520 Road Sow
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I have one of each. I'm pretty sure my BIL has the mega mat, it doesn't compress very small but I'd sacrifice the extra weight and size for a good night sleep.
Unlimited sheep sleeping bag
- Thread starter freu1chr
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El Jason
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The 7?
520 Road Sow
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MTLabrador
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I’m probably going after sheep next year, and if I do I’ll be packing a Western Mountaineering Antelope 5 degree bag and a Thermarest Xtherm pad.
SilverDollars
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Howdy. Well, I'll never be able to sheep hunt, my apologies, but I backpack hunt the Rockies, where nightly low temps happen and backpack weights are always too heavy. So I like to carry a light weight down-filled bag, preferably something larger than the total mummy style. Here's what my research led me to =>
Finding a sleeping bag, begs for a few thoughts to consider.
There's filling material: type, quality, and amount.
There's the style or shape of the bag.
The overall weight of the bag. Is it a backpack style/type bag or not?
STYLE was high on my list. I need more room, to sleep comfortably, than a "mummy" (coffin) style bag offers. This bag is a modified mummy and I can move naturally as I would in my bed at home. I bought the "Long" size bag because of my height. The web linked specs are exact and clear. I haven't measured my bag, but when it is compressed(in it's own C-bag) it is about the size of a gallon of milk.
I too, also believe greatly on the value of the sleeping pads! I use 2 and neither is an inflatable. Heck, I get plenty of flat tires in life. Why would I trust an inflatable sleeping pad with my "inflation luck"? I have 1 roll-up pad and 1 fold-up pad which combine to make about 2.5 inches. Yes, they are a bulky item strapped on the pack, but I sleep warm and well!
Sea to Summit Ascent AcIII 0 Sleeping Bag
Well it's easy enough to find a web link to read the specks for yourself. REI, etc....Finding a sleeping bag, begs for a few thoughts to consider.
There's filling material: type, quality, and amount.
There's the style or shape of the bag.
The overall weight of the bag. Is it a backpack style/type bag or not?
STYLE was high on my list. I need more room, to sleep comfortably, than a "mummy" (coffin) style bag offers. This bag is a modified mummy and I can move naturally as I would in my bed at home. I bought the "Long" size bag because of my height. The web linked specs are exact and clear. I haven't measured my bag, but when it is compressed(in it's own C-bag) it is about the size of a gallon of milk.
I too, also believe greatly on the value of the sleeping pads! I use 2 and neither is an inflatable. Heck, I get plenty of flat tires in life. Why would I trust an inflatable sleeping pad with my "inflation luck"? I have 1 roll-up pad and 1 fold-up pad which combine to make about 2.5 inches. Yes, they are a bulky item strapped on the pack, but I sleep warm and well!
D
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My xtherm started loud but it’s gotten better, I also have the BA quad… it’s not as warm and it’s heavier but it’s more comfortable.
recurveman
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I bring a big agnes 15 degree bag and a thermarest pad. I will tell you I'm willing to spend some extra weight on this part of my system. It's all fun and games to sleep in a small light bag until you hit day 4. Then it sucks the life out of you.
Here is the deal. What gear you bring isn't that important. Guys spend way more time talking about gear than actually using your gear. Grab a pack, throw some gear and food in it and go hunting. That is way more important that spending thousands of dollars and years of research. After a week in the back country you will find flaws with every single piece of gear you own. You work around the issues and keep on hunting. That just the way it is.
Here is the deal. What gear you bring isn't that important. Guys spend way more time talking about gear than actually using your gear. Grab a pack, throw some gear and food in it and go hunting. That is way more important that spending thousands of dollars and years of research. After a week in the back country you will find flaws with every single piece of gear you own. You work around the issues and keep on hunting. That just the way it is.
GrantK
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Xtherm is my go-to when it's cold, you can get away with an Xlight down to about 15 without any issues... they do get quieter when you use them, it doesn't take long...
the latest generation is shockingly durable for an inflatable, I'd still stay away from the Uberlight for the durability reason but boy is it light...
D
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TrumpkinTheDwarf
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Down is lighter for a given warmth, packs smaller, and the MT sheep hunters don't have to worry about 10 straight days of rain usually... Of course, I've probably just guaranteed that September 2022 is miserably wet.
bsmith
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Stone glacier 0 degree, seek outside cimarron, sea to summit ether light xt, Tyvek ground sheet. A lot of great advice given so far. I’m also booked for a goat hunt in Alaska so I tried to be able to buy multipurpose stuff and they recommended 0 degree bags for that hunt. Cimarron has a weight penalty but it’s been exceptional and I split the weight up with a partner.
520 Road Sow
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Quality is all it takes. Don't over think it or we'll have a what tent thread next.....
Therma-rest Xtherm for me. I also bring a Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor liner for my sleeping bag. It adds some serious warmth, and it airs out pretty well, which I find important for my smelly a$$ on multi day hunts until I can no longer smell myself.
buffybr
Well-known member
For many years I've used a down mummy bag that I got in the early '70s on top of an air mattress or a 4" foam pad when I packed in on my horses.
I used that same down mummy bag and air mattress in 1999 when I hunted Dall sheep in Canada's Mackenzie Mountains. A common problem with an air mattress is that it will loose air overnight and you wake up on the ground. That happened to my on that hunt, and after I killed my ram and got back to base came, I mentioned that to one of the other hunters in camp. I was hunting both a Dall ram and a Mountain Caribou and as he was only hunting a ram, he was leaving camp before me. He happened to be from Helena which I would pass through on my way home, so he offered to let me use his Thermo-rest pad for the rest of my hunt, and I returned his pad to him when I drove through Helena on my way home.
On one of my Unlimited ram hunts in Unit 500, 3 of us packed a camp in with 4 of our horses. When we got to our campsite I discovered that I had forgot my sleeping bag. We had my wall tent with a wood stove, but I slept on my horse pads and piled everything I could find on top of me.
When I went on my Dagestan Tur hunt in Azerbaijan in 2017 I bought a Thermo-rest pad and a lightweight Cabela's sleeping bag. They worked fine, except for the second night out when we slept on the ground with only a sheet of plastic over us. We were hunting above timberline next to the Russian border.
I have used that Thermo-rest pad and Cabela's bag on most of my hunts since 2017.
I used that same down mummy bag and air mattress in 1999 when I hunted Dall sheep in Canada's Mackenzie Mountains. A common problem with an air mattress is that it will loose air overnight and you wake up on the ground. That happened to my on that hunt, and after I killed my ram and got back to base came, I mentioned that to one of the other hunters in camp. I was hunting both a Dall ram and a Mountain Caribou and as he was only hunting a ram, he was leaving camp before me. He happened to be from Helena which I would pass through on my way home, so he offered to let me use his Thermo-rest pad for the rest of my hunt, and I returned his pad to him when I drove through Helena on my way home.
On one of my Unlimited ram hunts in Unit 500, 3 of us packed a camp in with 4 of our horses. When we got to our campsite I discovered that I had forgot my sleeping bag. We had my wall tent with a wood stove, but I slept on my horse pads and piled everything I could find on top of me.
When I went on my Dagestan Tur hunt in Azerbaijan in 2017 I bought a Thermo-rest pad and a lightweight Cabela's sleeping bag. They worked fine, except for the second night out when we slept on the ground with only a sheet of plastic over us. We were hunting above timberline next to the Russian border.
I have used that Thermo-rest pad and Cabela's bag on most of my hunts since 2017.
rmyoung1
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Truer words have not been spoken
mtnkid85
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The fact of the matter is we are talking about SW Montana here. Sure there is some gnarly weather that blows through that range but its not anything like the coasts or SE AK. Early season you might have afternoon rain. Later in the season its going to be snow and for the most part our continental snowpack means its going to be cold and fairly dry.
The bigger issue to deal with in the region is just the sustained cold/wind.
For a sleeping bag, I generally want the highest insulation per unit of weight I can get and that equals down.
During that late fall season I do go to a Synthetic puffy jacket though. Because while Im out hunting Im more likely to get my clothes wet. But my bag is either going to be inside my pack or already in the shelter.
TBoschma
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To me that is about as good as it gets! I run the katabatic 20* quilt with a EE bivy and a thermorest xtherm for a little more insulation. all that puts me right at 3 pounds. I love this setup so much that I have given it consideration for a oct goat hunt in Alaska even though I know they recommend synthetic for that hunt.
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