Penguin YF

Before you buy, I'd read through Dan Timmerman's blog: [https://timmermade.com/blog/](https://timmermade.com/blog/) He says it better than I will. But it comes down to wrapping yourself with the right thickness of insulation for the least amount of weight and money, which means you need a bag that fits your body and sleeping position, and uses the right amounts of top-notch materials. **Keep in mind insulation is a complete system**. It includes sleeping pads and shelters. \-A thin CCF pad under an air pad boosts R-value for cheap. Decathlon's foam roll is 210g and 9 Euro. GG thinlite is half the weight and double the price, which is still cheap. \-A bivy bag can easily add 5C to your warmth because it prevents wind from stealing your warmth. You can find them on aliexpress for \~30 Euro in the 250g gram range, or from cottage makers in US for more $ and less g. Keep in mind, you do still want good ventilation to prevent condensation. Feathered Friends is gold standard. Quality is top. The price reflects that. Any of the FF 10F (-12C) or 0F (-18C) bags could work. Don't get confused by names. Just look at the girth specs, and fit to height. **Maybe** in your price range with the USD being cheap right now. I think the Cumulus Panyam and Teneqa series check all the boxes at a fair price. Choose the weight you need, add an extra 60g of down, and size it to fit yourself. Good options on website. You'll come in right around 400-500 Euro. Cheaper than that is Aegismax. \-G is the 850 FP goose down UL winter series, Choose your weight and length. Is it totally dialed in? No, but it's a really solid choice. \-D is the 650 FP duck down budget series. Adequate, not ideal but worth mentioning though My best personal experiences have been with \-Feathered Friends Flicker 20 (-7C) for general 3 season use, which I like for versatility. It works down to actual rated temp with the right shelter, pads, campsite selection, clothing. \-Aegismax Mini 6C which is good for summer use (which is half the year where I live), but was impressed with brand.

Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends or Marmot for bags. Enlightened Equipment, Hammock Gear or Katabatic for backpacking quilts. Not cheap but quality and comfortable.

I've been a quilt user for years, but if I were looking for sleeping bags, I would go with either Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends. You absolutely get what you pay for with either brand. Awesome quality.

There isn’t really an absolute best, but I like Katabatic for a quilt and western mountaineering or feathered friends for a bag. I prefer quilts down to around the low 20s, bags below that. Having a pocket in your quilt for a sleeping pad seems silly to me.

Really high end would be Feathered Friends or Western Mountaineering, basically life time bags. If you are in Europe Cumulus is a great alternative.

The ratings are not always reliable so you are right to be uncomfortable with them. One good baseline is ounces of down at the same fill power. Comparing bags that way gives you a better comparison point. Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends are generally reliable in their ratings. That should give you an excellent place to start.

At those temps you don't want to be messing around with some (relatively) unknown brand. I would also go insane if I had to deal with some fiddly hood that let in drafts around my neck in the winter. As far as I'm concerned, in the winter you have two options -- feathered friends or western mountaineering.

For sleeping bags I do Feathered Friends. PHENOMENAL products. Carefully selected down feathers and they don’t have to kill the animals to get them. I’ve got 3 different Feathered Friends sleeping bags for different temperatures, including an ultra thick one that I’ve used alone sleeping in no-tent self-dug snow trenches in the middle of Yellowstone in January. The outer layer of the sleeping bags is synthetic, but the primary ingredient is natural feathers. I also have one of their down packable jackets, but it’s too hot, even in -20F. Last time I camped in deep snow for a week, alone, on cross country skis, pulling all my gear on a Fairbanks siglin pulk sled behind me, I found I didn’t need much during the day, because I was working so hard I was always hot. At night I would dig a trench, lay a tarp across the top, supported by my ski poles, and sleep in my FF down bag on top of a thermarest. I’d keep my boots in the bottom of the sleeping bag so they didn’t freeze overnight. Wool socks, wool long underwear, wool sweater, synthetic wind-and-snow protecting pants and jacket. Wool hat, neck gaiter, and gloves. Synthetic outer-layer for gloves to keep my fingers drier. Smartwool makes merino wool boxer briefs. You need less than you think. (Except calories, holy f— do you need a lot of those.)