Sleeping bag size

[KittyOnMyFoot]

When I see pics of ultra-light setups, I notice that the sleeping bags seem to fit into unusually small sacks, generally carried on the handlebars. I'm still using some old Sears model that I've had since I was a kid, and there's nothing small about it (it goes into its own saddlebag on my rear rack with some serious cramming). Could you post pics of your sleeping bags in their respective sacks? How compact do they actually get? It may be time to purchase a new sleeping bag.

[bmike-vt]

Not the smallest, but a 30d down bag and full length insulated air core pad fit in the dry sack behind the front pocket. I think I can get the bag alone down to 6x8 or smaller.

 
Revelate harness by mbeganyi, on Flickr

[joeydurango]

No pictures, but my sleeping bag packs down to about the size of a loaf of bread.  More expensive bags can pack down to much smaller than that.  I was going for a nice middle ground between size/weight and cost... I ended up with a Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina 32.  Synthetic fill, supposedly 32* bag but according to Euro standards more like 40*, just under 2 lbs.  You can pick one up at your local outdoor store for around $200.  I've been quite happy with mine.

[tonymason]

Sorry no photos either.
I have a Montebell 40 degree down bag that packs down to 1.5 liters.
Fits about anywhere you want to put it.

[AZTtripper]

No pics either but this is what I have for 3 season use http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Phantom%E2%84%A2-32-%28Regular%29/OU8440_R,default,pd.html Packs down plenty small with compression sack nice and light well worth the price. I put mine in the seatpost bag along with a warm clothes layer and a light weight tarp.

I also have something similar to this http://www.kelty.com/p-483-celestial-55.aspx?category=sleeping-bags-pads for summer use. Mine is more of a fleece top but the bottom is a plain sheet like this one. I haven't used it much but did recently for a summer trip with rain highly likely. It made sense to go synthetic as we did get rained on. It packed into the same size compression sack but it must weigh about 1 pound more. For the rain I also brought my bigger 8x10 nylon tarp.

[mgindle]

I get my 40degree down bag (lafuma), an aircore matress (big agnes) and bivy (outdoor reserach) in my seatbag comfortably with space for a jacket if necessary.http://www.bikepacking.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/IMG_1439-640x478.jpg

[KittyOnMyFoot]

Thanks everyone - those weigh a lot less than mine too. When putting these in handlebar-mounted bags, how are you routing your cables? Bmike-vt, yours appear to be routed beneath your bar tape... is everyone using drop down bars like that? I have pretty stock mountain bike handlebars (basically a straight pole), and am not sure how I could get anything up there.

[AZTtripper]

I use standard riser bars and just push the cables back out of the way. I have also seen people get the pack under the bars and cables. It's not that hard to work out. My bar harness is really simple just a sheet of cordura with two short straps and plastic buckles around the bars, then a top and side strap for holding the bag on. I also put a longer strap doubled around the bars and bag. I also have a strap on the bottom of the harness that goes thru the fork crown it's not supper tight but it keeps it from bouncing.

Hope that helps.

Tim

[a.k.a.]

KittyOnMyFoot,

Maybe this'll be of use to others.  Let's back up and pretend you're shopping for the best bag for your adventures.  Here's what you'll want to know:

COMPRESSABILITY

A down-fill bag with a higher-end fill quality (above 600 fill) is likely to be packable into a 10 liter stuff sack if it tests in the 30s, and into a 15 liter bag if it tests in the low teens.  For frequent use, we don't recommend using a stuff sack with compression straps, however, as it will wear the down plumules out faster.

Even the best synthetic-fill bags are going to weigh between 2/3 and 2 lbs heavier than a down bag, and take up correspondingly more space.  The advantage of synthetics is strictly safety: "Whoops I spilled my water bottle!" could mean the end of your trip if you're using a down bag without a water repellency treatment on the shell, because you'll need 2-3 days for the insulation to dry out.

TEMPERATURE ACCURACY

Working at a LBS (local backpacking shop), I can tell you that what kind of bag is going to work best for you is dependent on a few things: 1) Are you man or woman?  2) What's the lowest temperature night you might encounter?  3) What's your budget?

Women sleep 10-15 degrees F colder than men, because of lower capillary density in extremities as well as lower muscle mass.  Bag makers are being dragged kicking and screaming into the world of standardized temp testing mandated by the European Union, but we're not there yet in terms of the names given to the bags. Poster child for this problem is The North Face Women's Snow Leopard, which claims to be 0 degree, but tests at 25 for women and 12 for men -- and costs $200 of your wasted money.  Basically TNF ported the men's name over to the women's bag without adjusting insulation ... AND they had already fudged by 12 degrees on the men's temp.

Even if you look up the exact EU temperature testing results for bags (Google the bag's name + "comfort" to get women's test results or + "lower limit" to get the men's test result), you should give yourself at least 5 degrees of margin.

Net result: For compressability, if you're a woman, you have no option but to go with a down, not a synthetic, because around the freezing range for women, the synthetic bag fill requirements begin to blimp exponentially.

Conversely, if you're a man under 5'10", you can save a bit of money: Take advantage of some of the bag makers' moves into the age of standardized temp testing, and grab a long women's bag, which will come with more insulation than the equivalent men's bag, for the exact same price as a men's bag.  Three of several bag makers that do this are Marmot, REI and Sierra Designs.  You could grab, say, an REI Women's Halo 40 and have yourself essentially a Men's Halo 25 for $75 less.

Hope this helps.

BTW, a good place to get an overdose of backpacking gear opinion is the Backpackinglight forums, populated by ueber-serious gram weenies.

[ridebikeme]

I have a Marmot "poundha" that as you can guess weighs a pound. Insulation is primaloft and is a 40 degree bag. I've been extremely happy with it, have used it in temperatures slightly below 40 and have been warm. The downside is that they stopped making the bag shortly after I purchased it, so will have to check to see what their current offering is.

Thanks for the info Kittyonmyfoot, although I would wonder if a womans bag might be too tight in the shoulders for a man??

[a.k.a.]

More often than not, the shoulder width between men's and women's bags are NOT an issue.  They're surprisingly similar once you're comparing a Women's Long and a Men's Regular.  Basically, if you're already tight in a men's bag, you'll be tight in a women's bag.  You'll know from experience.

You'd want to at least try out the same brand in store, if possible.  Further, the shoulder width figures for any model can often be Googled for any brand.  Certain bag makers are notoriously narrow (Mountain Hardwear) while others are generous in girth (Big Agnes, REI, Marmot, MontBell SuperSpiral Down series).

[alirawk]

I'm a Southern Californian native so needless to say I'm a bit of marshmallow when it comes to cold. For years I've used a Marmot Sawtooth 15 degree down bag through many winters of camping in Joshua Tree for the climbing season when it dips well below freezing every night. Rarely too cold and on those nights I threw on my down sweater and was fine. The Sawtooth I have is a few years old and has a 600 fill and weighs about 3.5 lbs. It's a great bag for the money.

However I just bought the new Marmot Plasma, 900 fill down, and must say it's pretty much the greatest bag I've ever used. The Plasma weighs just under 2 lbs, together with my Pacific Outdoors Peak AC sleeping pad, I can very easily get my sleeping set up stuffed down to a bundle about 7" wide with a 6" diameter -- and this is with very little forcing. My tent is pretty small too, a Big Agnes Seedhouse 1, also under 2 lbs, and extremely easy to pack down about 8" long, 5" diameter. I'm trying to balance ultra light and somewhat comfortable, also I'm not cool with critters and I've heard too many horror stories about snakes in sleeping bags to even consider a tarp tent or bivy or whatever. Admittedly I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to gear and really like going light as I often carry lots of heavy climbing gear. This is probably one of the lightest, warmest, and smallest sleeping set ups, but it's a bit expensive and not particularly necessary. But it's pretty awesome.