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Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 9:04 am
by AlmostThere
Get pads with a minimum r value of 3. Get decent bags. You will be comfortable without layers of clothing unless it dips lower than the limits of the bag/pad - then you start with more clothing.

REI bags and either neoairs or exped synmats will do the trick. blue foam ccf in two layers would as well.


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Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 9:06 am
by AlmostThere
And if that -20 bag is at all accurately rated... it will make you sweat like anything. are you going to antarctica?


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Re: Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 9:10 am
by InsaneBoost
Bwahaha I thought that would be the case. I get hot easily too, so I'll stick with 15 then.

Re: Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 10:17 am
by Wandering Daisy
I sleep cold and use a 10-degree bag (WM Super Antelope- about 2005 version). It is too warm for mid-summer but just right for shoulder season (when temperatures drop below freezing at night) and what I need when I go to Wyoming to backpack. If I had a rich uncle I would get a 20-30 degree bag for Sierra summers. Alas, I do not, so have to have my one bag do it all.

Another tip- you have to warm up a sleeping bag. DO NOT go to bed cold! I usually do some vigorous exercise, immediately jump into my bag with one light layer, let my body heat warm the bag up, and then perhaps later in the night or early AM when temperatures are at coldest, will put on more clothes. I find that wrapping my down sweater around my neck keeps me warmer than putting it on.

Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 10:24 am
by AlmostThere
Another tip - don't stop hydrating thinking you will prevent getting up to pee. I drink tea and water right up to bedtime. Getting up a couple times is no big deal - when I get back in, I am warm again instantly. Not eating and drinking makes you cold because your body needs the fuel to work properly! Time and time again, people come on my trips stubbornly refusing to drink after dinner and get cold.


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Re: Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 10:29 am
by maverick
InsaneBoost wrote:
Haha, yes, we did
Was not trying to funny, some folks sleep out under the stars or tarp tent, both require
a warmer sleeping bag due to the exposure to the elements. Same with a pad, a low
R rated pad will allow the cold to penetrate thru the ground into you bag and make for
a very uncomfortable night. Your sleeping bag is probably one of you most important
purchases, and it could save your life, so get the best you can afford, and if you take
proper care of it, it will last for a very long time.

Re: Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 10:31 am
by InsaneBoost
AlmostThere wrote:Another tip - don't stop hydrating thinking you will prevent getting up to pee. I drink tea and water right up to bedtime. Getting up a couple times is no big deal - when I get back in, I am warm again instantly. Not eating and drinking makes you cold because your body needs the fuel to work properly! Time and time again, people come on my trips stubbornly refusing to drink after dinner and get cold.


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I made sure to keep my thermos with hot water in it during the night in case we needed a warm up. And we did drink tea before bed as well.

Re: Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 10:34 am
by rlown
On hydration, I keep a poly in the tent with me and drink from it a couple times a night. Sometimes when up high, i don't have to pee at night. You lose more fluids than you might think at altitude. You should always be drinking water even if not really thirsty.

If it's really cold out, i keep the poly in my bag with me so it stays liquid. Water at night doesn't have to be warm, but it does have to be liquid and not ice.

I don't think anyone carries a thermos backpacking anymore.

Re: Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 11:12 am
by InsaneBoost
maverick wrote:
InsaneBoost wrote:
Haha, yes, we did
Was not trying to funny, some folks sleep out under the stars or tarp tent, both require
a warmer sleeping bag due to the exposure to the elements. Same with a pad, a low
R rated pad will allow the cold to penetrate thru the ground into you bag and make for
a very uncomfortable night. Your sleeping bag is probably one of you most important
purchases, and it could save your life, so get the best you can afford, and if you take
proper care of it, it will last for a very long time.
No I knew that, I was more so laughing because of us still freezing by not having the correct stuff.

Re: Opinions on Big Agnes Sleeping Bags

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 11:12 am
by InsaneBoost
rlown wrote:I don't think anyone carries a thermos backpacking anymore.
Right. I wouldn't carry it either. I just camped at a regular spot that you can drive to so then I had used it.