Winter Mountaineering Bag

Looking for advice on a winter Mountaineering bag, Like the stretch design of Montbell,Looking for something to use on volcanoes and peak on the west coast and sierra, as well as Higher peaks in Andes. Maybe asking too much.
Cheers

I'm confused. Are you going to climb these peaks in the winter months? In which case you might want a -20. If your looking to do them during the spring/summer months when the routes are in the best shape you could probably go with a zero degree. I have had the mountain hardware Banshee SL zero degree for eight years now and It is still rocking.

Rank the following: Cost, Weight, Durability, and Comfort. Also if you have a preference btwn
Down and synthetic would help narrow it down.

Looking to do various peaks in the winter, Basically have a 15F bag now but not sure if I should get a 0f or -20F. I'm sure the 0 would be fine for western us but would the -20 be too much.

Topher42 wrote:Looking to do various peaks in the winter, Basically have a 15F bag now but not sure if I should get a 0f or -20F. I'm sure the 0 would be fine for western us but would the -20 be too much.

Marmot Col Membrain -20. Full down w/ waterproof shell. Taken it down to -30 w/ a western mountaineering VBL inside. It packs fairly well for a -20 bag and lofts out nice when you unpack it. Looks like they are running for a little over $500 now, used to be like $650.

If you sleep in your layers you can save yourself a lot of money by never having to get a bag below 0 degrees.

One name, Western Mountaineering. Check 'em out.

Yea I'm thinking either WM or feathered friends and even though I'm a cali climber now. I'm a Washington boy at hear. But love to hear preferences of everyone.

Steve Williams wrote:One name, Western Mountaineering. Check 'em out.

Topher42 wrote:Looking for advice on a winter Mountaineering bag, Like the stretch design of Montbell,Looking for something to use on volcanoes and peak on the west coast and sierra, as well as Higher peaks in Andes. Maybe asking too much. Cheers

I bought my -20 degree bag two years ago, and I have three nights on it that were in the negative teens. I was plenty warm.

Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, etc make sweet bag at sour prices. Don't get me wrong, they're the best and worth the money, but I just couldn't justify spending the coin on one.

I bought an REI down bag on sale for $250. It has been absolutely fine. I believe mine is the Kilo.

Just food for thought.

I've got the Western Mountaineering 0 and -20 degree bags. The 0 is almost always enough - i've only used the -20 on Aconcagua, early season Elbrus, and a handful of times in Colorado in the winter. I've never really needed it and could always have just used the 0, but the -20 is sure luxurious when it is cold and is wonderful for long trips like Aconcagua when you'll be spending a lot of time in it. If just getting one bag to supplement your 20 i'd probably go with a 0 and add the -20 down the road.

I've never used Feathered Friends bags, but the quality of the Western Mountaineering bags is superb and a huge step up from any other sleeping bag i've used in the past - mostly North Face and REI brand bags.

this:
FF Snowbunting

or this:
WM Antelope

I took the Mont Bell Spiral Down 0 degree on Aconcagua. I was a bit chilly at 20,000 feet but toasty warm the rest of the time.

You just can't beat the stretchy sleeping bag.

Does anyone ever put one sleeping bag inside of another. I have a 40 degree marmot bag (atom) that only weighs a pound, and was thinking i could just get a 15 or 20 degree ultralight bag and combine them for winter use and have great 4 season versatility with just the two bags and they would be about as light as any of the 0 degree bags. the atom has 850 down and alot of loft so it would add a ton of warmth, and you can always throw a down jacket on if uncomfortable. also a bivy or a bag liner add a bit of warmth and hardly weigh anything, so those can also be combined for extra protection

fat cow wrote:Does anyone ever put one sleeping bag inside of another. I have a 40 degree marmot bag (atom) that only weighs a pound, and was thinking i could just get a 15 or 20 degree ultralight bag and combine them for winter use and have great 4 season versatility with just the two bags. the atom has 850 down and alot of loft so it would add a ton of warmth, and you can always throw a down jacket on if your uncomfortable. also a bivy or a bag liner add a bit of warmth and hardly weigh anything, so you can also combine those options.