Sleeping Bags

If its not going to be enough of an issue often enough to buy different bags, then why bother with anything?

We have 0 deg bags and on cold nights down to -5 and lower have a cooler sleeping bag we can zip open and throw over the top.
Also has been known to have good underwear and a pair of trackkies on :-)
This has been good down to -15.

I have used the fleecy sleeping bag liners that you can get at Ray's Outdoors for $19.95.

Great addition to regular bag when it is really cold and it also makes a fantastic lightweight bag by itself for warmer nights.

Cheers
Muddy

I have a bivy bag which folds up to a very small bundle and it improves the bags efficiency a lot . Important to have a good insulator between you and the ground or you and the canvas stretcher - those really thin closed sell roll up mats are great for this .
Cheers ,
Willie .

Try puting your good s/bag inside another. I have often used two, the outside one is an older rectangular type and is a bit larger than my good one,works terrific.
cheers,
S.Cat.

I bought some polyprop liners from Kathmandu for my recent trek through Cradle Mountain. They are supposed to add 7°C to the bag and although pricey even on special it was cheaper than buying a new -5° bag for basically a week of use and they would be too hot in normal WA camping conditions.

I 'think' the polyprop liners are better than silk or cotton. They are mummy shaped and I didn't find myself getting tangled up. I slept on a thermarest, 38mm, and wore cotton thermals to bed but it WAS inside huts so the -5° outside didn't come inside too much, and with the heat from 30 bodies it was kinda cosy really.

On a desert trek last year I used camp beds to get us off the ground, then put a thin blue hiking mat from Big W under the air mattress. Still got pretty cold in -2° temps, but that was before I had the polyprop liners which I believe are great and would make all the difference. A lot of cold comes up from underneath - newspaper might even make a difference if you're on the ground - you won't dare roll over too much, be crinkling all night :-)

Tim

Complicated stuff some of you guys are into.

I have one bag which is rated to minus 5C, recently (when it was -5C) I put the car rug on top of the bag because I was a _little_ cold, that solved the problem.

I have used the same bag through the whole range of temps up to 45C (days - don't know what the night temp was but it was hot). I just use the zip to control the temperature - the hotter I am the more I open the zip and vice versa.

I sleep on either a 3" foam mattress in the swag or a 4" self inflating one in the tent.

Works for me.

Mike Harding

I guess you havea couple of options, and it all comes down to how much you have to spend.

I use a Bivvy Bag made of gortexwhich have served me very well over the last 8yrs, however, this was expensive $400, back then, I think they have come down a little in price now but great if you dont have a swag, as they are light, windproof, waterproof and keep the dew off.

But a cheaper otpion as others have suggested would be a sleeping bag liner or a rug over the top.

But the most important thing is some sort of insulation between you and the ground.

Cheers

Zam

We all use -5 deg bage and use hot water bottles, one each in the boys bags and 2 in our double. If you have a kettle with a spout, its as easy as filling them at home but if you have just a round billy then you may find it a problem. EASY!!!!!! Michael

Thanks everybody.

I think our first step will be to add some Coleman or similar self inflating mattresses.

We will take our extra bags to throw over as doonas.

After thought I realized that any cover with weight in it will compress the loft of the sleeping bags and reduce their effectiveness.

By explanation, we are starting to go more often in winter because the kids are older and to escape the heat, flies etc of summer.

I well recall going doing some bush camping on school trips in the mountains around Gippsland, Vic in July. Very bloody cold.

My parents shelled out the readies for a good, down filled bag for me. The bloke I shared a tent with had parents who weren't quite as well heeled and he used a cheapie bag and put a "space" blanket (one of those big sheets of foil you can pick up for a few dollars at camping stores). It kept him as warm as toast. It seemed to reflect the warmth in and the cold away.

G'day Evie, :)

spent a night at the headwaters of the Turon wks ago, -10 degrees, tent covered in ice and my large billy half filled was frozen. 3, 4.5, 7.5 sprogs and me were snug in our Roman bags but the clincher is having a hood. Don't know if you have hoods on yours mate but as you prolly know, the head being one of the major points of body heat release:if you have a hood it works wonders to keep you snug.

ps: got to write my name on the ground in the morning (well the initials at least..)

ev 7oo

try sleeping with fewer clothes on , in a sleeping bag , the heat is reverse , the lesser clothes the warmer you get, sounds irish , but try it , it really does work,

froomey