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Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7538678 06/20/19 03:14 PM
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Go with a Western Mountaineering bag. Depending on your physical size, look at the Badger, Antelope, Sequoia, or Kodiak. Buy from Hermit's Hut and they will include the overfill.

Pay close attention to "Comfort" and "Lower Limit" ratings. Most bags show the "Lower Limit" (will survive but can be cold).

Grab a high quality pad with a high R rating. Look at the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm.

The advice I was given: buy a bag from a company that specializes in bags and not from a company who specializes in other things such as clothing or backpacks.

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7538916 06/20/19 08:44 PM
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Buy a 4 piece US military modular sleep system on eBay and sleep comfortably in any weather down to -40. I got mine for about a hundred bucks and it looked brand new.

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: ntxtrapper] #7538922 06/20/19 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by ntxtrapper
Buy a 4 piece US military modular sleep system on eBay and sleep comfortably in any weather down to -40. I got mine for about a hundred bucks and it looked brand new.


This is what I was recommending

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7539006 06/20/19 10:59 PM
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Would those who recommend the military sleep system also recommend Trozacky bring a 15 pound range rifle on this hunt? Both will do the intended job extremely well. Both are 6+ pounds heavier than required where Trozacky will be hunting.

There is typically a 50 pound weight allowance excluding your weapon. Why use 18% of it just on a sleeping bag when you can get that number down to 6% or so. What other gear, both essential and non, would he have to leave behind to carry this sleeping bag?

Depending on animal movement, you may have to relocate camp a considerable distance over uneven, spongy ground over a 10-14 day hunt. The extra 6 pounds is going to suck as well as take up a lot of space in his pack compared to other types of bags.

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7539034 06/20/19 11:30 PM
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600 bucks to save 6 pounds. I don't come from money so it's not an option for me. Not sure about the OP though.

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: ntxtrapper] #7539150 06/21/19 02:33 AM
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Originally Posted by ntxtrapper
600 bucks to save 6 pounds. I don't come from money so it's not an option for me. Not sure about the OP though.


3 lbs is a lot of weight. Especially when you care capped.

There are a lot of good four season bags under $600


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Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7539206 06/21/19 06:11 AM
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Thanks again for all the posts. Were are allowed 80lbs for all personal gear including our rifle. So I'd really like to cut as much weight as possible. I'd also like to keep the budget around 500$ or less. Still leaning to the Kifaru slick bag wide. Got a few weeks before I have to pull the trigger on something. I believe the outfitter supplies a cot with our camping supplies but I'll probably get a pad also. Keep the ideas coming and thanks again.

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7539292 06/21/19 01:11 PM
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Western Mountaineering all the way, if you can afford it. You can find deals on eBay and Rokslide classifieds. I picked up a WM Versalite for $400. its a $650 bag. 10 degrees, 2 lb 2 oz total weight and packs down small. Kifaru slick bags are nice but pretty heavy and don't compress as much. Also have read they aren't always true to temp ratings esp if you are a cold sleeper. Don't get me wrong, I love Kifaru...top notch gear for sure. I drank the coolaid and bought one of their packs. WM is known for being extremely conservative on temp ratings on their bags. Also, look at WM bags on HermitsHut. If you are cool paying full price you can get free overfill from HermitsHut and they say it lowers temp rating by 8 to 10 degrees. My WM bag isn't waterproof but a good shelter is. You could also double up and run something like an OR helium bivy for additional protection of your sleeping bag from moisture and still be lighter than some of these heavier bag recommendations.

All the guys suggesting a military bag....not trying to bash the idea but you must not have packed 20+ miles with that on your back, let alone try to cram that thing in a pack and have room for the rest of your gear + quarters/cape/horns of whatever you kill. I'm sure they are great for car camping where weight is a non issue but I'd much rather have my 2 lb Western Mountaineering bag than something that is 4+ lbs and bulky. My entire shelter and sleep system is less than 6 lbs when I take my Seek Outside Eolus w/ nest. A little heavier total weight with the Cimarron but if I take the Cim I have a partner to carry half the weight of the shelter banana

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7539337 06/21/19 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Trozacky
Thanks again for all the posts. Were are allowed 80lbs for all personal gear including our rifle. So I'd really like to cut as much weight as possible. I'd also like to keep the budget around 500$ or less. Still leaning to the Kifaru slick bag wide. Got a few weeks before I have to pull the trigger on something. I believe the outfitter supplies a cot with our camping supplies but I'll probably get a pad also. Keep the ideas coming and thanks again.


If you want a mountain hardware bag pm me. They just revamped the line. I didn’t/havent tested any of the new line so I can’t attest to sizing. Now the older line I pretty much used every thing in the 30<


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Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7539705 06/21/19 10:22 PM
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Went with the Kifaru. Thanks again guys!

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: MacDaddy21] #7539728 06/21/19 11:03 PM
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Originally Posted by MacDaddy21
Western Mountaineering all the way, if you can afford it. You can find deals on eBay and Rokslide classifieds. I picked up a WM Versalite for $400. its a $650 bag. 10 degrees, 2 lb 2 oz total weight and packs down small. Kifaru slick bags are nice but pretty heavy and don't compress as much. Also have read they aren't always true to temp ratings esp if you are a cold sleeper. Don't get me wrong, I love Kifaru...top notch gear for sure. I drank the coolaid and bought one of their packs. WM is known for being extremely conservative on temp ratings on their bags. Also, look at WM bags on HermitsHut. If you are cool paying full price you can get free overfill from HermitsHut and they say it lowers temp rating by 8 to 10 degrees. My WM bag isn't waterproof but a good shelter is. You could also double up and run something like an OR helium bivy for additional protection of your sleeping bag from moisture and still be lighter than some of these heavier bag recommendations.

All the guys suggesting a military bag....not trying to bash the idea but you must not have packed 20+ miles with that on your back, let alone try to cram that thing in a pack and have room for the rest of your gear + quarters/cape/horns of whatever you kill. I'm sure they are great for car camping where weight is a non issue but I'd much rather have my 2 lb Western Mountaineering bag than something that is 4+ lbs and bulky. My entire shelter and sleep system is less than 6 lbs when I take my Seek Outside Eolus w/ nest. A little heavier total weight with the Cimarron but if I take the Cim I have a partner to carry half the weight of the shelter banana



Yeah suggesting a military bag would be about like saying use a Colorado canvas tent on a bivy hunt. roflmao

Last edited by ducknbass; 06/21/19 11:03 PM.
Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7540105 06/22/19 07:07 PM
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Lots of comments about hating mummy bags and then raging on weight restrictions. Mummy bags are effective because they keep the heat in at a light weight. -20 is too extreme, but if it's really the case, be utilitarian. Get a zero degree bag with a silk liner, and you'll be fine.

My $0.02 from backpacking through Alaska and Colorado range

Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7540112 06/22/19 07:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Trozacky
Went with the Kifaru. Thanks again guys!


Good deal I look forward to the pics of the trip!!! Will be an amazing season for you
up


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Re: -20° Sleeping Bag for Alaska [Re: Trozacky] #7544768 06/29/19 05:24 PM
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Good choice on the bag. When he says you want at least a -20 bag, he means it. I would personally go with at least -40. Where you will be hunting in September will most likely be in the hills and weather can be below zero to very warm. You can always unzip the bag and let heat out. You can not make the bag much warmer when you need it other than sleeping in clothes. And from experience, you will end up damp in your bag if you do this, just from your own body perspiration. Where we are at, we are not restricted to weight so we all have the Cabela's Alaska Guide square bottom bags to -40. I have been cold and miserable on a hunt in a less than adequate bag. Don't skimp.

You will also want a sleeping pad, like a Thermarest, even when sleeping on a cot. It is there to provide insulation, not so much for comfort. Sleeping in the bag, you will compress the fill with your own body weight and the cold, either from the ground if on ground or air if on cot, will go right through the bag and you will be cold and not sleep well. Seeing as how you will be supplied a cot, go with a thinner one. And don't go cheap with some blow up thing. You will want something that insulates you. If you were to be on the ground, I would go with the thickets you can get for comfort. Nothing on the Alaska ground is flat or comfortable.

-TJ


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