Sleeping Bags - Two Women & a Mad Search

Hi all!
my girlfriend and I are wanting to purchase a set of nice sleeping bags. We are looking at 3 season bags (35 degrees). We want to be able to zip them together occasionally but I am having a hard time finding mummy women’s bags that will zip together. It appears the men’s bags go with women’s bags and that’s it. Does anyone know of women’s bags that would zip together??

Julian H wrote:

What is the difference between a “men’s” and a “women’s” sleeping bag? Both are made out of goose feather not gander or goslings. 

Just buy the men’s worry about one arm pull-ups 

Size, shape, insulation distribution. All of which can make a difference in warmth (and size/weight). Seems like anyone who’s ever done any sleeping bag shopping would know that.

Certainly there are women who will find a men’s bag/shoes/jacket fits them better, and vice versa - but if a women’s sleeping bag is the best fit for you you’re not gonna want a men’s. 

Julian H wrote:

Maybe but I’m not buying it. The difference is small enough that the only difference is just marketing. Or in people’s heads. Back 1870 they figure out that woman’s fingers are different, I’m still waiting for gender specific camalots. 

My climbing partner has about 5 woman specific sleeping bags, but she still try’s to steal my only bag. Very annoying. I’ll just give it to her and buy one of this. He looks happy.

Hey if you’re equally happy in women’s specific designs as men’s, that’s great, you do you. Should we assume then, that if we went through your closet, we’d find a roughly equal distribution of women’s and men’s specific designs in your clothing, shoes, and gear?

It’s probably easier to assume the differences are immaterial when the vast majority of outdoor gear and clothing is designed for a “standard” body type that is close to your own.

Not sure what point you’re trying to make with the gender-specific camalots... I carry a wide variety of sizes and place them according to the size of the crack in the rock, irrespective of my finger size. But if you place protection differently, again, do what works for ya. 

Is it like a left vs. right zipper orientation?  I've only looked at mens but I've found them with both.  If that's the case maybe womens are similar just uncommon?

I believe Mountain Hardwear sells their women’s sleeping bags with either left or right zipper configuration. 

Matt Z wrote:

I believe Mountain Hardwear sells their women’s sleeping bags with either left or right zipper configuration. 

Thank you Matt! We will look into mountain hardwear. And to answer the others, yes we both prefer womens bags do to our smaller builds. I really want to zip together! 

Nemo sleeping bags.  They're also extremely comfortable as their shape isn't typical mummy.

another thing to consider is that different companies use the same zippers, for example my mountain equipment bag zips with my wifes western mountaineering bag, so thats something to consider. Even if the bags have the same zipper orientation it still works, but one person will have the 'underside' of the sleeping bag (usually with less down than the 'topside'), but Ive found the extra human in there makes it plenty warm enough.

and it seems like if you were buying 2 of the same sleeping bag from the same company the zippers would definitely be compatible 

The main difference is that women’s bags are wider through the hips. They also tend to be less aggressively temp-rated. I read that women tend to sleep a few (7ish?) degrees colder than men and thus comfort ratings are adjusted. So there are differences from men’s bags but I would have to guess that they are less stark than with respect to clothing or shoes.

Call Feathered Friends. 

if you want a down bag, I too would suggest that you at look at Feathered Friends bags. Been using them for twenty five years now.

• I think the difference between mens and women's will be subtle, so don't rule out mens bags. 
• The temperature rating is typically "aggressive", so if you if you get a 35 deg F bag and its 35 deg, it might be cold.
• I recommend mummy bags because the features will really help keep you warm, yet they are probably hard to zip together
• I have never zipped together bags, so that might be hard to do.  
• Don't forget a sleeping pad.  Not only do they add comfort, but the insulation from the ground is critical for staying warm.

We are very happy with our Marmot sleeping bags and they are reasonably priced. They make women-specific bags like the "Angel Fire" and you can order one with a left zip and one with a right zip and they will pair up. They offer different sizes in their bags as well. When zipped together I find the hoods are not really effective, but that hasn't been a big deal.

My wife and I have a bunch of sleeping bags in our gear room.  She's had women's specific bags but lately we've trended towards sharing any or all of the bags based on our objectives.  Our favorite bag is a Feathered Friends Flicker that we unzip and use as a quilt over both of us but we've both used it individually as a semi-rectangular bag down to about 20*.  We've considered getting a second Flicker in a different temp rating to zip together with the first but haven't actually needed that.  We might have different expectations for comfort from our bags though.  We trimmed our kit down to share as much as possible and give up some comfort in doing so. As Parker said above, there is a lot of warmth gained by sharing a bag with a partner.  I personally would want more space in my bag for freedom of movement or to stuff my boots down at the bottom to prevent them from freezing.  I don't sleep well when I'm wrapped up tight.

Buy an Enlightened Equipment Accomplice (two-person quilt). Pair with an Exped HL duo pad and you've got an incredibly light, small, couples setup. 

So light that you might be fine taking it as a solo setup. 

If you have the cash, invest in the above and a separate bag setup, if needed. The EE Accomplice is so awesome - light, comfy, lofty, and packs down like a single bag. Fully customize-able too.

Dang the exped as a solo sounds sooooo plush