Perfect Sleeping Bag

“I have been looking at these three backpacking sleeping bags...

Mountain Hardwear 1st Dimension
The North Face-Cat's Meow
Big Agnes-Mica

Thoughts and Recommendations...”

“Have used a Cat's Meow for many years. Love it”

“FUEGO!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)”

“There is no perfect sleeping bag. I have several to cover a variety of conditions.

For cold weather my favorite is a Western Mountaineering.”

“I just got a Western Mountaineering Ultralite. It's awesome. So far it's kept me toasty down into the 20's, so I know the rating of 20 degrees is accurate. I also have a TNF Thunderhead, which did well for years, but could get chilly around 30 degrees.”

“I have the Western Mountaineering Versalite and love it. Their website is a little confusing as they seam to change their temp rating. I know when I bought the bag about 6 month ago they rated it at 15 to 20degree. Now...it's rated at 10 degree. Not sure what it is.

It's a warm bag though, and I don't think I would find a better one in that rating.”

“Gemini - I've always thought of you as the perfect sleeping bag (ducking).”

“throwing something at ya...not sure what yet...but I'll be trowing something...”

“All my sleeping bags are Perfect Sleeping Bags.

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last edited: 1/04/05 7:18:54 PM”

“You asked, so I'm assuming you wanna know. (I know, opinions are like a-holes) Anyway, Feathered Friends makes the finest bag I've ever seen. They don't have the distribution network or the name recognition, but there is no way to beat the quality of one of their bags. My 2 cents.”

“I'll second hobbit's recommendation that Feathered Friends bags are just as great as Western Mountaineering bags. I've had a FF "below 0F" bag for 15 years and its always worked great. If you buy one from them, get the overfill for a few $$ more; the extra stuffing helps increase warmth better than a larger bag.”

“Actually, I agree with bb - asking what is the perfect backpack is like asking what is the perfect tool for house repair. It totally depends on what you want to do it with.

Western Mountaineering Caribou is my perfect warm weather (35 F +) bag... light, roomy and with a full length zip, given the way I backpack.

I haven't found the perfect cool (zero to 35) or cold weather (zero to -25) bag or extreme cold (below -25) bag. My mountain hard wear Big Bang came close on the cold weather front - I liked the flexibility those Quantum models give (expanding the draft tube for more room and less warmth without uneven heat).”

“I was torn between a FF & the WM when I bought my ultralite and only chose the WM because I found more positive reviews. Not that I found negative reviews for FF, just MORE positive reviews for the WM. I also met a SoBo thru-hiker on the AT in November who had a FF 0 degree and loved it.

All of that said, ditto, Hobbit. I've seen people recommend some of the worst gear and dis' some of the best, IMHO, so "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case, wrapped around him/her...”

“I guess a person would have to try out every sleeping bag in every conceivable condition in order to have a truly valid opinion. I can only say that my little Marmot helium has never given me anything but a warm, comfy, good nights sleep. I've been married to folks who've given me less.”

“I ordered one of these http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=171263and got it last week. We tried them out on Roan last week and this is a great bag for $50 bucks. I figured if I didn't like it I'd send it back, but it kept me warm enough. I am a warm sleeper tho.”