Sleeping bags

[JMack]

NW-

FWIW
I was recently looking to upgrade to a lighter bag (looking at KUIU possibly) to replace my 7lb 20 year old Cabela's -30 rated synthetic bag (which I've been in down to -20) and warm. Reading your post I may just keep the 7lber, mostly because I trust it. I've also been eyeing up quilts, I had a post recently here about it with the attempt to save some weight in my gear.

2 years ago slept on a cot with a thermarest (foam, cheap 30$ one) pad....definitely a big difference I could feel it reflecting the heat back up

 

[mmacfive]

I'd be willing to bet the no pad is most of the problem. It's is amazing how much difference it makes. I often wake up cold and realize my pad has slid off my cot. I get it back on and go go back to sleep warm and cozy.

Next time take a pad but leave it off until you get cold then put it on and you will be amazed at the difference a pad makes.

 

[An Idahoan]

This is a tangent, but when you buy a Kiui bag, a big part of what you're paying for is their website, advertising, and their slick marketing. You can get a bag that is every bit as quality (if not more) that is lighter and easier on the wallet.

 

[1Moose]

cjuve is spot on with the comfort rating. Sleeping bags are rated at a minimum rating, which is at least 10 degrees lower than the comfort rating (e.g., if you were expecting minimum temps to be 35 degrees, you would want a 20-25 degree bag).
Sleeping in your birthday suit vs long johns is actually a debate I've heard a lot about within the backpacking community, which I do a lot of. Imo you don't need to be nude in your bag. The main advantage to being nude is that your bag stays clean and therefore the down doesn't lose some of its insulating value (the down will trap the dirt instead of the air that insulates the bag). I keep a pair of lightweight long johns and socks in my compression sack with my sleeping bag that are just for sleeping in, and therefore keep my bag clean. I've tried sleeping in down bags nude vs clothed and can't tell a difference in the bag, but getting out of a warm bag and putting on some ice cold clothes that have been out all night during a freezing morning is not my idea of fun.

As mentioned above, a down bag must be dry (a wet down bag is useless). You also need an insulated pad between you and the ground or you'll get cold. This is because the down compresses when you lay down making in effectively useless for insulating as well (this is why a lot of people use quilts-if the back isn't doing anything anyway then why have it).

So to answer your question, you can leave your clothes on just make sure they are clean, and make sure you are using the right bag (within the comfort rating), an insulated pad, and that your bag is dry and then you shouldn't have much issue.

I think this post nails it. The other advantage of a thin layer while sleeping is that if you move or roll and one part of your body encounters a cold spot, with a thin layer can prevent you from noticing that spot (making it can be less disruptive to your sleep)

 

[VernAK]

Sleeping on a cot without an insulated pad will be cold. Insulation
under you is compressed and cold air is circulating under the cot.

For decades, I have spent 10% of my year sleeping outdoors in a sleeping bag.
Every year I research the latest/greatest in new gear and sleeping bags haven't changed much lately but the Big Agnes Q Core mattress is great. It's an air mattress with
insulation suspended in the tubes.....spendy.

 

[An Idahoan]

Sleeping on a cot without an insulated pad will be cold. Insulation
under you is compressed and cold air is circulating under the cot.

Truth!

 

[Beardeddeer91]

I'd be willing to bet the no pad is most of the problem. It's is amazing how much difference it makes. I often wake up cold and realize my pad has slid off my cot. I get it back on and go go back to sleep warm and cozy.

Next time take a pad but leave it off until you get cold then put it on and you will be amazed at the difference a pad makes.

Exactly! When you lay a down bag on a cot you will compress it all on the bottom side of the bad, thus loosing all the insulation value of the down against the cot. Effectively the only thing insulating you from below was the cot fabric, the air between the cot and the ground (which i am assuming is cold air), and the sleeping bag fabric. Adding an insulated air pad (any pad would have helped) would have put a lot of insulation under your bag and kept you MUCH warmer. Most pads also have indentions to allow the down on the bottom of the sleeping bag to expand some, thus adding more insulation value.

 

[dsculley]

My son & I spent several cold nights in a tent during deer season sleeping on an air mattress with a sleeping bag. Didn't take long to learn that you need as much, if not more, insulation below you as on top of you. I put an additional sleeping bag beneath the ones we slept in, problem solved. We could drive to the tent so no weight issues.

Years ago, I was tent camping with some friends at the state park in Panama City Beach, FL. I didn't have a pad or mattress. Even though the air temps were mild at that time of year, I was cold in my sleeping bag every night. Even though it felt dry, the sand was damp enough and cool enough to suck the heat out of you.

 

[LaHunter]

This is a tangent, but when you buy a Kiui bag, a big part of what you're paying for is their website, advertising, and their slick marketing. You can get a bag that is every bit as quality (if not more) that is lighter and easier on the wallet.

For the record, I do not own a Kuiu bag nor have I ever used one.
What is your personal experience with the Kuiu bags?
The Kuiu bags are down filled, so they are pretty light weight. Which bags are you referring to with the same specs, that are significantly lighter?

I do agree with you that your statement is a tangent, however.

 

[300fortheWIN]

You can sleep sitting up or on sharp rocks but if your cold you won't be sleeping at all. After decades of freezing I now have a great system. One quailofil sleeping bag, 1 down bag and 1 polar fleece blanket. Depending on how cold it is, one bag under me and the fleece blanket in my bag with me. Super cold I'll get in the down bag first then slip into the quailofil bag with the fleece as a pad. Win win win

 

[mandl]

I purchased a KUIU bag last year for a Montana Mountain goat hunt. I went with the 0 degree rating not wanting to be on the light side. Very light, and very warm. It snowed or rained 4 of the 5 days, and nights were in the mid 20's. Condensation in the tent was miserable, and I stayed dry. Slept in long john tops and bottoms. From there went directly yo Idaho for elk hunt, again wilderness tent camp. Almost too warm for the zero bag, but in both camps we were on 4" foam pads on the cots. Went back to Idaho in late October to same camp for mule deer, much colder. water bottles would be froze by morning, but I was very warm. The KUIU bag was expensive, but very well worth every penny.

 

[Litehiker]

So Nuc Worker, you need a down bag from a manufacturer with a great reputation.
I have two down bags that "cover the waterfront" as far as temperature goes.

1. Western Mountaineering Megalite 850 fill, comes as a 30 F. bag but I had mine overstuffed at the factory to 20 F. temp rating (by my own experience). The Megalite version is wider at the shoulders and torso to accommodate larger men and/or insulated clothing. I'm 5' 10" and 190 lbs. and can wear my down jacket in it without compressing either jacket or bag.
Unzipped, with my mattress foot inside the bag's foot, I can use it as a comforter to 75 F.

2. LL Bean -20 F. down bag 750 fill with Down Tech DWR treated down to absorb 30% less moisture and dry 65% faster than untreated down. Best -20 F. winter down bag I have ever seen, and I've seen many and owned an Eddie Bauer -20 F. down bag that I returned (bad draft collar).

So look at reputable down bag makers/brands and sleep well
Western Mountaineering
Feathered Friends
LL Bean
The North Face
Marmot
Sierra Designs
REI
Thermarest
Mountain Hardware
Montbell

Eric B.

 

[mcseal2]

I've stuck with my Kifaru Slickbag for quite a few years now. It's an older model and I'm sure the newer ones are better but it hasn't let me down. It isn't as compressible or light as down for sure. That said I rifle hunt later and often wetter seasons. I use a tarp or tipi set up that's single walled so condensation is possible. I consider my synthetic bag part of my survival kit really, a little more weight for some insurance against moisture. My 20 degree bag (regular wide) weighs 39oz. I like that I can get into it with damp clothes if necessary and let my body heat "cook" my clothes dry if need be by morning.

I slept comfortably in that bag in our Seek 8 man tipi last year in Wyoming and the night after a 15" snow it dropped down to zero. I was on a Thermarest mesh cot but had a Thermarest Ridgerest foam pad on top of the cot held to it with 2 nylon straps so it didn't move. That trip we had a truck camp so weight wasn't an issue. I wore Kryptek merino long underwear and a fleece 240wt hooded sweat shirt while sleeping.

I agree with others, I'd have froze without the pad under me on the cot. I am going to take my Kifaru bag on a AK moose hunt in a couple weeks where a 0 degree bag is recommended. I can't afford a new bag for the trip but have a Thermarest X therm pad I upgraded to that should help keep me warm. I am also taking my Kifaru Lost Park puffy jacket and Kuiu Kenai puffy pants I can sleep in if needed.

The bag is only part of the equation, consider the whole system of what you have along and adjust accordingly.

 

[Weatherby Fan]

I use a Valandre Shocking Blue Mummy bag and a Thermarest and have been in -15C and no issues, from what you have posted I would suggest a thermarest even on your cot would make a huge difference.

If your going to use a down bag get a good quality one, Valandre or Western Mountaineering are among the best made bags in the world, if your going to do a lot of backpacking get a Western Mountaineering Gore Windstopper Series bag, I have the Badger GWS and its amazing.

With down bags always get a warmer rated bag than you need if its to warm use it like a quilt, best of both worlds, you will notice better quality down bags are black on the inside, they heat up quicker and dry quicker with very little sunlight applied.