Bison GWS Expedition

I find those stats to be highly suspect. Comparing it to a Western Mountaineering Bison, which I know well, I find it strange that an 800fp bag would have the same temp rating and be 510g lighter. The Bison is 900fp and every degree of its -40 temp rating. With bags there’s only a few places weight comes from: Features - both are minimally featured, but Western does have a double interlocking draft tube that will add weight but a ton of warmth. TNF has a pocket. Fabrics and trims (zippers, pulls etc)- TNF is using a half zipper instead of a full. Not a fan! Both brands are using 15d laminated (waterproof) nylon. Western does use a heavier fabric on the inside at the bottom to reinforce the bag if you put your liners or other things at the bottom. Just the last two baffles or about 12 inches from the foot up toward the knee. Down- the significant portion of that weight difference has to come from the down, which makes up about 2/3 the total weight of any bag. I just can’t believe the TNF bag will be as warm with what I suspect is less 800fp down. Hard to compare when TNF doesn’t disclose (I couldn’t find) the amount of down they use in their bag. It is worth noting that EN tasting doesn’t provide accurate resulted much below 0F, so there’s not good standardized test being run to accurately compare claims on bags of this rating.

I am a cold sleeper too. And I’m embarrassed to admit, I could afford a western mountaineering bag. It was 0°. And I’m 59 and I got the 6 foot six version. Giving me tons of down to snuggle into. I actually use this bag way more than just the winter and I’m always toasty warm.

Western mountaineering. I get cold easily even in the summer in Colorado at high altitudes. I also snow camp

Don’t forget to get a really big bag one that goes way over your head. It’s just so cozy.

It really depends who you are. I can shiver on a Colorado summer night at 11k. So I spent 2lbs on a western mountaineering bag. I love it.

Western Mountaineering mummy bag. I do a lot in shoulder season and these are very warm for the weight

I liked my quilt when I was doing shorter trips. Once I started doing months at a time I grabbed a western mountaineering bag and I have no regrets. Helps me extend a bit more into shoulder season

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.

Good pad. Stick with that. Edit: (I forgot about the Nemo eclipse. That's something to look at. I don't think they're ready to ship yet. I don't know that factually. I think they're officially going on sale in march. REI was doing pre-orders.) Someone mentioned Western Mountaineering. That's the best. But they're expensive. I don't know if I'd recommend it for a beginner. I have one and it's totally worth it. If you know you're going to be out there, then maybe eventually you want to make that investment. In general about sleeping bags look at the EN or ISO Comfort rating. If they don't have that, you probably don't want it. That's an incorrect statement. Because even some top brands don't necessarily publish that for certain bags. In which case you just really need to look deeper into that bag. To give you a specific example, Western Mountaineering has EN number is published on a chart under their faqs. But that only goes down to their bags that are about zero rated and above. That doesn't mean that they're cold weather bags are crap. The exact opposite actually. But a lot of budget brands are throwing a temperature rating on there that may be more related to the extreme limit number which is survivability and you'll just be cold. If you want to look at the difference between the comfort, limit, and extreme limit rating, you can. But just stick with comfort. Maybe build in an extra 10° from what you actually expect to sleep in. That's a heavy tent. You can save a lot of weight there. Let me offer a specific alternative. Durston Xmid 2. It's a trekking pole tent. If you wanted to try trekking poles, this is a great way to save weight. If you don't want to use trekking poles, Durston sells ZFlicks poles. You'll still be significantly lighter than the Half dome 2. R/durstongearheads Naturehike is a budget brand with tents you can look at to see if one would work for you. You'd save money. And probably can come out a fair amount lighter. Check out r/ultralight. I'm not saying you should go full ultralight. But if you're going to be backpacking, save weight where you can.

Western mountaineering… cry once, but once