Feathered Friends - Swallow UL 20/30

Female cold sleeper here with about 25 years of trying various sleep systems. I know you're only asking about a bag, but there are some other things she can also try to be more comfortable: * both WM and FF make great bags, and they'll be pretty accurate in terms of temp ratings. I bought a FF Swallow 20F in 2002 or so, and it's still in amazing shape. If it weren't so heavy (35oz, sob), I'd still be using it for every trip. I found it comfortable down to 30F. I switched to a quilt because I'm a restless sleeper, but I still love that bag. * consider a different sleeping pad, even if she doesn't think the cold is coming from the ground. I started off with a Thermarest SI back in the day, then switched to an old variation of the xlite and consistently froze my ass off. I then went to a Nemo Tensor All-Season, which ostensibly has the same r-value (a pretty blunt instrument to begin with), but sleeps \*significantly\* warmer, at least for me. I'd also recommend rectangular over mummy; it's made a huge difference in my sleep quality and warmth, and I'm happy to take the minor weight penalty. * consider different/more sleep layers. You mentioned in a comment that she sleeps in a merino base layer plus a puffy, and honestly that just might not be enough. My usual is just merino bottoms (unless I'm somewhere like the arctic, where I'll add lightweight fleece bottoms), but on top I'll almost always wear merino, a midweight layer (Patagonia R1 or MH Airmesh), and a puffy. Alpha might be a good add, too, I just haven't splurged on it yet. Last year on the Colorado Trail I often went to sleep in my rain pants, too, just until I warmed up enough to strip off in the middle of the night--though honestly that was probably because I had a crappy EE "20F" quilt. For a merino top, I love the Black Diamond Solution hoody--the hood adds a little more head warmth (and keeps your hat in place) for very little added weight. There have been nights where I've worn every damn layer I have, including my gloves! * hot water bottle! a true game-changer if she hasn't tried it. The downside is the weight of a bottle that can hold hot water (nalgene, not smart water) and the extra fuel you need to heat it up. It sucks to be a cold sleeper, and there's definitely a trade-off between weight and comfort. On a shorter trip I'll sacrifice comfort (no extra layers, no hot water bottle, sleep in my gross rain pants), but if I'm out for a month or two, I don't want to be miserable every night.

I say this as someone who has bought a lot of sleeping bags. It’s better to spend the money on something premium upfront. I bought a $100 then a $200 then a $300 sleeping bag… and still kept freezing my ass off. I now have a feathered friends swallow, and have no complaints. If I had just invested that money upfront, it would have saved me lots. Consider WM, FF, or pHdesigns for your next purchase. You won’t regret it

I paid $1k for a -40 degree sleeping bag. Because the -20 degree sleeping bag I bought the year before wasn’t warm enough. Feathered Friends. They are $1,200k now. Alaska is cold in March.

192cm here. Long versions of Feathered Friends, Western Mountaineering, or Enlightened Equipment bags. For your temp range I use 20F EE quilt. For a tent, you can also get something longer. I use Tarptent Rainbow which leaves me with almost 30 cm to spare length wise.

I worked at a man camp for one winter. Used a down 20 degree sleeping bag most of the time, but also had a second bag to double up when it dipped down lower. A sleeping bag is a lot warmer than a quilt. I slept through a few -20F nights without much issue. I had a lightweight Feathered Friends bag, but I recommend a heavier weight material for hard use if weight isn't an issue. I remember fixing a hole or two with some duct tape. I still use that same bag.

I'd been using a Marmot for 30 yrs, what they called a 10-20 30. Don't remember the price but it was the most expensive thing I bought for a very long time and glad I did. There were not as many choices back then and I don't think they are the same now. Point is it was annoying when it was warm. Couple of years ago I got a Feathered Friends Flicker 40. It's a hoodless sleeping bag that can also open all the way to a quilt. (no it doesn't attach to a pad) Had that down to mid 30's cowboy camping in the desert and was fine with a puffy on. I had wanted a 30 but out of stock. This year sold the 40 and got a 30 for a trip to Iceland in July. I'm very happy with it; works well across temps. Combined with the Marmot gets me down to 0. Since it is a bag when I want it's less fuss than a lot of the quilts out there. (love the draft collar and the foot closing completely). You can rent one and they will credit up to 2 nights rental cost toward a similar purchase. May help but likely incur some extra shipping costs unless you're in their area.

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

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.

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.)