Ok I have a wife and two kids, both of the kids are under 5. The kids can’t pack a whole bunch of weight I have them taking there water. I was looking at sleeping bags for everyone but the kids are so short and it seams like a big waste of a sleeping bag, and space in my bag, and kids sacks are indoor use only. So I think I should just get a couple of blankets where we can all sleep together. This will save on space and at least share body heat. Is there good blanket for our BOB? It need to be able to remain compressed and retain its insulation. It gets cold here, at its worst maybe 4 below. But I would like it to not take up much space in my pack. Any suggestions?

www.wiggys.com .Email Jerry and inquire if he would make a custom blanket of lamilite. Few blankets are going to provide worthwhile insulation and compress down to a space blanket package. Lamilite won't solve the bulk problem, but if you compress it in a stuff sack it regains loft faster and at a higher percentile than anything out there. A packing option is to simply roll up whatever blanket you buy and lash it to the pack.

I think LL Bean or maybe REI carries kids bags that are real camping style bags not just sleepover bags.

Wiggy's online catalog says "All bags are zipper mateable." This should mean that two adult bags of the same type can be opened up and zipped together around the edges to form a double bag. You could ask them if this would provide a bag big enough to hold two adults and two small sprouts so you could share body heat.

Sue

My suggestion would be a polarfleece blanket (or two) - they are not compressible, but they are a nice thing to have around in general anyway - rolled up as a car pillow, as a picnic blanket, to cuddle up in on a cool night...

There's lots of cheap commercial ones around these days, or you can just get a piece of polarfleece from the fabric store and make your own custom creation. Our whole clan is in love with polarfleece for jackets, blankets, hats, etc. - a very warm material, dries fast, still okay insulation when wet, lightweight, comfy.

Kudos to what milestad said. A fleece blanket is a great solution -- though not enought for -4. Also, a fleece hoodie runs about $10 at the discount stores and are very comfortable.

TRO

It is a fact that kids will not be able to retain body heat as easily as grown adults. It's all about the mass to surface area ratio.

That said, Rivers West makes a fleece blanket out of their proprietary H2P material that is windproof, waterproof, and darned near indestructible. I got one for "The Wife" and she calls it her pacifier because 5 minutes after she climbs in her chair with it, she is out for the count. They are lightweight and moderately compressible, but by far the best fleece product you will find.

There are a number of really good down and synthetic bags for kids out there. Check REI and Coleman, among others. Some of them stuff down to quite a small volume, yet when unpacked loft up very well. I suggest synthetic instead of down, given the nocturnal tendencies of many youngsters.

A four pound qualofil bag cut to a kid's size ought to be good down to minus 20, and should easily stuff down to less than 1 cubic foot.

If you go with blankets buy some blanket pins. These are very large safety pins and usually available in sewing and fabric outlets. A few of these can turn a good blanket into a secure sleepiing system.

-4 is dang cold and a couple of blanket won't cut it. A kid sized sleeping bag and pad will do a better job and be lighter.

Consider a good supply of chemcial handwarmers to toss in with junior to ADD heat to the bag.

google "child sleeping bag" and check with REI etc.

Any time I can not carry a bag, I roll up a GI wool blanket and a tarp. More than one soldier has shivered through a freezing night in a wool blanket. I have also started carrying a space blanket sleeping bag. Along with the wool blanket it works quite well and it only takes up the space of a cigarette pack. At 4 below almost any thing but a cold weather bag or a whole pile of blankets is going to be cold. My suggestion is try it out on a cold night and see what level of comfort you are willing to withstand.

No matter what you use for a bag or blanket, be sure you have something to cover the little guys' heads, necks & shoulders to prevent body heat loss.

Sue

Thanks for the suggestions. I think that I will check and see if the north face dark star has a left handed zipper option. I have a one with a right handed zipper so maybe I can marry them together. The Dark Star is a -40 bag and we have spent many comfortable nights together where it has been so cold a layer of ice forms on top of the outer shell. Now I just hope I can find a lefty.