X-Lite 400

They already provided their wish for a limit temp, why would they have to provide any environmental conditions? They're considering Unisex bags and one of the most expensive bags on the market, probably not too strict on the budget

X-Lites are really great. I would recommend customizing it zipperless unless you're the kind of person that can truly be comfortable using a bag 25c above the limit just by keeping it partially on top of you

A suggestion for the X Lite specifically would be to get a #5 zipper in place of the #3. The #3 is very snaggy and it sounds like you will be using the bag a lot. You don't want to be cursing your zipper every night. You might also consider a full zip so you can use it like a quilt. 34 extra grams well spent. The more durable 29g pertex for the outer shell would be my choice as well for it's extra protection.

Hm, sounds like a pretty awesome project! Neither of those bags are going to be remotely enough for above 2000m in the winter. Especially with that pad. The combination is great, just mountains in winter can still reach -20°C easily. If you only want to go with one bag, you'll have to carefully plan around the mountainous stretches or avoid hitting them during winter. (And you'll want to avoid hitting Apulia when it's 40°C). A classic lightweight solution would be getting a overbag for winter. Basically you get a 0°C bag for most of the year and then add a 10° (synthetic) quilt over that and a foam pad when it gets really cold. That would be a tad cheaper than two high quality bags for two temperature ratings. You could also only use the overbag when it's really hot. Yes, being a woman does change it a bit. If you were a man I'd advice you to treat Cumulus limit temps as if they were comfort ratings. Men tend to sleep just a tiny bit warmer and their ratings are pretty generous so you can get away with carrying a little less insulation.

Sounds like a good plan overall. Just don't underestimate the Apennines, they extend to noticeably beyond 2000m in elevation and do see quite a bit of snow during winter. Considering you get cold easily I would pick a sleeping bag based on the comfort temperature, not the limit temperature. Then again you have a warm pad and you can definitely push the rating quite a bit with clothing. Most sleeping bag ratings assume a R4.8 pad, long baselayers and a toque. You really won't do anything wrong with the Cumulus bag, it's a good choice and fairly flexible.

Where are you planning to sleep during winter? -7C would be quite optimistic for Winter above 2000m in any region in Italy. Cumulus X-Lite 400 is a great choice for 3 season temperatures: I made 2 of my friends buy it and they are very happy about it. Which thru-hike are you planning in Italy? Sentiero Italia? I have quite extensive trekking/mountaineering experience in Italy, so feel free to reach me in DM if you look for planning or other specific hints.

I had a similar discussion with myself and compared a few from s2s, cumulus and wm. ended up with a WM Megalite, if it wasn’t for the fact I needed to customize I would have probably chosen the xlite 400, with added width and a 5mm zip.

I had three of those bags in my house at the same time along with a panyam 450. The s2s was the -1 version. I was disappointed with my quilt for shoulder season temps so decided I wanted a bag. Comparing the loft side by side the WM was the winner and I liked the extra width being a bit bigger. If you are ok with the standard size of the xlite and the standard 3mm zip the xlite is a great buy. Ps as you eluded too the Sea to summit ratings are T lower limit ratings, the comfort rating of their -1C bag is 4C, the comfort of the -9 is -2C, #marketing

No idea sorry. The xlite has a 3mm zip which I didn’t get on with but some are ok using it. You have to be gentle not to snag.

The Cumulus X-Lite 400 has a comfort rating of -1°C and its x-small size is for people up to 160cm at only 544 g ! I have it in small (a tad too big for xs) with customisations and really like it. It's a great quality bag and definetly worth the money.

very happy with the x-lite 400. i got the PG29g outer fabric. at -3 it is def chilly. at 0 to +7 it is great . haven't used it above that. .