either Mike or Simon for one.

[Lamont]

G'day a bit late to the party but my answer is none. I have used a EE Rev (-7) quilt often to 0C (for a couple of years) and a tad beyond with the light Uniqlo thermals on under and the really skin tight IB beanie and socks. Beyond 0 it was a wee bit cold if I was in the open. I now have a Nunatak ArcUL quilt (-7) weighs the same the EE and has the same rating but much better insulatory properties- and I believe that will get me to -7. However I have not experienced beyond -2 with it but I was really warm with same clothes on as EE. They really seem to be chalk and cheese. I have commented elsewhere on the dubious rating on past EE quilts.I tried for a Mike quilt but time and dimension requirements beat me.
I now will use the EE quilt at about 2C and beyond and the Nunatak for everything else. I will more than happily go the a WM bag given Zapruda's recommendation should I now not be able to keep the cold at bay. Quilts so far have worked for me.

[Moondog55]

Well if it has a footbox I rather think it comes under the "blanket" of sleeping stuff.
I didn't mention my own Arc-Lite as it hasn't arrived yet and therefore I haven't had a chance to use it. So IMO quilts count, even if I don't think I'd be using my quilt combination in below zero C camping I reckon the are going to be great for couch surfing

[Lophophaps]

I've just been advised that there are three words for a sleeping item - quilt, underquilt and overquilt. A quilt is something that is designed to go over, but maybe the meaning is changing. Which is the best word or words to use? Are there quilts or the like specifically designed to go under? If so, why not use a sleeping bag?

[Avatar]

Once it was about bags, but now I have a holistic "sleep system". My "sleep system" has much evolved since the '80s, and part of that evolution is to include a range of clothing. Back in the Neanderthal '80s my 1700g "Polar" rating bag on Thermarest foam pad +2mm tent carpet was warm enough for snow camping in the buff (after a solid meal). In warmer weather it was way too warm and too heavy. Now I use an 1185g (-7) hooded bag for snow camps and 680g (0) hoodless bag for warmer weather. The hoodless bag packs a lot smaller. I also wear merino thermals, socks, neck buff and hat and a UL synthetic insulated vest by default at altitude. The UL vest keeps the core warm but lets the armpits breathe a bit. So it is awesome. This makes getting up a lot less fuss since I just slip on bread-bag booties and it is warm enough to venture out briefly in all except blizzards. I have a UL hooded down jacket, 100 polar fleece jacket and UL synthetic insulated pants for backup since I hate freezing. It can take days to feel warmed up again. The ratings are pretty good. The hoodless bag feels cold in the early hours in a -2 frost and is best for about 2 and above. It is much more flexible to use a lighter bag supplemented with more insulated clothing. While -7 rating for snow does not seem much, by the time you add all the clothing and/or consumed some carb snacks, even at temps around -10 I am still very warm and this covers the conditions I experience. Underneath now its a luxury R=5 inflating mattress plus supplemental fail-safe pieces of CC PE foam (that roll up small) for snow and an older R=2.5 inflatable mat for off-snow.

[Lamont]

Quilts evolved from hammocks and hammock sleeping-underquilt instead or with a mat

[ChrisJHC]

Quilts evolved from hammocks and hammock sleeping-underquilt instead or with a mat

Just to expand on this a little:

When sleeping in a hammock, one of the major drawbacks is “Cold Butt Syndrome” due to the compression of whatever is underneath you leading to a loss of loft.

The two main solutions are to either use a sleeping mat / pad inside the hammock and use a sleeping bag or to use an Underquilt / Topquilt combination.

The Underquilt hangs under the hammock and the down expands downwards, leading to maximum insulation. The Topquilt is Preferred to a sleeping bag as it is quite difficult to get into a sleeping bag when you’re in a hammock!

The sleeping mat/pad is typically used by people starting out as they already have those items. The Underquilt / Topquilt combination is usually considered superior as it is typically warmer and more comfortable.


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[Xplora]

Just 3 bags and maybe a liner to boost. Summer bag will keep me alive in a freakish temp drop on the mountain then one for early winter and no snow and then my Alpine bag for snow camping. Mostly I regulate temp by unzipping or zipping up but prefer to have a greater range so I only carry the weight needed. Picked up a new MD summer bag in their current sale for $100 and tried it out last week. It will do fine and only used it as a quilt. Temps were mild though.

[Neo]

I'm still evolving so have two in use for now. An STS micro III for colder weather and an OMM half bag for warmer. Throw into the mix +/- polypros, UL down jacket etc, a polycotton bivy/cover and I can mix and match between the two. This winter I plan to blend them all together to be comfortable around the zero mark. If I get into snow camping I will probably need an alpine bag.

[Moondog55]

Never stop evolving.
Not everybody wants to go climb in Antarctica or visit polar bears in Canada but a good systems approach should let you do that.
Also better warmer and too warm than shivering all nite or waking up dead. That last 20 degrees is damned expensive tho no matter what you decide on

[Neo]

Never stop evolving.

Fingers crossed I'll get to do an XC1 guide course this winter. Otherwise, thinking to volunteer at a camp to get some snow time!

How low would I go with a bag rating generally, supposing inside a 4 season tent and ccf? (Kosciuszko)

[taipan821]

living in North Queensland I own the following
a +2 degree anaconda denali sleeping bag (due for replacement)
a +17 snugpak patrol bag (with mozzie net)
an ex army poncho line (soon to become an underquilt)

when I have the money, I'll be considering switching to down quilts

[jobell]

I was just considering this very issue today.

I use two sleeping bags/quilts.

One is an Undercling Mike special - a -8'C quilt with extra fill to increase it's warmth. I am a (ridiculously) very cold sleeper - combined with my sleep system this suits me down to about 5'C combined with merino beanie and socks, merino thermals, down jacket, a silk liner and a thermorest xtherm sleeping mat. This us my 3 season option. My quilt currently weighs in at 747g incl the extra fill. And yes, I eat carbs before bed and try to pick warmer camp sites too.

For winter I currently swap the quilt out for a Mont Franklin sleeping bag that has a comfort rating of -15'C and weighs 1590g. It gets combined with all of the above clothing/sleeping mat etc and covers me to -10'C comfortably.

I have a fair bit of winter walking planned for this year and am feeling very reluctant about carrying the heavier Mont bag. I hope to swap the Mont sleeping bag for an Undercling Mike hoodless sleeping bag plus separate down hood as my winter option, in which case the Mont bag will stay on my bed at home where it usually lives in winter when I am home.


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[Moondog55]

Never stop evolving.

Fingers crossed I'll get to do an XC1 guide course this winter. Otherwise, thinking to volunteer at a camp to get some snow time!

How low would I go with a bag rating generally, supposing inside a 4 season tent and ccf? (Kosciuszko)

Discussed every winter
Personally I think -18C/0F is perfect for an Australian white season. But also I always advise that this is a "System" rating when wearing warm clothing etc
Also a standard CCF is no where near warm enough for sleeping on snow, but doubling up is, insulated air mats are however far more comfortable.
A good down parka will give an extra 10C when combined with fleece or insulated pants/ warm sox etc So if the sleeping bag is large enough to wear clothes inside it -8C would be a good start
A good question for the Equipment section

[Neo]

Cheers MD.