Winter Sleeping Bags
When you shop for a sleeping bag you have to figure out how you like to sleep:
Do you need room around your legs for freedom, or are you OK with a snug fitting mummy bag?
Do you need to open feet for cooling or circulation?
What is your expected temperature range?
Options are for a bag suitable for car camping, winter camping, 3 season camping, summer bag, hostel bag. No bag will do all of them.
Do you prefer down vs synthetic? Down is more expensive, stuffs smaller and easier, is way lighter, lasts 25+ years, whereas synthetic bags lose loft in 2 years.
A selection of winter sleeping bags: L to R
Western Mountaineering Sequoia, $800, roomy leg room, zipper opening for feet. Not very light, but very warm, as you can tell by the loft.
Sierra Designs Nitro 800, $380, 0F, tighter around legs, foot cooling opening.
REI Sub Kilo, -5F, no longer made, but a current model 0F REI bag is $239
REI Kilo 15, no longer made, and REI doesn’t have a current model 15F REI
Big Agnes Bootjack 24, $180. I’ve slept in this bag at 17F, and it was fine.
Something to remember when considering down fill vs synthetic fill. Unless you sleep too near a camp fire, down bags will last a lifetime. Its an investment in comfort and peace of mind. but these are all too heavy for backpacking.
Top Brands of winter sleeping bags::
WarmLite: the Rolls Royce of sleeping bag, -60 degrees, $1300
Western Mountaineering: the Mercedes of sleeping bags, -5, $850 ( I have a WM Sequoia, -5, $800 3.5 lbs. roomy around legs, zips open at the bottom) At base camp at 10,000' on Mt Rainier, we threw 3 sleeping bag into our tent for the night. My companions had -25 REI bags, so suggested I sleep in the middle of the three, for warmth. I said "look at the loft of the three bags", mine had twice the loft of theirs. they would get cold long before I did. Winter camping with the scouts and teaching a winter camping class at Boise State U, and I never got cold, always felt confident of a good night's sleep. However this sleeping bag is very bulky and heavy for summer use. In winter use if you use a gear sled the weight and bulk are not as important.
Feathered Friends: the BMW of sleeping bags, top quality right up there with WM. 15 degrees to -50, $650 to $1300
Sierra Designs: The Audi of sleeping bag, among the top quality bags with WM, and FF.
Marmot: good quality, the Toyota Camry of sleeping bags, 0, $300
Big Agnes: good quality, the Subaru of sleeping bags, 0 degrees, $400. I used a BA Bootjack 24, had it down to 17 degrees, about its comfort limit. Great 3 season bag, $180
Thermarest: Toyota Highlander of sleeping bags, my favorite summer bag is the Thermarest Vesper 32 quilt. good to the mid 20s, super light, I love that thing. My partner had a 20 degree quilt and froze every night we were above 11,000’ elevation. I'd wake up and say "I love this thing!". The quality of that makes me think their 0 degree bag, the Questar, $350, would be excellent quality.
Sea to Summit: good mid-quality bag, probably a great price to value ratio: Explore ExIII 5, $350
Nemo: a European brand, innovative, good quality, Disco 15, $320
REI, the Chevy of sleeping bags, Down Time 0, $280. Not fancy, not super light, but good quality. Stay away from their synthetic fill bags.
Kelty: lower quality, heavier, but funtional and usually cheap: Cosmic down 0, $360. Stay away from heir synthetic fill bags.