-20 degree sleeping bags

[GWG]

I am looking to purchase a -20 degree bag shortly and wanted to see if anyone had experience with either of these models:

North Face Solar Flare

Mountain Hardware Wraith

Marmot Col EQ

All are 800+ fill rated for -20 degrees. Weight difference is 2 ounces. Price is withing $60 of each other when looking at Campmor.

Thanks for your input.

[Overcammed]

I have a Marmot Colouir from a few years ago (0 degree). I love it, though its a bit heavy. I've always thought that Marmot makes awesome sleeping bags, I'd say better than North Face, and probably about the same as Mountain Hardware.

[haas]

I have a Marmot Col as well and really enjoy it. I also have a -40 degree bag from Mtn. Hardware that I've used a lot in Alaska and love it. I don't think you could go wrong with either company. I'd stay away from North Face, they may rate it as 800 fill, but they get their "measurements" differently then everyone else. Technically there is no standardization in measuring down and so the North Face uses every trick to try and get the number up with having worse quality fill than the others. Bottom line you are getting an inferior bag than the rest. Red Feather is another really good company to look at, but generally more expensive than everyone else.

[Wes]

Pricey, but so very worth it from everyone I have talked to that has one. Which I hope will include me sometime soon....

http://www.featheredfriends.com/product ... election=0

http://www.westernmountaineering.com/in ... ing%20Bags

[haas]

sorry, Feathered Friends is what I meant, not Red Feather. Red Feather makes snowshoes

[L K Day]

As others have suggested, the whole down fill-power issue is really kind of ugly. There may be no more than one or two major suppliers of down to the world market. They have a reputation for being really slimy, taking advantage of the manufacturers by slipping in down that doesn't meet the standards of the original samples they submitted. This puts the manufacturers in the untenable position where they either have to reject raw materials (perhaps even finished productcs) or just run with what they get. Add to that the temptation that the manufacturers feel to be more than a little "optimistic", and the situation gets really murky. What's a person to believe? Nothing you can't verify. Claimed weights of finished products can also vary considerably from actual weights.

I have several friends that believe Western Mountaineering manufactures the world's best sleeping bags. That said, I always went with something affordable, that I figured was "good enough." When I was guideing on McKinley I used a North Face down bag (claimed 650 fill power) that was rated at 20 below. Considering my annual income at the time, I couldn't justify owning a minus 40 bag just for Denali. On the really cold nights (-40 to -45), I made it work by sleeping fully dressed, including my expedition down parka. This worked, but it was kind of a pain in the ass.

The only other bit of advice I have to offer is to make sure the bag fits, and that the zipper is stout and snag resistant. Many bags are very tight in girth. This keeps the weight down, and makes the bag warmer, but sometimes this is carried to ridiculous extremes. I also found that I preferred a bag one size longer than my height would have indicated. I guess it goes without saying that a problematic zipper will drive you crazy.

[lucamaniac]

Hey Geoff, A -20 degree sleeping bag is very specific purposes. So where are you going?

[GWG]

I am heading to Aconcagua in December, 2007 and then to Denali in June, 2008. I'll be using a liner with the bag on Denali since the -20 is a little too light.

Anyone interested in going, I am in the process of investigating the various companies that guide there. Let me know if you have any interest in either of these trips.

[Saxman]

Do the manufacturers quality test shipments to reject sub-par down before it gets used?

[pawilkes]

One reason to go with Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends from what i've heard is that its made in the US. I'm not super anti-Asia as far as gear goes cause it seams like any big company is going there, but when they ship to the US they compress the down products alot so they can ship more per unit volume. this means the down can be compressed for a long time and loose some of its warmth before it gets to you. With bags made in the US chances are they won't be sitting somewhere compressed for as long and the actual loft will be more accurate when it gets to you.