Best cold weather sleeping bag?

Check into an extreme cold weather sleep system used by the Army and Marines. Used they are cheap. It's a goretex bivy, outer bag, inner bag and compression sack. I have never been cold in a tent with it. Picked mine up for $125.

tennierindustries.com/rfi-m…

The only thing that would make it better is a fleece liner... which you can make yourself. Grab some polartec 300 online and jam it in there!

Rated to -50 with the ECW sleeping clothes... base layers and fleece pants and shirt should be real warm.

Works well and is cheap.

+1 for Marmot. I have the Col Membrain and it served me very well on Denali. The waterproof outer liner is good insurance against getting soaked by spills and condensation in the tent.

I can really recommend the RAB Ascent 500 sleeping bag. Really light and keeps you perfectly warm. Not too expansive either.

The thing about a -20 to -40 bag is that the places most will use them you can get in a lot of trouble if the bag isn't up to par. -30 or whatever is a whole different game when you are at 20,000' or so - you aren't making body heat the same way you do down lower. So if you are buying this bag for high altitude - don't skimp - not even a little. Email one of the Denali Guide Services and ask them what they like - those guys live in theirs for months at a time and should "know" what works. Sleeping out overnight for the weekend in the Rockies and coming home to your hot tub is NOT the same thing as an expedition that lasts for weeks. A good down bag should last for a very long time if properly cared for so the cost per year isn't really that bad.

I've written a blog post about cold weather sleeping systems that might help you in your bag search. It's not comprehensive, and it's not a brand vs brand comparison - only another way to look at staying warm on expeditions.

Oregon Mountain Community Blog - Two Sleeping Bags

I've used bags in tandem many times on Denali and other cold Alaskan expeditions. It is bulkier and heavier, but it doesn't require purchasing a -30/-40 bag that mostly just sits in the closet.

I have been super happy with my Sea to Summit Trek tk3. Its roomy which I like, and I have yet to get cold in it.
seatosummit.com/products/di…

I'm amazed nobody has mentioned Mont bell super spiral stretch ul -20. I bought mine as a result of some miserable nights in a Mtn. Hardware lamina -30 in -20ish temps. I was seriously looking at WM bags as well but several experienced friends suggested month bell. Bought one two winters ago and love it comfy @ -20 ! I also use an exped downmat 9 .... Look at the warranty!

I have heard some complaints about the Montbell spiral not being that warm? What is your opinion as to compared to other bags of similar temperature ratings?

javi wrote:I'm amazed nobody has mentioned Mont bell super spiral stretch ul -20. I bought mine as a result of some miserable nights in a Mtn. Hardware lamina -30 in -20ish temps. I was seriously looking at WM bags as well but several experienced friends suggested month bell. Bought one two winters ago and love it comfy @ -20 ! I also use an exped downmat 9 .... Look at the warranty!

I recently picked up one of these on clearance: mountain-equipment.co.uk/th…

At just under 3lbs it is pretty damn light for a bag rated to -35 (extreme) and -4 (Good night sleep). I based my purchase mainly off of this review: ukclimbing.com/gear/review.… Basically it's comfortable down to -5F in the open with just a micro-fleece layer.

I have yet to try out the bag but I have a couple other Mountain Equipment products that I have been very, very pleased with.

Why not combine a 35 degree synthetic with a 0 or 10 degree down? Still lighter and more compact than a -30 synthetic

Of course everyone is going to be partial to their own sleeping bag, since they trust their lives to it! I'll jump on the bandwagon and say that my Marmot Lithium 0 bag has been incredible. I've been comfortable doing bivies where the temp when I woke up was -20C.

Get your sleeping bag longer than you need so you can have room for your boots (or liners) and your water (sealed tight!).

+10 for a good sleeping mat. I think the best is the Thermarest NeoAir All-season.
backcountry.com/therm-a-res…

I got the longer length NeoAir, and when it is really cold I double it over in half, lengthwise, to double the insulation. It feels like I'm sleeping on top of an electric blanket, since so much heat reflects back. You might have to try it to believe me.

For the past 25 years, the original FF Widgeons have been my wife’s and my only year-round sleeping bags. We ordered rip-stop nylon shells instead of Gtex because I did not trust the longevity of the Gtex, preferring to add a bivy shell when needed. They’ve been great for everything from +15C to -25C. Remove the collar and shift all the down to the bottom at the top end of the range and do the opposite, adding the shell, at the bottom end. The trapezoidal continuous baffles do a fantastic job of letting you shift the down and then keeping it in place all night long. Sure, over the 25 years, they’ve lost a bit of loft. They’re probably only good to -20C these days. We tried other options for our 2 older daughters. The two-bag option is pretty good : one bag good to just above freezing for summer use, another good to -10C for fall, spring and warm winter spells and both together for full winter. But I still came away convinced that we wanted to go back to the same Widgeon design for the 3rd daughter.

A couple of years before she would really start needing her adult-size winter bag, I realized that somewhere along the way, FF had stopped making the original Widgeon design. FF Widgeons, like most other models on the market, now sported the dreaded, versatility-killing side-block baffles. Soon after, we realized that Integral Designs had taken up the design for itself and was making excellent copies of the original Widgeon with only very minor tweaks). By the time we were ready to order, we were horrified to realize that ID had stopped making down bags for the general public. We managed to get one as a special order. We were just camping by -5C a couple night ago and had to make sure that 2/3 of the down was shifted to the bottom to avoid being too warm.

A note on the MEC hybrid bags. They are touted as the best of both worlds but AFAIC they are exactly the opposite: short life-span of synthetic bags and terrible performance of down in wet conditions.

Although it's only 'rated' to -22F, have a look at the Mammut Altitude EXP 5 Season bag. I have their Sphere UL Winter which is rated to 5F and I've been quite comfortable in much less than that - with the proper pad. You can often find then on sale as well, which helps ease the sticker shock. One thing to note is that they're cut rather slim so if you're big or get claustrophobic they may not be for you.

I highly recommend the Valandre Thor -50 Down Sleeping Bag. its been taken up to everest on multiple occasions and is a company that is very well known for there costumer service. Valandre is very popular overseas have taken it on the arrowhead 135 where it got to be -50+ below cant recommend it enough

I would say this Western Mountaineering bag is your best bet and the best price around!

mountainproject.com/v/weste…

I'm curious why you'd consider a synthetic bag for conditions this cold. It's not going to be raining; and in my limited experience, a down bag is fine with a week's worth of perspiration and condensation if you're moderately careful.

I've only been to 6800m in the Andes, so this is an honest question: presumably you'll have a down suit (or at least a down jacket), why not sleep in that and layer it with a more modest sleeping bag? Do the cold mountains require sleeping in both a suit and a cold bag? Or do people not sleep in their down suit for whatever reason? -Thanks.

I love my feathered friends bag but if I could do it again I would get a western mountaineering but only because I have noticed they pack a little smaller. I have had no problems with my feathered friends  

Niharika Chaudhary wrote:

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Do you own this company? Your post sounds like unabashed spam.

I have to say it.

The best cold weather sleeping bag is the one having the most fun!

MH Ghost