Deer Hunter -35˚F Canvas Sleeping Bag

ChatGPT probably is a recipe for disaster as a new backpacker who is unfamiliar with gear. But, at least you asked. So, time to make some revisions. In general, Teton is not a good brand, even for budget stuff. I had a Teton sleeping bag. It wasn’t a good purchase for me. Other people’s mileage seems to vary, which has fine, but I think you can get better gear for only a bit more. Tent - that is a REALLY unnecessarily heavy 2 person tent at nearly 7 lbs. And it isn’t a very good value when you can buy a Naturehike Cloud Up 2 person tent for the same price that only weighs 4.6 lbs. Backpack - That’s a good price, but if you would be willing to spend a little more, the REI flash 55 backpack is on sale for Memorial Day for $139. That’s a bit more but I do think it is one of the best budget packs out there when REI has it on sale like they do now. It’s a better designed backpack and it weighs about 2 lbs less. Plus they have a far better return policy than Teton. If you buy the Teton pack now, and hate it for your August trip, you’re stuck with it. But at least with REI, if you really don’t like the pack and don’t feel that it’s the right backpack for you, you can still return it post trip. Plus it would help a lot if you could get fitted for a pack in store. Sizing needs to be right. If that just isn’t possible, order online but at least watch a few videos on how to measure yourself for a backpack at home and get a friend to help measure you if possible. EDIT TO ADD - Steep and Cheap also has the granite gear crown 3 backpack on sale for $120 which is a really good deal as well. Plus it also weighs about 2 lbs less. Sleeping Bag - Be aware than Teton Sports sleeping bag temperature ratings are wildly inaccurate. From their website “The ratings we use are Survival Temperature Ratings, this is the coldest temperature the sleeping bag is designed to keep you alive in, but it doesn’t guarantee comfort. At the lowest point, you might be shivering or experience discomfort. For comfort ratings, we suggest adding 20-30 degrees from the listed rating.” So that 20 degree bag is closer to a 40-50 degree comfort rating and heavy as hell for what it is. If you really need insulation rated between 40-50 degrees, there is a company called HangTight that makes backpacking quilts. They have a 40 degree down quilt called the Hot Foot. It can be purchased with what they call the ground dweller add on package (this makes the quilt wide enough to be used comfortably while sleeping on the ground using a sleeping pad, plus it adds a system to attach the quilt to your pad). Total cost would be less than $100 and my guess is it weighs around 20 oz. That’s a huge difference for an extra $30. If, however, you actually do need to buy a warmer rated bag, the Teton bag would be. Bad choice. Again, for a budget buy, HangTight does make a 20 degree quilt called the Heatseeker that costs about $140. There’s also the Kelly Cosmic 20 down bag that’s on sale at REI for 139. Not the best bag in the world at 2 lbs. 7 ounces in the regular length, but for the temp rating (which is 20 degree limit/30 comfort) it’s not a bad price. All in all, the gear that I recommended is a bit more expensive. But if you went with the Naturehike Cloud Up 2 tent, the HangTight Hotfoot Quilt, and either the REI Flash 55 or the Granite Gear Crown 3 backpack, it would be about $80 more expensive; however, you’d be saving around 7 - 7.5 lbs, which is a lot of weight and bulk. EDIT - Plus, I imagine that the gear which I listed has a better resale value if you wanted for sell it in the future. Also, don’t forget a sleeping pad. For mild weather, if you want to keep to a low budget, I would go with closed cell foam.