Best Sleeping bag for the Money ??

[Tentwing]

Now i will be the first to say that the number of quality sleeping bags is far greater now than when I was doing most of my hike -in camps back in the 80's and 90's .
Also the degree rating now has a standard nowadays ( way back when one companies zero degree bag was another companies 25 degree bag and you didn't know what you really had until you spent a cold night out in it )

That being said I don't much care for the ER or European Rating System that seems to be the standard for measuring a sleeping bags temperature rating now days. You just about have to being wearing a weeks worth of fleece and have an insulated pad under the bag for the rating to apply ,But at least its is a consistent rating system that nearly all companies use now.

Now I have an old LL Bean bag from the 90's that was rated a zero degree bag on the old American rating scale, and while it doesn't pack down very small it will keep you warm wearing nothing but boxers and laying on the tent floor at around 5 whole degrees outside It will also retain heat even if it gets wet. Now it is not much of a back packers bag as it weighs nearly 5 lbs and again it does not pack down very small.

Now on the easy to pack small side I have a Marmot Trestles 15 degree bag that will pack down to about 8 inches round and 13 inches long and weighs around 3lb and some change. It is extra long and extra wide and has plenty of room for a fat boy with mild claustrophobia like me . On the down side it is a 15 degree European rating and in truth it will keep you warm at about 25 degrees with an insulated sleeping pad under it and if your wearing fleece pant a long sleeve t-shirt and socks
Quick note it is fairly cheap for a high end bag you can get it through Campmor for about $89 right now.

Now for all of you fat boys like me that want a truly roomy bag that will pack down very small without dropping $700 plus. Montbell makes a roomy bag back packers bag that ain't cheap but is only about 2/3rds the cost of similar quality bags of the bigger named companies.

Also LL Bean has once again come out with a true zero degree bag with enough shoulder room for folks like me, and is somewhat more packable than most zero degree bags and nearly equal on that of the $600 plus bags. The really good news is that it will run around the $229 mark. Not bad for a true zero degree bag that will pack down small and is water resistant. and will keep you warm even if it gets wet.

If any of you real back packers out there sleeping bag secrets or bargains to share please post away.

[Marmot]

I have had pretty good luck with Kelty as an exception to the higher priced brands. But they may be crap now. The one I have is prob fifteen years old and still in great shape.

Also, buying your winter bag this time of year when temps are rising and stores are trying to get rid of last years inventory is a great way to save some cash. Same with down jackets and fleeces.

Marmot

[tsani]

Tentwing, go to www.rei.com. I have bought all my camping and hiking equipment from them when I was younger and did a lot of weekend and or hiking and camping in North Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Marmot makes an excellent sleeping bag!

[Tentwing]

tsani;

I do use the REI site a lot especially for research. They tend to give you more specifications than other sites. The problem i have ran into is that the majority of companies do not make a fuller size bag. for folks like me. ( fat and wide shouldered )
Now you can find wider bags but they are either very heavy for back packing or will not pack down small or both or they are higher temp rating to cut back on bulk and weight.

The trick to finding a size bag that will fit bigger fellas or slightly claustrophobic folks is to find a shoulder width that is 35 inches or wider or some companies like to use total shoulder circumference to HIDE how narrow their bags are, so for those companies look for a total shoulder circumference of 70 inches or greater.

As far as wider bags with both low weight to temp rating ratio in the zero to 15 degree range, and pack-ability sufficient for back packing the LL Bean 650 fill Goose down bag is the cheapest option in it"s price and quality range. The Marmot Trestles X-wide is a good "bang for the buck option" $89 at Campmor ( it is only that cheap because they are discontinuing that model ), and as for the really good stuff Montbell makes several bags that do everything mentioned above. They are in the $300 to $450 dollar range according to which style you pick, but will easily compete with most of the $750 to $1000 bags out there.

Hope some of this helps this helps some of you guys like me ( Jenny Craig candidates ) .............Tentwing