AlpinLite

Getting an EE quilt that is 20° warmer than your use case comes out to be just as expensive and heavy as going with an absolutely top of the line Western Mountaineering bag. Eg: WM Alpinlite (20°F) = $710 and 880gr. EE Enigma 0°F = $610 and 821g + $70 and ~80g for a torrid hood (and this piece of crap doesn’t even have differential cut or edge tension control, while having double length U-shaped baffles that promote down migration/cold spots and is a straight up cost-cutting design choice).

>I was absolutely freezing all night >Current setup: 20° EE quilt There’s your problem, read more below. Others have said that your pad is the weak point, but at above freezing, it should have been adequate. However, if you are loosing heat to the ground, adding clothing layers really doesn’t help, so despite your seemingly overkill setup, the pad may in fact be the weak link. Otherwise (from a fellow cold sleeper) down pants make a huge difference for boosting the warmth of your sleep system. I know EE quilts work for many people, but ignoring their racism, the design sucks and has several features that compound negatively unless conditions are close to ideal/you are lucky/you are extremely skilled: -extremely long (12+ft) baffles that promote down shift and cold spots. Even if a baffle is perfectly filled there will be some down movement, and the larger the baffle, the larger this cold spot will be. Also, the U-shaped baffles are a straight up cost cutting decision since there are less chambers to fill (the high price does not reflect this). -no differential cut. Differential cut (smaller inner fabric, larger outer fabric) helps maintain the 3D shape of baffles and stabilizes down. No diff cut plus super long baffles equals even worse performance (unless down is perfectly distributed and stays that way). -limit rated. Quilt will sleep colder / be heavier than expected. Granted many makers use limit rating, but the best regarded ones don’t. Limit rating plus no diff cut plus long baffles equals bad performance. FWIW, I have a 20°F EE quilt and a 20°F WM bag. The bag sleeps true to the rating while the quilt looks like a straight up piece of crap next to it. Based on the performance and specs, I estimate I would have to upgrade to a 0°F quilt plus hood to get the same performance as the WM bag, but the quilt will be *heavier*, only $30 cheaper and still have all the bad design choices mentioned above.

If money isn't a factor, then I'd recommend a bag from Western Mountaineering. I've had their Alpinlite bag for a few years and I love it.

My Western Mountaineering Alpinlite bag. It's roomy, warm, and light in my pack. I once did a trip in Arkansas when I was still somewhat new to backpacking and didn't understand sleeping bag comfort ratings. Temps at night got down to low 20s and I had a 20 degree so I thought I'd be good. Froze my damn ass off every night and was miserable. I swore I'd never make that mistake again and splurged on a nice bag when I got home.

I owned a WM, and I use a GG now. I think these are two very different bags. Can you handle a mummy design with a mummy hood cinched over your face or do you need a hoodless bag cinched around your neck coupled with a separate down hood? That’s the key question for me. Otherwise, both bags are top of the line. I am a very active sleeper. I toss and turn. I sleep on my stomach and side. I used to own a WM Alpenlite 20F, and I just can’t do a mummy hood. I end up sucking on fabric because I’ve stated my head inside the mummy hood. It’s a great bag if you can lay still on your back. I went searching for a hoodless sleeping bag so I could toss and turn without getting my face bride inside the mummy hood. I found Gryphon Gear among some other hoodless sleeping bag options and full-zip quilts. After careful analysis and comparison, I bought a Taurus 10F (not the vapor barrier), and it’s perfect. The fabric is comfortable against the skin. It’s very warm. The cinch around the neck is easy to access and tighten and loosen. Left handed zipper is easy to maneuver behind the draft collar. The down is intense and quick to expand to maximum loft. I think Gary at GG really has his science down with this craft sleeping bag. I’ve never had it colder than the 20s F, but it kept me very comfortable. I sleep very cold. So, you really have to decide whether you want a mummy bag with mummy hood or a hoodless solution. You say you’re a tossing and turning side sleeper, and that screams hoodless sleeping bag to me.

I’ve been a fan of Western Mountaineering bags for 20 years now. Made in USA, and they have a bunch of models to choose from. Currently, my main BWCA bag is the MityLite. 40F bag rating. It unzips all the way to be used as a quilt. In the shoulder seasons, I use the Alpinlite 20F bag. My Alpinlite is 20 years old and as good as new, the MityLite is 10 and also still perfect.

With your height/weight I dont think you'd have a problem at all. I'm a fair bit bigger than you and can easily side sleep in my Alpinlite even with a leg up or in fetal (slightly snug in fetal but very doable). They cut their bags very generously around the legs compared to almost every other bag manufacturer that has a sharper taper from the waist down. WM makes great bags. Their hoods and draft collars are phenomenal. I dont know if you've been in one before but most people find them very warm because they seal so well. I would only caution you that something like an Antelope is going to be far too warm for temps closer to freezing. My Alpinlite buttoned up will easily get me into the teens (F) and I dont feel like I sleep particularly warm as a rule. As far as if you need it overfilled, I dont think so. The baffle design allows you to shake the bag biasing where the down is pooling so you can kind of do it yourself focusing max fill toward the top of your body. It does help with degradation over years of use but you can also ship the bag back at any time to have them overfill it. If you do decide you want factory overfill buy from HermitHut as they include it at no charge (and ship free and dont charge sales tax outside of CA). You have to ignore their website stock status as they kind of update it based on popularity. If something is not available to order just give them a buzz and they'll let you order whatever you want. There just might be a few weeks lead time.

I have had a WM Alpinlite for 12 years. I sleep in it probably 30-40 nights a year. Also one of my favorite hood/collar designs I’ve ever experienced in a bag. Go with WM - you won’t regret it. 12 years ago, Feathered Friends was their primary competitor. I don’t know if that’s still true but I would check them out, too.

Packed size/overall weight, and actual warmth. A Coleman bag might be rated for 0*F but that may be its lowest “oh shit” rating, whereas a 0* bag from Western Mountaineering can often take you there without issue. For reference, I have a 20* bag from WM and have often taken it to 20* easily, and even as low as 0* (with some caveats: In a tent with another person, hot water bottle in the foot box, wearing thermal base layers, and a down jacket - I was very cozy). More expensive bags also tend to use down fill, which is considerably lighter and packs down much smaller, making it easier to haul for backpacking trips. Packed size and weight doesn’t matter as much for car camping trips where you don’t have to hike with all your gear to your campsite. A bag being heavy or relatively large when packed doesn’t make it a bad sleeping bag, it just makes it inefficient for certain uses. I’d happily camp with your Coleman bag, but I would never take it backpacking.

I also have a Flicker, but the lack of a hood and draft tube gives me a similar experience as yours in colder weather. I use a Western Mountaineering Alpinlite (also rated 20 degrees) for those conditions, it's \*much\* warmer. It's a "roomy mummy", not constrictive, won't compress layers, a pretty good way to transition from a quilt if that's your jam. I think efficiency is more than the oz. of down, it's also the design and cut, which makes comparing bags difficult. The Flicker was OK to about 30, I've been warm cowboy camping in the Alpinlite to well below freezing.

Bought the Alpenlite and can say it's more room than the Versalite, but not overly large. (I'm 6' @ 185 lbs.) If a bag is cut too tight it constricts any layers you have (such as a puffy), so it doesn't layer well. The other thing to consider is if you're a side sleeper, the Alpenlite lets you turn over inside the bag; a more narrow bag means you must turn the bag itself (if this makes sense). BTW, the WM bags are very well made and have Polish goose down, specifically NOT 950+ because this is so fine doesn't un-compress well; the 850 is more substantial and quickly puffs back up.