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Extending sleeping bag range

Fitz

31-Dec-2009
11:53:43 AM

Anyone got any experience extending a 3 season down bag to 4 season. I was considering putting a lightweight down summer bag inside but was wondering about loft, the 3 season bag is snuggish and the summer bag does not appear to loft well. I sleep cold so need it to work.

Wollemi

31-Dec-2009
12:10:12 PM

Stating the obvious, put the snug 3 season bag into the lightweight summer bag. Either
way, you will get compression, ie., loft is reduced (but it will work).
I frequently sleep in winter with a good quality down jacket on inside one of 2 older down
sleeping bags I have. Reckon my next addition to this will be down trousers - more
versatile; allowing me to get up and get going the next morning.

Sleep cold? Use socks, beanie and neck-muff. Put the rope between your feet and the
wall of the tent to stop feet pressing against the cold. Set aside a midnight snack of a
muesli bar (and not a quick-hit of sugary chocolate).
Use a pee bottle inside your sleeping bag (make sure you are well and truly awake and
focused for this!). Saves getting up and more cold - and you have a hot water bottle to
cuddle up against...

evanbb

31-Dec-2009
2:25:30 PM

I used a 2.5 season + an inner bag in Tassie last January. Granted, it's not really winter, but it snowed every day so I guess it was a decent test. I was easily warm enough. Worked out lighter than my 4s bag, and it's a much more flexible system for longer trips; later that same trip at Freycinet I only used the thin bag.

Pat

31-Dec-2009
3:17:18 PM

Yep my old school outdoor ed teacher was an ex Antarctic expeditioner. He did exactly this with a couple
of J&H bags and it worked well ski touring the NSW alps. This was back in the day when J&H was still
made in a home garage. Ahh.. the good old days

PDRM

31-Dec-2009
5:46:28 PM

On 31/12/2009 Fitz wrote:
>Anyone got any experience extending a 3 season down bag to 4 season. I
>was considering putting a lightweight down summer bag inside but was wondering
>about loft, the 3 season bag is snuggish and the summer bag does not appear
>to loft well. I sleep cold so need it to work.

Did this for Denali - worked fine. I sleep hot though. Only proviso is that you tend to get tangled up a bit if you are taking much other stuff into the combo with you (pee bottles, socks, booties, etc.).

.M

foreverabumbly

31-Dec-2009
6:06:30 PM

you could also get a good thermal inner liner.

The smaller bag in the bigger bag works, there is even specific down liners you can get. If you are that worried about compression use a synthetic bag inside the down.

you can also shove clothing at your feet as well as all the other suggestions. You can make hot water bottles out of nalgenes. If you fill the nalgene to the brim with hot water/tang it lasts a long time.

The trouble with most these suggestions is that you do get the tangles like Macca said, and the fact that you are now carrying 2 sleeping bags and other keep warm at night articles weighs heavily if you are doing any walking/ski touring.

I use a 3 season sleeping bag all the time, mainy because Im too cheap to buy a better one, with a thermal inner sheet, if I get cold I put on my downie.

JamesMc

31-Dec-2009
8:39:19 PM

Just wear a down jacket to bed

JamesMc

Stefan Karpiniec

31-Dec-2009
8:49:50 PM

I remember those long nights lying there waiting for it to get light so I could get out and and get moving to get warm again. Made me what I am today. Do yourself a favour and buy a better bag.

IdratherbeclimbingM9

2-Jan-2010
9:54:57 AM

... one can also use a bivy bag to extend the temperature range of their sleeping bag. This also works inside tents, if you ever have the luxury!

southcol

2-Jan-2010
10:36:59 AM

use a bivvy bag, silk liner and a down jacket. That should cover the extra 'season' required. You need to look at expected temperatures too. e.g. are you upgrading to the 4th season in Australia or going from 3rd season here to 4th season in Alaska ?

Wendy

2-Jan-2010
11:00:31 AM

All the options bar buying a new bag sound heavy, bulky and probably just as expensive as the new bag. Unless this is a one off, near the car experience, and you already conveniently have thermal inners, bivvy bags and down jackets, I'd just buy a new bag. They aren't that expensive any more. Also being a cold sleeper, I got a -20 bag and I appreciate it even in Oz conditions, sometimes whilst still wearing almost all the clothes I have with me. I remember one trip where it was the 3rd pair of socks that finally made the difference!

another dave

2-Jan-2010
3:19:43 PM

Read this some time ago. Hope it helps
http://www.psychovertical.com/?maximisingwarmth

Sabu

8-Jan-2010
9:34:53 PM

If you're going to get a sleeping bag liner I can recommend getting a "Thermalite Reactor"
Liner from Sea to Summit. Much better than a silk liner.

However I'd say get a proper 4 season down bag. They're awesome and you can just unzip
most of them if things get too hot.

psd

9-Jan-2010
7:51:22 PM

On 8/01/2010 Sabu wrote:

>However I'd say get a proper 4 season down bag. They're awesome and you
>can just unzip
>most of them if things get too hot.

Yes quite right - like this one:
http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=10&MessageID=5757&Replies=2&PagePos=20&Sort=LastMessage#newpost
I'll accept $400 !!

There are 14 messages in this topic.