Siesta Hooded 20 Double Sleeping Bag

I like our REI two-person sleeping bag when I have it to myself, but honestly we usually just bring cotton sheets and a lofted blanket that stuffs down into a small sack. That setup is the most comfortable for a range of temperatures and we’re fine with it down into the mid 40s.

I have the REI Seista Hooded 20 sleeping bag. I got it on clearance a few years ago. Its roomy and warm. Great bag for car camping or any trip you don’t have to hike in. Its my luxurious bag for campsite days. I camped in it once under freezing and I survived but I could have been better prepared. I have since used that experience to fortify my gear for below freezing nights.

We got the REI Siesta 20 double bag and quite like it. We usually also bring an extra blanket in case it gets colder than we expect.

I've never been out at 20 degrees, the coldest I've camped in was overnight lows in the 40's. We pair our sleeping bag with a MegaMat Max (upgraded from the MegaMat LXW Duo). Certainly we've deployed the extra blanket a few times when it's been on the colder end, but it's almost always kicked off in the night as warmth equalizes between each of us and the sleeping bag/mat. I run quite cold (Reynaud's syndrome + perimenopause = world class kleptotherm) and my partner tends to run warm, so it works out quite well. The extra blanket that we've used has ranged from one of our rectangular bags to a down Rumpl to the extra blanket I keep at the foot of my bed at home. My biggest takeaway was that the Rumpl and extra rectangular sleeping bag as an extra blanket tended to slither off the silky double bag, and the sherpa fleece blanket from home tended to be the most useful. Many folks swear by wool blankets from the army surplus store! Before we got the REI bag, we used two Kelty rectangular bags zipped together, one 30 degree down and one 35 degree synthetic. I already owned the down bag, took it to REI and started zipping it into bags until I found one it was compatible with - no actual strategy behind choosing down vs synthetic. We did choose to put the synthetic one underneath us, as it's the easiest to wash at home. It worked well, and we still have the bags! The double bag was by chance as it was on sale and the warmer rating + the pillow garage were both features I was interested in. Hopefully a useful ramble!

REI Siesta is a bag that is stand alone or can be zipped together. I bought mine a few years ago…hopefully they can still be zipped together. They might be a bit bulky for backpacking but I’ve never tried to get one in a stuff sack. They are square (not mummy) and I found them to be very warm.

Eh, depends on your use case. I'm in Alaska and I use a 20 degree rated REI bag. But I'm also not camping in colder seasons. If I were going out anytime other than between May-October, I'd have a -10 rated down bag.

If you can afford it before your trip, get a second sleeping pad with good r-value, such as another ExPed MegaMat for your husband to sleep on. Everyone is right in that the air mattress sounds like it is not going to keep any warmth under him where he will most likely be miserable. Also, it is not just the cold ground but also the ambient air temperature that will make an air mattress, with no insulation, miserable. Don't dedicate the wool blankets for insulation on top of the air mattress, keep the wool blankets to add to both of you for warmth. Get another quality, insulated, sleeping pad. I personally feel everything else you have will be good for sleeping. I'm able to stay comfy warm with a r-value 7 sleeping pad and 20f rated REI bag down to 25f in a tent. Tents typically do not hold in heat and is actually better to make sure you vent it well to help avoid condensation. Your warmth comes from your sleep system. The only other item I'd make sure you bring is a tarp that you can suspend so you have somewhere to hang-out out of any moisture you've stated is part of the forecast.

I would hope to trust Cabelas and their statement of r-value 7.1 but I didn't see anywhere how that was tested. Some companies make claims without facts to support their claim. Is this the case with Cabelas? I have no way to know but without facts stated, makes me a little suspicious. REI does have their Campwell Sleeping Pad that is rated at r-value 7.0 and is tested "according to the ASTM F3340 standard." The Campwell pad is 1/2" less thick than the listed specs on the Cabelas version you mentioned, so the Campwell is only 2 1/2" thick when inflated. Is it warm? Yes, it is exactly the sleeping pad I have used down to 25f with my 20f sleeping bag. The price point is right there when comparing to the Cabelas version and there are two sizes for the Campwell. Would I recommend it? Yes. You'll need to decide if the thickness is suitable but at least you should be able to try it out at a REI store first. I know the REI stores near me seem to have those pads in stock and have a platform to try it out on. Also, if you buy at REI and feel the product doesn't live up to their claims, you can return it.