Vent: Everyone says you need a 0 degree bag for winter camping, but my 20 degree bag with a liner worked fine

I camped in the White Mountains last January where it hit 15 degrees at night. Everyone online says you need a bag rated for the lowest possible temp, but I only had my old 20 degree Marmot bag. I added a cheap fleece liner from Amazon, wore a base layer, and slept on a good pad. I was warm all night and saved over $200 on a new bag. Has anyone else pushed the rating on their sleep system and been okay?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionas3922d ago

Seriously, good on you for making that work. I've done the same thing with my 30 degree bag and a thick wool blanket when it dropped into the 20s. People get so hung up on the exact rating, but layering up inside the bag is a total game changer. A good pad is half the battle anyway. Saves a ton of cash.

lisar1421d ago

Right? It's all about getting creative with what you already have.

mia_lee21d ago

Totally agree about layering and a good pad. Just want to add that a bag's rating is usually its survival limit, not comfort, so pushing it that far is really impressive. What kind of pad were you using?