bazzert Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Hi All, Camped on Squam this past weekend and my sleeping bag, while great for summer / early fall, is not up to the mid-thirties temperatures we experienced. Would love to hear about your suggestions for a cold(er) weather bag that packs down small enough for kayak camping. thanks! Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyork Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I've got a number of bags (ratings of 40°[synthetic], 35°, and 20°[both down])and employ a simple calculation that considers lowest of the lows predicted for any trip. I subtract15°F for the predicted lowest low to choose the right bag. On the recent Jewell multi-day, predictions were for ~50°, so I brought along my 35° down bag, and slept the best that I have ever slept camping. However, I must admit to bringing Hubba's big sister for the first time, giving me more room to stretch and ?dream. I also confess to wearing my merino wool 1-Z from Stoic, well worth the most expensive piece of non-coat clothing I've purchased. This previous post includes tent in the title, but discussion entails bag, mostly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kate Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I recently took my synthetic 20-degree bag to Maine where temps were upper 20's (my estimate) at night, frost coating the world in the morning. The bag was barely sufficient coupled with merino wool underlayer. But when I added a $20 Thermolite poly sleeping bag liner I was plenty toasty. It's a pretty cheap accessory and takes up almost no space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nancy Hill Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 On cold weather trips I bring puffy pants and jacket and wear them (over wool pants and shirt) in my bag. A hot nalgene bottle at the foot end helps, too. The nice thing about the puffy pants is that I can wear them around camp in the evening and morning. I can get by with a lighter bag using this method. But, when it is really cold, I bring a down bag rated to 5F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 My $.02 is that for kayak camping the temps are never going to be that low so may make more sense to "winterize" your sleeping system as opposed to getting a limited use sleeping bag for cold weather (assuming you are not going to be out camping in the winter on snow, etc.). For starters, make sure your sleeping pad is a good one for cold weather. This is very, very important. Next, use the hood properly so maybe the opening is down to around 3" max in diameter. Don't hesitate to wear extra clothing in the bag. You are dragging that stuff around, so use it is the mantra of most mountaineers. A scarf around the neck can really help too. Finally, eat some energy munchie before turning in. Don't forget that part of staying warm at night is managing heat loss and fatigue during the day. Hanging out around a campfire on a cold night before getting in the bag is not a good way to sleep warm, IMHO, but I have an aversion to campfires and am prejudiced on the point. The suggestion to get a liner bag or an over bag is also great advice. You can get a huge increase in warm at very little cost and weight gain. By "winterizing" a solid bag good for say 40 degrees should be comfy down into the high twenties. That should easily suffice for kayak camping. If you are going to be ski touring and staying in minimally heated yurts or cabins or camping on snow other than the dead of winter, a good 15 degree down bag is quite versatile. True winter bags are wonderous things to behold, but have very limited usefulness for most of us. By winter bag I mean something from say Western Mountaineering rated 0 degrees or lower. All that said, some need really warm bags and some do not. Some can use a tight mummy bag with hood puled down to an opening the size of a quarter, and some need space. So really hard to give any firm advice beyond its a good idea to "winterize" first and then spring for a warmer bag if that fails. If your heart is set on a warm bag for cold temps, do not mess around; get a quality down bag made by the likes of Western Mountaineering. Expensive, but they last forever, are light, compressible, and have a wide comfort range. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfolster Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 I prefer not to wear extra layers of clothing to sleep in since it is probably the coldest part of the day when you are ready to shed your cozy sleeping gear and venture out of the tent. For that reason, I want to be adding "portable layers" to compensate for the "sleeping layers" being left behind. But, to each their own. My suggestion would be to start with getting either a bag liner or a blanket (down or synthetic is a completely separate argument) or both. I have found this to be an ideal sleep system for me that allows for adjustment throughout the camping season. Between a bag liner, a blanket, and a moderate sleeping bag, I can have multiple combinations that fit a wide range of temperatures. The liner and blanket don't take up any more room than a warmer sleeping bag would, and costs much less than buying a separate shoulder-season bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 (edited) Hello, Barry! Long-time, no hear or no see... We have had this discussion previously, as Gary showed, above; but one of my favourite items is an ex-army, Goretex bivvy-bag, which not only makes for a great outer layer, but also serves as protection for your precious sleeping bag. (I think I paid around $10 for mine!) I think it has extended the temperature-rating of either of my bags quite considerably. Edited October 13, 2020 by Pintail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NPearson Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 Yup - I'm a big fan of the gore-tex bivvi bag as an extra layer - surprisingly warm, considering how thin it is. Mind you, I lost mine for a year or so. Eventually found it wedged right up in the bow of my boat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzert Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 Thanks for all the great advice. I ordered a thermolite liner. Looking forward to seeing how it works out. Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyork Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 On 10/14/2020 at 10:08 AM, bazzert said: ........a thermolite liner. Looking forward to seeing how it works out. Barry. Results? My daughter and her friend swear by THIS bivvy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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