Planning to head up to Maine this winter to do some hiking and camping. For those who have camped up there in the winter what temp bag do you use? Going with a feathered friends wide bag. I have good puffy jacket and pants to wear in it if real cold. Stuck between 10f, 0f, -10f, -25f. 10f would probably be the most useful for other times and places. -25f seems like overkill. Thinking 0f is the best compromise.
Maine Winter Camping
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JoshandBaron
Well-known member
If you see yourself doing a significant amount of winter backpacking then I would get a -10. I find myself supplementing my 0 or wishing I had more often than not and sleeping in a shit ton of layers gets a bit claustrophobic.
jfb
Active member
I think a -25F bag would be best for winter, a +10F bag would be best for spring and fall and a +30F bag would be best for summer.
Edit: A possible compromise would be to combine a +10F and +30F bag for cold nights. I used a similar combination for many years.
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egilbe
Member
I have a -30 down bag I use for Winter camping. We spent 3 days hiking up along the Dead River in Carrabassett valley one time. One night it was ~ -20, we stayed nice and toasty. Only issue was my wife's OCD kicked in and she ended up closing all the vents. I woke up to a snow storm falling in my face. I opened up the vents and shot her a dirty look and went back to sleep. She woke up and closed the vents again. When the sun hit the tent the next morning, it turned to drips. I had to educate her on the proper way to sleep outdoors in the Winter. The next night a warm front moved through. Went to sleep at 0* and woke up to temps in the 40's and I was dying in that bag. Was a fun hiking trip. We've also layered 20* and 30* quilts when it got down into the teens when we camped out in the Kearsage North fire tower during a snow storm.
A zero degree bag, I feel, is a good compromise between extreme cold weather and normal Winter. If it gets much below zero when you're camping, it becomes more of a struggle for survival rather than a fun trip.
A zero degree bag, I feel, is a good compromise between extreme cold weather and normal Winter. If it gets much below zero when you're camping, it becomes more of a struggle for survival rather than a fun trip.
nartreb
Well-known member
If you're going to deal with the weight and bulk of a winter bag, make it a real winter bag. You can always unzip if you get hot. I definitely wouldn't go lighter than a -10 bag for winters in Maine, and even then I'd be watching the forecast.
In my experience, you take the bag's rating and you add twenty Fahrenheit degrees if you want to know the coldest temperature at which you'll actually get any sleep. Or else you need some combination of hot water bottle, down jacket, quilt, double mattress...
In my experience, you take the bag's rating and you add twenty Fahrenheit degrees if you want to know the coldest temperature at which you'll actually get any sleep. Or else you need some combination of hot water bottle, down jacket, quilt, double mattress...
I have a -20. I would highly recommend at least that, if not warmer. But I have no body fat.
My own general rules is that I want to have a bag rated twenty degrees better than the actual low.
Brian
My own general rules is that I want to have a bag rated twenty degrees better than the actual low.
Brian
Winter gear varies. A night out in the open with clear skies can test a -30 F bag. If you are using a pulk to pull in your gear, size and weight is somewhat less important. Note the biggest influence in bags temp rating is its thickness. Be aware if you use two bags if you compress the insulation, you lose rating. In many cases a handwarmer can make up for an underrated bag. Just light one off before going to bed and throw it in the foot of the bag. Filling bottles with hot water also works but some folks will not do so in case they leak. I put mine in z ziplock bag as secondary containment but never had one leak.
ChrisB
Well-known member
My .02:
If you are truly backpacking (as opposed to sledding or car camping). I think down is mandatory due to compressibility and weight savings.
WRT temp rating: If you plan to be in a tent every night you can shave 5 to 10 degrees off the bag's low temp rating. I think a -10 bag is a good all around choice for most winter nights in a tent in the Whites.
Equally important is what you are sleeping on. I use two closed cell foam pads when directly on snow. The thicker the better. Think Z pad, ensolite or whatever just make it at least 3/4 inch thick. Avoid air mattresses. They conduct heat away from your body every time you shift position.
Finally, I try to have each piece of winter gear perform more than one function. To me, it makes no sense to be in a -30 bag and have a winter-weight down jacket laying next to me unused. That jacked can be put to work as a bag enhancer. As can dry fleece garments.
I've done a few trips in -20 conditions and will say categorically it was not fun. On the Twins sweaty fleece frozen before it could dry and it was so cold in the AM that stuffing the bag hurt my hands!
Unless you are planning to bootleg Baxter, every night will be in a fairly tight cabin with a wood stove. Sure you could have an emergency and need to camp out in the open but its very unlikely that you will see outdoor temps overnight.
ChrisB
Well-known member
My go to bag for cabin use in Baxter in winter is rated at +20 and that’s usually way to warm.
Due to small space and enthusiastic fire stokers the night time temps in cabins can be in the 80s!
When we moved to Maine, everybody in the area heated with wood. They would brag that their wood stove put out so much heat that they had to open all the windows (in winter) because it got too hot inside.
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