Women's sleeping bags

[beamdune]

Not necessarily women's specific bags but what would you ladies recommend for the autumn/winter?

I have a Marmot down bag (I think it's a Helium) that's supposed to be comfortable to -5. A few years ago I froze my butt off on a damp bank August holiday at Llyn Gwynant campsite in Snowdonia.

Don't fancy anything too restrictive but I appreciate a closer fitting bag is warmer.

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

Are using it on the floor or in a hammock?
Did you use a mat underneath the bag?
A few variables to consider but will make it easier to answer your question

Johnny

 

[Toddy]

I think that's hitting the nail on the head. It's the fit that matters. I hate feeling 'trapped' inside a bag, yet I'm only 5'2" so *all* bags are far too long for me even if I go for a smaller size.
I'm using a Nanok Endurance -5 these days. I gave up on the North Face one and the Ajungilak one too. I sewed a silk liner inside the bag to stop everything slipping around and it did help. I still have to fold over more than half a metre at the bottom though.

I found that buying the best mat I could find, really helped. The exped down mat's worth it's price and the weight. So much so that I often just take a quilt now

You're in the Midlands, could you get to a meet up and have a look and a try at a range of bags ?

One other really good tip for keeping warm on a damp cold night is to wear a hat. Wool or fleece, it doesn't matter, but it really makes a difference and I don't care how much teasing I get, I take a hot water bottle

cheers,
Toddy

 

[beamdune]

I'll be in a tent.

On the bank holiday in question I was in a tent with a mat (self-inflating). It can't have been that cold (although I did hear nearby children whinging 'mummy I'm cooooooold') but I wonder whether the damp affected the loft of the bag.

Thinking of treating myself to an Exped downmat after using one of their uninsulated airmats at the Moot - so much more comfortable than a thermarest.

Anyway, back to bags

 

[ged]

... and I don't care how much teasing I get, I take a hot water bottle

You'll get no teasing from me, except perhaps because you only take one.

One fill of my Ghillie kettle does one hot water bottle and a cuppa, so three cuppas and I'm ready for bed.

I use a balaclava rather than a hat when it's cold.

Two cheap sleeping bags, one inside the other, can be a lot warmer than one expensive one.

The temperature ratings show in advertising and on the bags themselves are, by and large, hugely optimistic tosh.

If you want real comfort, try a Jerven bag wit a sleeping bag inside it.

Oh, and sorry, I'm not female but I thought I'd chime in anyway.

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

You could try a bivvy bag to help stop the damp and help with insulation. The Exped mats are cracking bits of kit.

Bivvybag
Mat
Sleeping bag
Bag liner.

Also try taking off a layer or two and let your body heat warm the inside of the bag and not get
trapped inside your clothes. Your clothes can then be stuffed to the bottom of the bag and helps keep your feet snug.

 

[Shewie]

PHD will make you a custom bag to your required measurements, pricey but nice.

Big Agnes do some generously sized bags, I picked one up off ebay but found it too big for me.

 

[beamdune]

I know there's more than one women on here, surely some of you must be brave the odd chilly night.

Come on gals/ladies/women, what sleeping bags are you using?

 

[ged]

I know there's more than one women on here, surely some of you must be brave the odd chilly night.

Come on gals/ladies/women, what sleeping bags are you using?

Nah, women aren't tough like us blokes, you can very rarely get them out of their nice cosy kitchens.

That ought to flush out some responses for you...

 

[Ch@rlie]

Ok my previous reply hasnt been added?

I'l try again. check this Mod out for your sleeping bag, http://www.youtube.com/user/brawny03#p/u/45/bgmIQ38dF5k

 

[Snowfire]

I've been using a synthetic Marmot Womens Wave IV in the colder months for about 4 years now. I've found it quite toasty (at home I'm the one with the thick quilt except on the hottest summer nights ). I took it to the Alps a couple of years ago because we were advised to take a four season sleeping bag and spent most nights using it as a quilt.

I also have a silk sleeping bag liner inside it and when it's cold (which for me is below about +5C) I wear a wool t-shirt and long johns. With a bivvy bag over it I've been warm under a tarp at a few degrees below zero. The bivvy bag definately helps, a few times when I've been sleeping in unheated huts with a draft across the floor I've got up and pulled the bivvy bag over it and noticed an instant difference. It's got a pocket down at the foot end that will take one of those re-useable heat pads.

One thing I have noticed is that when I'm cold I tend to pull the bag tight around me, which is self defeating as it squashes the insulation flat.

 

[Cyclingrelf]

I went for the Woodlore Nanok Golden Eagle - I'm not sure how that translates to the rest of the Nanok range http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/64-Ray-Mears-Nanok-Sleeping-Bag-Golden-Eagle/
I've not been cold in it and I've slept out in a bivvy with thick frost forming on my tarp.

I don't wear normal pyjamas when I'm out though - I change into jogging bottoms, a long nightie and a fleece with a woolly hat and woolly socks as well. Have a thermarest mattress.

 

[roger-uk]

I went for the Woodlore Nanok Golden Eagle - I'm not sure how that translates to the rest of the Nanok range http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/64-Ray-Mears-Nanok-Sleeping-Bag-Golden-Eagle/
I've not been cold in it and I've slept out in a bivvy with thick frost forming on my tarp.

I don't wear normal pyjamas when I'm out though - I change into jogging bottoms, a long nightie and a fleece with a woolly hat and woolly socks as well. Have a thermarest mattress.

When I do winter camping with scouts I use Decathlon pop up tent [old one with quality materials] My layering is thus:
1. thermal groundsheet
2. thick thermarest
3. simgle duvet
4. Sleeping bag
5. single duvet
thinsulate hat
and also 3-4 break metal warmers whixh can be reset in hot water to warm bag up.

Kids think its hillarious but I like to sleep warm.