Mountain sleeping bag help

[grantk]

I'm just getting into backpack hunting and am trying to pick a sleeping bag. I'd like to get the Taiga 1001 Nights bag, but am unsure which temperature rating to get. Planning an alpine mule deer hunt early this fall, but would also like to use it around Kamloops later into the season.

The two options are -11C and -18C... the price difference isn't much between the two, and the -11C bag weighs 2.85 lbs versus 3.3lbs for the -18C one. Would I be better off saving the weight with the -11C and pack a liner if expected to be colder, or just go with the -18C bag and unzip when warm? I'm new to this so I really have no idea what to expect for temperatures and the bag to match.

Anyone using this bag that can chime in? Thanks for the help!

[Pemby_mess]

Weight becomes pretty important moving through the alpine. I'd go with the lighter of the two myself. Packing a bigger down parka when its cold, makes for a more versatile setup, and it's a real drag packing unneeded weight when it's warmer.

[whitlers]

My personal experience. It hasn't gotten cold enough early season alpine were I hunt (Region 3). Maybe -2/3 a couple nights in 1st week of Sept. I have a -7 bag and I was plenty warm.

Now if you are going to be into late season with it then that's another story. If I were pack hunting in -11 I would be getting myself a Tipi and stove haha but I'm a wimp with the cold.

My advice -11 is probably plenty

[twoSevenO]

I vote for the -11 also.

I use a -7 on my alpine hunts and it's more than enough. And we are well above the tree line around 2100m or closing in on 7000ft.

Just remember -11 rating does not mean you will be comfy in it at -11.

I would get the -11 and add a liner if you end up using it in the late season

[grantk]

Thanks guys, I was leaning towards the -11 bag also. The later season hunts would be lower elevation close to home in Kamloops, so it should work fine most of the time there too.

[wos]

Get the lowest rated bag. It is your life line when hunting in the mountains. Dont think of the best possible scenario think of the worst. Look at it this way! You shot the buck of a lifetime in some shithole drainage. It had started sprinkling rain an hour before. By the time you climbed into the scree shoot and boned out the meat its now a full on snow storm and your thinking its its only sept 7? By the time you have the first load of meat ready and the rest in a tree its totally white out conditions. You are freezing and you still have 2 hrs of hard packing before you get back to your ultralight tent. You show up soaking wet from sweat rsin and snow. Now tell me what bag do you want to crawl into! Just my experience!

[Steelpulse]

This is for sure a possibility I shot a 4 point sept 12 in the okanagan at 6700’ was beautiful when I arrived to hike up. On my hike in a blizzard dumped on the mountain beside me 2 km away. It can for sure snow in September and be cold. I’d go with the -18 if you want it for most hunts. Will be great in November and generally it’s pretty warm in early sept sleeping with the bag open

Get the lowest rated bag. It is your life line when hunting in the mountains. Dont think of the best possible scenario think of the worst. Look at it this way! You shot the buck of a lifetime in some shithole drainage. It had started sprinkling rain an hour before. By the time you climbed into the scree shoot and boned out the meat its now a full on snow storm and your thinking its its only sept 7? By the time you have the first load of meat ready and the rest in a tree its totally white out conditions. You are freezing and you still have 2 hrs of hard packing before you get back to your ultralight tent. You show up soaking wet from sweat rsin and snow. Now tell me what bag do you want to crawl into! Just my experience!

[huntfish]

I use a big agnes down bag, good for -18 use, it's a moon hill bag, older model hard to find this bag now.

[ditch donkey]

i prefer the heavier fill bag, iv had some cold nights in sept. if you do decide to use it in late season you have the option. if it’s warm in the early season i just unzip it. being to warm is less of a problem than being too cold.

[David]

I don't watch this guys channel, but I thought his comments about using a sleeping bag liner and sleeping with his bag inside a bivvy inside his tent (bag info starts at 2:55). YMMV.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXqrDM6Cc8E