I need some advice here...my girlfriend and I like to share a sleep system...e.g. two bags zipped together. Here's what we have for warm summer conditions;

Big Agnes Lost Dog-long = 22oz
Big Agnes Clearview Air Pad 20 x 66 = 14oz
Total (each) 34oz

This works well for desert southwest 50+ degree nights. For cooler conditions, e.g. 30-40 degree nights while camping at 10-12k' elevation, add a closed cell foam pad, and a quilt over the top???

Any suggestions to keep us close and warm are greatly appreciated!

John

Wear a sweater and hat (the rest is up to you). Each time one moves, the resulting draft on the neck can wake the other. The gap between your necks loses a ton of heat. You might minimize the gap by sleeping facing away from each other, but that is an unlikely arrangement. I usually put a jacket/quilt/etc. over my face sometime after midnight

I still haven't seen a bag with two hoods, or more. I imagine that race teams could use such a sleeping bag, fitted precisely to sleeping arrangement, for their puppy piles.

I've come to realize that the only way to keep my wife warm is
to either go with separate bags or to use a double bivy.

Mine would stay home if it came to that.

Big Agnes makes a King Solomon 15° double wide that weighs 5lbs 3oz according to the mfg. Not available yet, must be new. Looks comfy, but a bit heavy. Would love to find a lighter solution.

We use the BA King Solomon. My wife is a cold sleeper so we use it with the Air Core Insulated pads. It is not light though my bag weighs 5lb even. I've definitely trimmed the fat elsewhere in our kit. The bag has a nice hood and neck baffle to keep the warmth in. My daughter also fits between us in this setup, at least for now. It fits in my Golite Pinnacle after compression and I can carry all the family gear except child and diapers and my pack weighs 35lbs with consumables.

My wife and I have stayed warm well below freezing with a top bag zipped to a bottom sheet, or "coupler". The coupler also had pockets to contain our thermarests.

Our first was a rectangular Western Mountainering bag zipped to their "coupler" The second was a Nunatak quilt joined to a homemade coupler.(About 2# for quilt and bottom.)Zippers give you the option of individual heat control.

The key to success was to add a down baffle to the middle of the top bag that hung like a curtain, at the center of the bag, parallel to the top. It was wide enough and tall enough to more than fill any gap between us. It kept warm air in and drafts out. When it got in the way we just flipped it up on top of the bag, and flipped it down when we went out separate ways.

I demonstrated this approach to another cold couple by hand sewing a pack towel in place. Not quite as toasty, but more than enough to stop the drafts and keep the heat in.

It is a very simple thing to try and the results are amazing.

Patrick,
It sounds like you are happy with the BA. We have two medium sized dogs that go with us as well. If your daughter fits in between you, it sounds like our dogs would too.
I too have an air core insulated, but feel that for about the same weight, combining the clearview matress with a foam pad gives you more ground insulation.

Greg,
So the baffle hangs in between you at the top of the bag, filling the gap between your heads? Or does in run top to bottom of the bag? If I am reading it right, it is the prior arrangement. If your system was about 2lbs for the entire system, it is obviously much lighter than the 5lb BA. I will have to check it out.

Thanks guys! John

John,
Your first perspective is correct.

The baffel hangs from the top edge, between our heads/backs/shoulders. Imagine lying separated, on your sides, each of you facing out. A taught top bag will 'tent' the gap from shoulder to shoulder. The baffle should completely fills that space between you, and maybe a bit more for a great seal.

Temperature range depends on loft, which depends on construction and on fill. Nunatak uses 800 fill, not cheap, but light and warm. Your target temp will determine the loft. There are many options out there.

As posted above, Western Mountaineering made a rectangular full zip bag and a coupler. Nunatak only makes the top quilt, and you get to improvise the rest. Both will work with you to get the best solution. I'm sure there are other great vendors as well.

Greg,

If your dogs like to be completely covered there should be plenty of room down at your feet in the BA.

Pat

We have a double bag for car camping. Truthfully, I hate it but grudgingly sleep in it with my wife anyway. To solve the problem of losing heat from the space in between...

#1 - Determine the middle, sew a button maybe 6=8 inches from edge of bag, on both sides.
#2 - Create a loop of shock cord
#3 - Atatch shock cord from top button to bottom button

This will close the gap a great deal and aid losing heat. You could probably get away with using large safety pins in zip together bags instead of buttons.

The whole idea sounds silly but it worked for us. Oh, and of course sleeping with a lightweight balaclava helps immensely.

Frito and I have used for years a semirectangular Feathered Friends bag with a zip-on bottom sheet tapered down to the zipper so only the zipper encircles the foot area -- IOW, the zipper is vertical and not quite as wide at the foot as the 2 zipper tapes. To control drafts we use a flap of microfleece sewn to the drawstring - with two slits, making three flaps, really. They tuck around and under our shoulders to eliminate drafts. The zippered sheet lets two restless sleepers use an overbag comfortably. In cold weather, the sleeping pads go inside; in warmer weather, on the outside.

Two sleep warmer than one, so the bag with 18 ounces of high-volume down is good to the mid 20s without extra clothing. The bag with 16 ounces is good to about 32.

Edited by vickrhines on 06/19/2008 20:49:30 MDT.

Thanks for the tips everyone. Until one of the "cottage" manufacturers comes up with a good light weight solution, it appears DIY projects are in order. Guess I should have taken that sewing class!

You might also check out this thread:
http://tinyurl.com/67oze7
I'm happy with the Feathered Friends system (see details on that thread). There were previous threads as well, discussing the same thing. I think Doug's summary is a good one (although I give the FF system higher marks, despite its lack of draft control).

Edited by rossbleakney on 06/20/2008 15:35:36 MDT.

I like a semi rectangular down bag with a bivy or a zip
on bottom of silnylon. Use the pads inside.

Here are some bivys I just made with a DWR top and Sil bottom.
They have a hood with a zipper under the chin and have a 6" wide strip of
noseeum net over the face. Fit up to 6.5" tall.

I do need a better photo.

Edited by oware on 06/20/2008 17:17:02 MDT.

Try again, won't let me edit a photo.

Hi Dave,

What do you mean by "They have a hood with a zipper under the chin"? Is this to attach the noseeum net? What type of semi rectangular down bag do you use?

Thanks,
John

Edited by JRoan on 06/23/2008 13:01:48 MDT.