Big Agnes - Echo Park 0°

Without knowing much, I'd almost always favor the colder rated bag. You can always vent if you get too warm, but once you get too cold, it's hard to recover. That being said the Greystone is down so much lighter and packs smaller, very useful if you're backpacking and space/weight is more limited than car camping. Echo does have a cotton/poly blend internal lining which would also be more comfortable compared to straight poly like the Grey. If you can deal with the weight/packed size of the Echo it gets my vote.

I just think $400 per item is a solid budget for really nice, comfy, quality stuff and people are recommending you essentially raid the camping aisle at Walmart. I’d check out Big Agnes Spicer 4 or 6 for a tent. I love the 6 but it can be a little large depending on where you’re putting it. I’d check out Hest for sleeping pads. That’s what I’d have if they were in my budget. So comfortable! I also love the Nemo roamer XL and some exped pads too. I’d stay away from air mattresses (cold, bulky, less comfortable) and backpacking pads (thinner, sometimes noisier, less comfy) too. For sleeping bags I’d consider going back to big Agnes. I don’t think you need to spend the $400 per item here since it’s just car camping but I honestly love my big Agnes echo park sleeping bag and use it a ton car camping. I can’t stand mummy bags so that’s a backpacking only thing for me. North face makes some other good options and so does Kelty in terms of car camping. I’d probably recommend a cotton liner so it’s really easy to take out and wash. These can be bought seperate from the sleeping bag. If I had a $400 budget to cook I’d totally get some sort of nice flat grill, probably a blackstone. Something that disassembles well and fits in the car would be sweet. I’ve also seen a couple of recommendations for jackery and that’s another good example of a budget brand where you probably don’t need to be buying the budget brand. Anker is far superior in quality and there are plenty of batter options in your budget. I’ve had TONS of camp chairs and really can’t find a better chair than the Kelty lowdown. Kelty isn’t necessarily known for their quality but they’ve got chairs figured out. I’ve had good luck with quite a few lanterns so it might be worth shopping around for features you like, but I liked the black diamond Apollo probably the best of any I’ve had.

I love my Echo Park, but it's heavy.

I went rei big Agnes, but I also have 2 (20 year old) down bags that I put inside each other that can keep me just as warm and combined they are as small and light as big Agnes but with down moisture is the enemy and in winter there is plenty so there is that

If your biggest concern about a sleeping bag is room for your legs to move without feeling constricted, I would try out Nemo or Big Agnes sleeping bags. Both tend to have wider profiles. Definitely go for a bag that is rated at least 10 degrees lower - preferably lower - than the temps you expect to sleep in. Theres multiple problems with layering with clothing like this, one of which is not the warmth specific factor but the breathability. One or two layers is one thing, but with all the listed clothing and then something like the picture on top, you’re going to build up humidity near your body you can’t get rid of, and you’ll become even colder. Next, a sleeping bag basically creates a warm pocket of air around you. The insulation in the bag helps create and maintain this pocket. The more compressed this insulation, the worse it performs. With layering clothing, you compress the insulation, making it less effective. On top of that, insulation is minimal if not nonexistent at the seams. Some puffy jackets and “extreme temp” clothing gets around this by minimizing seams but there’s almost always a few somewhere, which means no air pockets and no warmth. If I could recommend the best case scenario for you, it would be this: find a sleeping bag you can tolerate rated to a temp appropriate for your conditions, 15F at a minimum, best scenario a 0F. Dress in only your smartwool layers, and make sure you have a good pad/sleep set up underneath you. Sources: avid outdoorsmen, backpacker in sub 20 degree temps, and former REI employee who specialized in camping gear.

A Big Agnes sleeping bag with down that fit me correctly. I was iffy on the price at first, but it turns out I had basically used ill fitting, non insulated sleeping bags for years of wilderness camping. Getting a good nights sleep anywhere, especially away from home, makes a huge difference.

I got a big Agnes bag that has an extra zipper kind of like carry-on luggage. Makes it somewhat adjustable - roomy most of the time but when I really need the warmth it’s more snug.

Just wanna say I respect the lack of overpriced fancy gear and I respect making it work for as long as you did! As much as I am “anti gear, pro getting out there”, a lightweight Big Agnes sleeping bag will roll up to about 1/8th the size of a rolled up Coleman. Mine has lasted me for 7 seasons so far no problems

I have a Big Agnes bag. It allows me more movement as the back is where the sleeping pad goes and it’s more “bed like”.

I got my Big Agnes down bag used from REI and it was cheap. It's kept me warm at 12-15f several times.