while I have camped for many years I have just started to get into Backpacking and am haveing trouble finding a sleeping bag that I can fit into yet fit in to my pack. I have looked at some diffrent brands at my local Cabela's, but would be skined alive if my wife found out that I droped a good chunk of change on a sleeping bag.
Any one know of a good brand of bag that will pack small you fit a larger sized person???

It's not a dedicated sleeping bag, but my poncho/liner combo rolls up and packs down quite small, and gives me quite a bit of warmth for the size/weight... and if it gets really cold, the AMK bivvy is a pretty good back up to go along with the poncho/liner... if that combo won't keep me warm, it's time to build a bigger fire <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

Troy

Get one that comes with a compression sack, that is intended for packing. I got an excellent one at REI, good down to 15*F and packs down nicely.

I'm thinking of loosing my sleeping bag and simply cover myself with some kind of blanket... I don't need a "bag" per se. Maybe you should try to find a blanket that suits you well (instead of a bag)?

I use a hammock. They are compact,very lightweight, comfortable, keep you off the ground and with a small thermal blanket they work great. All you need is 2 trees.

Let me answer with a question- what kind of climate are we talking.

I do the blanket and hammock thing in the summer if the weather is good. But cold kills easily enough without us showing off how tuff we are once the temp is below, say 50.

I have blanket that would work, dont know why I did not think of it.
As for the climate, I live in Kansas so depending on the time of year it can swing in a wide range, last week we had a couple of hot days 90+ the next day was to be the same and it only got in to the mid 70's. A guy I work with is getting me in to it and wants to hike southren MO and work our way "up" to bigger and better things. we have talked about winter hiking but I think I would rather do a "drive up" winter camp first.

If I'm expecting the weather to get cold, I build a shelter and a good fire. Here , we don't have real drastic changes in the weather but in Texas I always take a sleeping bag. I've seen it go from 85 degrees to 6" of snow and ice in just a few hours so I always build a shelter when I'm there.

I would say that one's perspective on sleeping bags is definantly created by one's enviroment.

I would also say, always expect it to be cold, but I'm lucky enough to live in a less than obliging climate. And I honestly enjoy it that way. If it was 80 when you conked out at last twilight, 50 with a heavy dew a shock to the system.

if you're looking for a more roomier bag you might want to look at these from REI. they seem a bit wider than normal bags. not cheap, but not too pricey either. http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductD...vcat=REI_SEARCH
good luck.

Before you spend one penny spend some time understanding the bag. You are looking at a system of INSULATION which means trapping warm air. The colder the outside temperature the warmer, and therefor bulkier ( aka loft) the system. Now take this basic rule and demand it compress into a small package for carrying. You could A. vacume compress it, which is very expensive and good for one carry B. reduce the loft with claims of some secret discovery or interpretation of insulation. If you do either, there is another real world problem, that of how well and fast your insulation regains it's full loft and performance after compression. Now add to this your personal statement of large body size and we have the classic conundrum the industry is only to willing to 'solve' with exaggerated claims and voodoo science. Shelter may be the most vital item in your kit, More vital than fire making or a knife in many scenarios. You wouldn't carry paper matches and a Rambo knockoff, why shortchange yourself on a bag? I laugh at people who moan over a few extra pounds or cubic inches in a modern bag. Have you ever seen a photo of a real 19th century cowboy bedroll, not the doormat canvas tied onto moviestar horses? The monsters required a seperate wagon or a dedicated pack horse just for the bag! A good website to sort through all of this is www.wiggys.com

Welcome to the hiking crowd! I use a Slumberjack 20 degree for winter and a fleece liner for summer. Also have a mid-wieght 30 degree for those fall trips where you never know.

I feel your pain on the size. It would be nice to not have to buy the extra big bags or the extra long bags...but such is the price us larger fellas pay. Just think, you're getting more exercise by carrying more weight. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Oh yeah, when you are buying a backpack...you might look for one that provides plenty of space for your sleeping system..whatever that might be.

Western Mountaineering makes outstanding down bags, and has an ultralight series that includes larger bags that are still light and highly compressable. Check them out here:

http://www.westernmountaineering.com

They're also still made in the US.

I second the Wiggy bags. They're not cheap or light, but they will keep you warm. I have the flexible range system. Use the thicker one as a pad and the lighter one as a blanket.

No offense Chris, you seem to like thier gear and maybe actually know the guy who runs that shop, but a word of caution to anyone looking at Wiggy.

I've read a lot of reviews of thier gear, because of Chris' recommendation, and they fall into two categories. One is that the sun rises and sets by wiggy, which is the most common. Or that when they screw up, they screw up big, like 0 rated bags that people were cold testing at 40 degrees. No middle ground. Stuff like scares me- no one is that erratic unless they have a QC issue. And they seem to have more, percentage wise, negatives than a lot of other brands.

And EVERY negative review or evaluation that I've read that indicated that there was attempt to contract the manufacturer stated that customer concerns are apparently greeted with at best less than professional conduct, and often abuse. Even some of the POSSITVE reviews said that customer service was an unpleasant experince. One or two is one thing, a bad customer blowing steam, but the consistancy of that little factoid makes me think a little less highly of the company, if not thier gear.

The fact that thier newsletters, the archives of which I HAVE read on thier website, seem to usually have something in them that can be summed up as "the competators' products are crap, thier management is fools", et al, also concerns me. I had to laugh at one when he was going on about a fill that the rest of the industry uses, and oddly, those manufacturers are what the bigger expeditions that I see pictures of are using.

As I said, this based on others' experince, but it's enough to keep me from buying from this company. Don't take my word for it. Check out trailspace.com- I would also normally suggest outdoorreview.com and backpackgeartest.org, but it seems that thier Wiggy reviews that were there a couple years ago aren't there any more.

This site has a few bags that look pretty compact to my "never backpacked before" brain. Probably overpriced, but you could shop around of course. I don't know how "big" they are...if you get one, let me know...I'm oversized (and overstuffed) myself! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Why does it have to fit inside the pack? Can't you have it in a separate waterproof pack and tie it on top or below the main pack?

Big bags for big guys, that are designed to keep you warm are kind of bulky. It's just a fact of life.

Sue

I was looking at the Emergency Essentials catalog I got in the mail today, and noticed they have a +5 bag that is supposed to be "roomy". I don't know about the quality, but it may be worth checking out.

Internal frame backpack or external frame? If internal, it needs to fit the available space(s); more info needed to advise (which make & model). If external frame, size is pretty much machts nichts. In either case, for Kansas use I suggest carrrying it in an inexpensive drysack from Outdoor Research or Sea to Summit - once you pick the bag I can help you figure out which size drysack will work.

How much weight are you aiming at and how long will the trips be? Minimum temps you may camp in? Budget? You might not need an actual sleeping bag or you might do well with an overbag sized to fit you (which can be paired with another conventional bag later for colder weather use).

You a cold sleeper or a warm one? Going to tough it out in sweat-soaked day clothes or skin down to sleep or change to non-sweaty sleeping underclothes or ???

We can help you figure something out.

I have an internal frame Kelty Red Cloud 5600 for a pack.

As for the time out, the guy who is getting me in to this is just planning on 2-4 days out for now as we are both new to this.

I'm thinking that I will have to prob pack 40-50lbs of stuff.

For the temps, it's hard to say, but I would be willing to go as low as 20 or 30 deg. but it will mostly likely be night time lows in the 40 -60 range. And the budget is the other big problem, us low level goverment workers get paid in beans, and the wife tends to nag when I spend money on what she thinks is silly aka anything that is not clothes for her LOL.
So Ayers I hope tis helps you some, any and all help is welcome and thanks to the rest of you who have given me some good ideas

OK - fitting an inexpensive large 30 deg bag in the sleeping bag compartment of the Kelty is moderately challenging... depending on your notion of "inexpensive". Nice pack; good value. I've been using a Kelty Slickrock of similar overall volume (no pockets) for several years and it's been hassle-free and very comfortable for trips of up to a week in the wintertime, but learning to use the sleeping back compartment wisely was a challenge at first. Just used it for a 4 day backpacking trip in HOT weather where time/distance between water meant toting more water than normal and it worked great - I usually use a favorite old external frame in hot weather, but other than the sweaty back, after this trip I am leaning more to the internal... takes me a while to change out gear and get used to it.

You're probably in the realistic ballpark for total pack weight with common equipment and food - depends on how much water you carry at any given time. You can prune the weight a bit with experience, and your pack can handle longer duration trips than you contmeplate, so I guess one of your challenges will be to NOT stuff it full of things you won't need.

You're for certain going to need a means of compressing a sleeping bag of that size in order to get it into the compartment. I've had great luck with using appropriately sized dry sacks to function as compression bags, plus they absolutely keep the bag dry. A little technique required, but it's not difficult. Otherwise, a two-axis compression sack will get the job done.

Um, I've got to hit the supply stores and get a ton of things done this weekend, but I'll post back later some suggestions to look into. This time of year, any old thing you can stuff into the compartment will be peachy.

It would narrow things down for me if you could toss out a budget number... how much can you get away with spending without too severe of a "beating"? This is pretty simple if you want to go with a high-end down bag... might require a trip to the hospital for you, though <grin>...

Regards,

Tom

I second a blanket. A couple of years ago I gave up on sleeping bags because I couldn’t stand the straight-jacket effect. I purchased some SmartWool blankets from Sierra Trading Post. Yes, SmartWool is expensive, but on close-out I paid $35 each (including shipping) for a 51”x71” blanket which weighs 31 ounces on my kitchen scale. I own six altogether, two each for myself, wife, and son.

I first used them when I went camping with my 7-year old son. The night time lows were mild (low 40s), and it was breezy, but not too windy. We slept together in a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight and used Thermarest ProLites for insulation from the ground (i.e., the blankets were only on top of us, not wrapped around). Since we were together, we could double up the two blankets we had. Turns out we didn’t need to. As the night wore on we kept shedding clothes, finally down to our underwear. After that, we kicked off the blankets we were so hot. In the early morning hours I pulled one blanket back on (my son slept oblivious).

Morals of my story: (1) I and my son both sleep hot, so a little insulation goes a long way; (2) a good tent traps heat; (3) if you’re with someone, the shared heat will make a big difference; (4) separate ground protection helps a lot (a sleeping bag compressed under the weight of a person doesn’t offer much insulation on the bottom); (5) the weather cooperated. In short, there’s a lot of individual variables that will probably affect your results.

I love the SmartWool blankets. I’m not straight-jacketed. They breathe. If they get wet, they still work. They don’t melt like synthetics. I especially like that they’re not limited to camping use—I try to buy gear that’s not too specialized to get maximum utils. If I expect really cold weather, I take two; otherwise I take one. In any case, I take an AMK bivvy as insurance in the day pack which rides at the top of my Kelty 50th Anniversary external frame pack. The bivvy’s job is the same as the tent’s: trap the heat. Yes, the bivvy would trap me like a sleeping bag, but then the bivvy is for emergency use, not casual use.