Kifaru 20 degree bag. my humble review. (and pad)

[pointysticks]

well, i just finished 50 miles with my sleeping bag in my pack.

visually, or aesthetically, it was the coolest bag of the group. i love the color. i expected to see 30 to 60 degree weather from our huge range of elevations (11k to 5k). what we actually got was 90 degs on occasion with dropping temps...waking up to 40 degree temps at all elevations.

i just gotta say it; the bag is not that warm. i slept with my first light merino wool uppers and lowers and i always seem to wake up chilled. i think the bag is too tight? the dimensions read larger than my Marmot bag, but it is tighter feeling. am i getting cold because my arms are pressing the sides "thin"?. the bag is super light and packs down small. honestly, i dont like the compression stuff sack. all those cords hanging off the bag will get caught in my backpack zippers. i use the Medium sack, and i bet i can get the sleeping bag into the small. i may just buy a stuff sack from REI and go old school. my most comfy sleep, started off on a warm night. we hiked hard, ate fast and just tossed up the tent sans rain fly and stakes. i used the bag quilt style, and was SUPER WARM! i did finally zip in. i rarely caught fabric into zippers and i loved that. i will reserve this bag for my warmer hunts.

to add: the Big Agnes Q-core SL was fantastic. not the easiest to puff up at 11k feet, but i managed. very slippery. if you sleep on uneven ground, be prepared to find yoursef asleep in a corner of a tent. it got soft one night, but i puffed it back up and i had no issues. i love it.

[eltaco]

I appreciate that info. I very nearly purchased that bag but found a good deal on a 20F down bag and decided to give it a whirl. I haven't yet used it and hope my review is a bit more favorable, but so far it seems impressive. This season is going to be completely new for me... first time backpack hunting, and I'm geared up and looking forward to it!

[dotman]

See and I felt it was very true to temp, I have slept down into the teens in it and been comfortable. In the high 30's I had the zipper down and part of a leg out till it got cold then zipped up and was extremely warm. I have the reg long and I do agree it doesn't feel as wide as I had hoped so if I could do it again I would get a wide bag. My shoulders are 44 so anyone with wider shoulders would be best to get a wide. I can easily zip up and move around but just don't have a ton of arm freedom. I like the stuff sack, it is different but man it gets the bag evenly compressed and makes it nice to out at the bottom of the pack.

[ST52V]

I have read that you can run beads of silicon across a pad to make it less slippery. Maybe some who has tried it can chime in with how it works.

[Vanish]

Thanks for the review. Definitely surprised at the results, judging by the name.

I have similar feelings with my Mountain Hardwear 25°/40°F Flip Sleeping Bag ... its just not that nice to sleep in. When approaching the lower end (25), wherever there is the slightest tension on the bag from a body part, I get cold. This usually means shoulders or feet, and I'm pretty average build: 6 foot, 175lbs.

Normally, I am very hot in a 30 degree bag when it is 30 degrees. We recently did a high country trout trip and it dropped to 25. This was the first time I have ever been cold while camping, and I've camped down to -16 using other bags. Not to mention I was already wearing all my clothes, including UA base layer. I eventually got up at 5:00am and started a fire.

A pair of them were gifted to my wife and I, because they can zip together. However, both are right hand models, so having the flip ability doesn't really work that well! Luckily I am a warm sleeper, so I take the "cold" side when we do zip them.

I want to try a nice down bag, but I don't have the money.

[Migolito]

I noticed your 6ft tall. Are you using 6ft or 6,6 bags? Sounds like your bags may be to short.

[RockChucker30]

Interesting. In my experience bag temp ratings are very subjective. I'm a cold sleeper, and I like for my bag to beat the expected temps by 15-20 degrees if possible. I can always throw a leg out, unzip, or even lay on top of the bag, but when you're zipped in tight wearing everything you've got and shivering at 3 am there aren't many options.

[wideangle]

I have used my Noth Face Cat's Meow bags for many different types of trips. It is rated at 20 degrees.
If I want to add a wee bit more warmth I stick in a silk or flannel liner.

http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/cats-meow_2.html

All bags are rated wearing long underwear and a hat.

[Lefty]

I have read that you can run beads of silicon across a pad to make it less slippery. Maybe some who has tried it can chime in with how it works.

I glued (shoe- goo) non-slip material onto my pad works fine