What temperature sleeping bag required?

[Maxwell Hall]

Would a -7c sleeping bag do for Tasmania in winter? What if I plan on going near the mountains?

I was told by an experienced hiker that the sleeping bag + tent + insulation pad thing will make it warm enough.

[pazzar]

-7 is fine, as long as you are sensible with it. Dont go crazy camping in a snow cave in it - it might not keep you warm. Using things like a thermarest matress and a silk sleeping bag liner will help to keep you warmer. I go out in my -3 bag and I'm fine, in saying that, I usually sleep in thermals and a jacket in winter.

Cheers
Jared

[Ent]

Hi

Parks recommend as a minimum a -5 bags so -7 is on the money providing the sleeping mat is up to the job. In fact a -7 bag is probably the best all round bag for Tassie. I have a -3, -7, -10 and -12 bag and only found the -3 struggled at probably near that temperature when I roll over and the down did not loft immediately in the flat spot. I normally wear thermals to bed as I hate sleeping bag liners and this given me a more comfortable night sleep as well as middle of the night excursions.

Cheers Brett

[sthughes]

-7 limit of comfort or extreme survival? What brand?

I have a -8 Roman bag and it is damn cold well into the positives, so if it is a Roman I'd say no it isn't warm enough necessarily.

I also have a -1 (limit of comfort) Marmot bag and it is fine down to about that temperature (and perhaps beyond when in a small solid inner tent).

[gorby]

I have a sleeping bag that was advertised that it was tested to minus 10.

pity it didn't pass that test

[Drifting]

you have to make sure that the manufacturer's cold rating is accurate- a lot of them aren't.

[Ent]

It is amazing the issue with rating given that a standard should apply. Sure I can accept a few degrees each side depending on the individual but more than a few appear overly optomistic. My One Planet ones and Western Mountaineering appear to be on the money but at -3, -7, -10 and -12 it is hard to find the days in the year that will push them. I would suggest going a few degrees warmer than what you plan so a true -7 comfort rating should be more than adequate for most nights in Tassie unless you sleep in snow caves on the mountain tops. Remember a good sleeping mat is worth its weight and as Sthughes mentions a double skin tent is worth a few degrees as well.

Cheers Brett

[Biggles]

My Snowgum Coloir 550 rated at —5° wasn't really warm enough for a recent alpine walk at 1660m when the temperature dipped to —7°c. I got my space blanket out at 2.45 in the morning and the wrapped it around the whole caboodle creating an incredibly snug coccoon — not cold at all after that. A winter alpine walk in the (expected) frigid conditions was some way out of my comfort zone but not too extreme: I just tagged along to gain experience with Tassie-seasoned walkers, and it was very valuable experience, despite the discomforts.

I am interested in knowing about the 'weighting' (in terms of importance of insulation vs comfort) of the type of sleeping mat that should be employed in cold conditions. Mine is a Thermarest NeoAIR (for sheer blissful comfort) and my walking friends said it is not appropriate for alpine conditions because it's not insulated. I do have a Thermarest ProLite but wanted a much smaller mattress 'in the pack'. If going alpine camping again, in winter, I'll heed the advice I think to take the ProLite.

[photohiker]

I can't say that I've tried it yet, (I was ready, but the weather decided to go warm) but a thermal barrier under the Neo-Air is very well regarded to boost its rating into colder weather - see the Gossamer Gear ThinLite for more info. There is discussion here on BWT in one of the Neo-Air threads about this and a local Evazote alternative to save freight.

The Neo-Air is actually insulated, just not in the conventional sleeping mat sense, and certainly not in the 'filled with down' sense. It traps a goodly amount of air inside (more than most other mats) and it has a radiant barrier inside. According to moontrail, it has an R2.5 rating whereas the standard Prolite has R2.2 - the Prolite 'Plus' runs 3.8 and the Downmat 7 runs R5.9

[Nuts]

(Personally, I think you would need more than thin 1/2mm? cs foam under them in 'cold' weather. 4mm under and/or perhaps 2mm on top (and 2mm bottom) would be best if its seriously cold or camping on snow)

[photohiker]

(Personally, I think you would need more than thin 1/2mm? cs foam under them in 'cold' weather. 4mm under and/or perhaps 2mm on top (and 2mm bottom) would be best if its seriously cold or camping on snow)

1/2mm? Huh?

# Size:
# 19.5 x 59 x 1/8 in. (50 x 150 x .318 cm.)
# 19.5 x 59 x 1/4 in. (50 x 150 x .635 cm.)
# 41 x 61 x 1/4 in. (104 x 155 x .635 cm.)
# 19.5 x 59 x 3/8 in. (50 x 150 x .953 cm.)

So thinnest pad is 3.18mm, pretty close to your minimum.

You were saying?

[Nuts]

yeah, those look ok then. Would be nice a bit wider.
I have tried the thinner (ie 1.6mm) mats top and bottom and imagine they would add enough insulation in winters (here). Had 4mm under and that was ok at -6 but just. Perhaps easier to pack two smaller(thinner) ones

[NickD]

I have a sleeping bag that is rated to -5 and one to -25. It's a pain in the *&%$#!, because I need one in between

My minus 5 bag is okay in winter providing I'm in a tent with nylon walls, but wouldn't be sufficient for tarps or tents with mesh inners. It's getting a little old now too, has been used a lot and occasionally been drenched when the cord of my tarp has snapped under the pressure of snow build up or heavy rain so I'd be surprised if it's still holding that -5 rating.

My -25 degree is a Mont and it's fantastic!! It doesn't have a water-resistant outer so I think it breathes better allowing me to be comfortable/not too hot in above -10 temperatures.

[corvus]

For what it is worth I have a -5 bag (real rating) and I slept the other night in freezing conditions in a Bivvy and was not cold ,
not happy but not cold
corvus