Taiga sleeping bags

[swampthing]

I have a cloud 9 bag on my radar. Does anyone have experience with taiga bags? They have a better price point than most and good availability. I am looking at the -20 bag for camping off my snowmobile/jetboat/atv. I already have a good -9 bag so looking for a warmer bag with decent packabilty to fit in my backpack.

[Imdone]

I've had one of their down bags for 25 years . Still going strong. And it's old technology. It was $450.00 then. It has the hood, and is mummy style.
As far as -20, hummmmm, I know they say this but your truthful, I don't think so. I've always used an outer bag or shell when it's been quite cold, and it's served well.
That said, I would think they come with waterproof material now, because keeping mind, if your down bag gets wet, it will stay wet and not insulate until it's dry .

Over all, very happy with the product of old.

[REMINGTON JIM]

I have a Goose down barrel style Taiga bag from the early 90 s and it's has being GREAT - Super quality ! A bit Heavy compared to some of the newer bag's now thou ! If i was going out now into the WILDERNESS i would get a Gor Tex over lay bag from them to keep it and me dry and warm . RJ

[Thunderstix]

They actually have a good write up about bag ratings so check it out. I have the Wildcat XL-50 and it is amazing....the XL part is the extra width in top half, made a big difference. It is good to -34 I believe and keeps me warm in anything I can throw at it.

[Ovis17]

I have 2 and love them both. I've found the quality to be very good.

[Arctic Lake]

I have had a Taiga Semi Rectangular , maybe it’s a barrel since 1989 . I’m a side sleeper so a Mummy was out for me .It has a Gortex Outer Shell . The bag has been fantastic ! I love it ! I think I paid over $400.00 for it back then .I have washed it a few times with down wash in the bath tub . Rinse well ! It takes awhile but it’s a good way to wash it .
Arctic Lake

[alpinedust]

I've had one of their down bags for 25 years . Still going strong. And it's old technology. It was $450.00 then. It has the hood, and is mummy style.
As far as -20, hummmmm, I know they say this but your truthful, I don't think so. I've always used an outer bag or shell when it's been quite cold, and it's served well.
That said, I would think they come with waterproof material now, because keeping mind, if your down bag gets wet, it will stay wet and not insulate until it's dry .

Over all, very happy with the product of old.

was wondering about this, they have their own type of waterproof fabric, not sure if anyone has any experience with this? Or if it's still recommended to use a gortex shell like RJ said.
Have never bought down since I spend so much time in Costal regions..

[TARCHER]

I am a big fan of Tiaga bags. I have had a cold weather one for well over 20 yrs and recently bought a warmer weather bag. The quality is still there.

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

I am a big fan of the Taiga bags. Not the lightest, by far(!) not the heaviest. Not sexy. Pack down small, but not super small. Incredibly comfortable. I sleep in mine like a baby between -10 and -20. Not a "sexy" bag by any means but I love it.

In my opinion amazing value for the money.

For what it's worth: Incredible customer service! I ordered mine with express shipping (TBH: too lazy to make the drive to Vancouver). The guy phones me up as they had to get the bag from somewhere which would take them 3 days(!) before they can ship it. He just wanted to make sure I didn't need it super urgently as I ordered express and he wanted to make sure I wasn't without a bag when I needed it.

That alone makes me want to support them.

[PressurePoint]

I love mine. I have the 1004 nights and it’s amazing!

i have been meaning to order their duvet as well.

[whitlers]

They are decent. I had one from the 90's. Lasted along time.

I would just be weary about the current quality and customer service. I bought a rain jacket and pants a couple years ago and I was not impressed with either.

That being said maybe their bags are still good! Sounds like it from the positive posts here!

[grantk]

I've got the -7 Cloud 9 bag, it's great. The Night Express bag looks pretty good too. I don't think there's better value in high-loft down gear than Taiga.

[RJHunter]

I have 2 Taiga 1001 nights bags that I bought for my kids to use sheep hunting this year. I also have 2 Kuiu bags to compare to. I think the Taiga bags are great bags especially for the cost. They are light, warm, well constructed and very water resistant. I tried to submerge one in a river for 5 minutes and it took on very minimal water in the baffles. I draped over my boat and it dried completely in a couple of hours with good sun. We did end up with some wet hoods when backpacking. They were packed at the bottom of the kids packs and it poured rain all day. The stuff sacks turned out to be useless for keeping the water out so they ended up soaking up a little water in the hoods. We were able to dry them out back at the truck between hikes. Now use waterproof hydrofume bags to make sure they stay dry. I washed the kuiu bags and Taiga bags at the end of the trip with down wash and found that the kuiu bags dried 3 times faster but I think the Taiga bags will do fine if you take care to keep them dry. They are definitely water resistant which I proved to myself by trying to submerge in the river but they will wet out with continuous exposure and take a little longer to dry than hydrophobic down. I am no expert but this is what I’ve found using them side by side. The 1001 nights show the size I have as being good up to 5’10”. I am 5’10” and would size up since my feet put too much pressure on the bottom of the foot box. Great bags and I wouldn’t hesitate to use.

[swampthing]

Its sounds like they have decent quality. I forgot to ask about the zippers. Any snagging issues with them? Thanks guys.

[RJHunter]

Zippers are excellent.

[alberta hunter]

Im sure the Taiga sleeping bags (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?161938-Taiga-sleeping-bags/page2) are great, but no reference from me, I use a big Agnes bag,, but I found a different company in Canada, that you can order what you need, temp wise, check out wexgear.ca or com, at 275 for a -30 bag that makes it a better pill to buy from.

[wallz]

Im sure the Taiga sleeping bags (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?161938-Taiga-sleeping-bags/page2) are great, but no reference from me, I use a big Agnes bag,, but I found a different company in Canada, that you can order what you need, temp wise, check out wexgear.ca or com, at 275 for a -30 bag that makes it a better pill to buy from.



Been looking at the Wex gear site as well, but I think they are re-branded Chinese made "Alibaba" gear. Not saying they are bad, just saying they are re banded gear. Also looking at the Taiga gear and will probably go that route. Hoping for a new 22 first, so the bag will have to wait for the spring.

[grantk]

Im sure the Taiga sleeping bags (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?161938-Taiga-sleeping-bags/page2) are great, but no reference from me, I use a big Agnes bag,, but I found a different company in Canada, that you can order what you need, temp wise, check out wexgear.ca or com, at 275 for a -30 bag that makes it a better pill to buy from.


I have no experience with Wexgear, but the Taiga temp ratings seem to be accurate, if not conservative, and their warmth ratings match with similarly spec'd bags from Western Mountaineering, also known to conservatively estimate ratings. A made-in-Canada option is almost always going to carry a higher price tag, and again it's a personal choice as to whether you think that has any value. For me it does, especially these days. The Taiga bags also use a premium 850+ FP European down (costs more, weighs less for the same fill volume).

I'm always more cautious of made-in-China product claims, which is where the WexGear bags appear to originate. There is no information on the WexGear bags about what type and origin of down is used (duck, goose, street pigeons?). They may be decent bags, and they are certainly cheaper, but in general "you get what you pay for" holds true, and it's always a trade-off of cost, weight, quality, and any ethical/moral value you place on product origin.

[swampthing]

I placed an order for the cloud 9 XL bag with the -18c rating. I was real close to buying a western mountaineering kodiak but I actually couldnt find one in Canada in a long. I think this taiga bag should be a great purchase and it will fill a void for winter snowmobile camping. Now if I can only find an exped 9 winter downmat!

[northernguy]

Very happy with the two bags I have from Taiga. Great customer service too. Nothing fancy but they work as advertised and I think it's tough to find a better value.

[fuzzy]

I’ve been happy with my Taiga purchases(not sleeping bag related... yet)

[lakelander]

I was looking at the Cloud 9 as well. Cabelas has Ascend Hex -18 on sale for 99.99. Looks like a great deal. Anyone have any experience with this one. I like the yellow colour too. Thx

[tundraman]

I have had mine for about thirty years, still in good shape after being stuffed in the sack on many, many back pack trips. But not as warm as it once was. My son got one about three years ago and the quality seems to be still there. I will hopefully get a new one for my next trip up north.
I can't imagine a bag being much better that these.

[alpinedust]

I have had mine for about thirty years, still in good shape after being stuffed in the sack on many, many back pack trips. But not as warm as it once was. My son got one about three years ago and the quality seems to be still there. I will hopefully get a new one for my next trip up north.
I can't imagine a bag being much better that these.
Do you know which model your son got that you might recommend?

[Laurp99]

I bought my Taiga Gortex Goosedown Barrel Bag (that's a mouthful) in the mid 80's and the thing is still the bomb! I wish I bought the hoodie that they were offering at the time but a good Touque takes care of that.
I also have a Western Mountaineering Ultra Lite mummy bag that's good to -7c and weighs next to nothing, I'll use that for Fall and Spring but for Winter it's the Taiga bag.

I've slept in snow caves and on top of snow with my Taiga barrel bag, the coldest was about -30C in Manning Park and I was very toasty! Having good quality gear really helps as well as having this bag. It is still in very good to excellent condition considering it's 35 years old. I use a compression sack to squeeze the bag down to a more manageable size, it is bulky but worth it!

I also have other Taiga outdoor gear and it's never failed me.

[Arctic Lake]

If your not using your down bag for an extended time it’s best left hanging rather than compressed in its storage bag.
If I’m not mistaken Taiga can take an older bag and add more fill/ loft . But I’m not positive .
Arctic Lake

[Jagermeister]

I’ve had mine since the early ‘80s. Cannot remember what I paid for it. Rated -20F. Cannot say that I have been in it at that temperature but when out, I always wore a toque as a lot of body temperature goes by way of the noggin. I like to keep the bottom of the bag unzipped so I can move my feet in or out depending on their comfort level. Don’t like the feet too hot not too cold. Lately I noticed that the down has lost some of it’s pile but after some 40 odd year I’m not about to complain.

[dabber]

I also have had mine since the mid 80's . It was very expensive at the time , but was so worth it. After all these years/and use it still looks like new.

[kootenaycarver]

I've had my Taiga sleeping bag for about 20 years now. It is an barrel shaped bag XL with Dryloft (Goretex) outer cover Rated for -20c. I don't recall the exact model of the bag without pulling it out. I have used it extensively, and have been very pleased with the quality and performance. After a number of limiting surgeries in the 90's, I had to switch from my mummy bag to the barrel shape. I was about $450 at the time. I haven't used it in full out winter conditions, but -15c ish, it has been great. Not Ultra lite, but an excellent fall bag. Short of a Western Mountaineering $1000 bag, this would be my choice. Go to Taiga Works BH40-xl with detachable hood, now $519.

[alpinedust]

Wow sounds like a few great experiences with Taiga bags.

Good idea Arctic Lake about hanging your bag when not in use, didn't think about that. Usually just keep sleeping bags in their larger storage bags.

[swampthing]

My new bag showed up! It certainly looks like a quality unit. I got the cloud 9 barrel bag in the largest size it comes in. It hasnt got the gortex outer but rather a water resistant shell. The exped winter downmat is on its way as well. Should make for a decent cold weather system.

[tundraman]

Do you know which model your son got that you might recommend?
My son got the wildcat and rated to minus 35. Its expensive but worth it in my opinion. Only problem is that it needs to be a little on the cold side to use it or you will be sweating.

[RackStar]

Swamp, ive been looking for a heavier down bag for my quad-in style camps. These were never on my radar...but tic all my boxes in terms of what I’m looking for and the price is fair. Thanks for sharing , let us know how you like it!! I may have to buy one next year.

[swampthing]

Swamp, ive been looking for a heavier down bag for my quad-in style camps. These were never on my radar...but tic all my boxes in terms of what I’m looking for and the price is fair. Thanks for sharing , let us know how you like it!! I may have to buy one next year.

I have a snowmobile camp trip in mid january to test it out!