I have a Montbell #1 and it is a little heavy and hot. I will be hiking in the sierras and yosemite soon i hope. My question is will a WM 35 degree Caribou be enough . I am also looking at Montbells UL. down inner jacket and pant. I might need some mid or light woolys. I will be on a insulated air core or prolite 4. In a tent. Any thoughts on the flexibility and effectiveness of this setup would be greatly appreciated.

What temp range do you expect to be in? what season?

the answer to your question really hangs on these factors.

-Evan

Edited by edude on 02/08/2009 21:00:55 MST.

Hey Jason, here are some numbers from my SuperTopo Yosemite Big Walls Guidebook

Month Low/High
1 25/47
2 26/55
3 30/58
4 34/65
5 39/71
6 46/80
7 50/89
8 50/89
9 48/82
10 39/72
11 30/57
12 26/49

These are averages, you could experience at least 10* deviance from these, the sierras and yosemite can always throw unexpected snow storms at you. Others chiming in would help more for the sierras than me.

Thanks Jon. Thanks Evan. I am planning on three season use. I will sometimes be at higher altitudes. I sometimes make stupid choices and need a little safety factor built in. MY thoughts are a WM 35 bg is good to 30 . 25 with long johns. 15 with UL down garments . Safe to 5 deg. good enough if i am not at altitude too early or late in the shoulder season. Thanks again.

Jason,

Last summer I was cool-to-not-quite-cold in my WM Caribou, during a trip to about 7,000ft here in Washington, on a night when other campers in the area said their water bottles had ice in them. Call it ~30 degrees. I was wearing lightweight silks and had a MEC vest on (similar to the Thermawrap vest) and a fleece cap. I had the bag cinched up but wasn't using the hood. It probably would have helped, but I blame the BA Clearview and 1/8-inch Nightlite pad I was using more than the bag, because I wasn't getting much thermal protection from the cold ground. Other than that one unusual night, my Caribou seems to be good down to the 35 degree rating it has.

Thanks again guys . I'm pretty sure now my ideas are sound. A WM Caribou would be light enough as a summer quilt and combined with UL down inners, wool,tent,and said pad enough for some low teens.

I wouldn't be trying to go low teens without trying it out in the backyard first. I should think you'd be comfortable at 20 degrees, but lower than that... maybe, maybe not. Also, not many people find that the insulated air core can go much below freezing by itself... Need an extra foam pad on top. Not sure about the prolite 4.

Edited by ashleyb on 02/08/2009 22:41:38 MST.

I have used my Caribou MF comfortably down to about 20-25F with midweight baselayers, MB down inner pant, fleece vest, and fleece hat with the hood cinched, and on top of two Z-rests (one full length and one torso length). Also, this was in a warm tent. I'm not sure about the low teens; I'd probably want to give it the backyard test as well.

Edited by signet77 on 02/09/2009 06:33:02 MST.

i have a caribou, and i'd be careful thinking it's good to 25 with just some long johns on. like all WM bags, it's well rated (35), and probably a little conservative.

i have slept in it in a bivy at about 30 with long johns and a puff vest, and i was not cold, but not super comfortable. there was probably some effect from cold ground (and thin pad) and wind.

it's a fantastic summer and shoulder-season bag, but if i was going to be down to 20, i'd just take my Alpinlite instead. i don't think it makes sense to carry insulated tops and bottoms that are too hot to hike in, just to stretch a bag down another 15 degrees. (of course, WM bags aren't cheap!)

I agree with Dave T. I have a Caribou and an AlpinLite, and go with the AlpinLite if I am expecting weather below 25. During a summer Yosemite trip at 9000' we got a very chilly 22 degree night. All I had were some smartwool long johns and a patagonia R.5 top for my insulating layers and I was definately chilly to the point of not really sleeping that night. We had unwisely decided to sleep "under the stars" that night and I eventually ended up wrapping the tent fly over my bag to get a "bivy boost". That definately helped matters.

During trips since I have been fine down to 25 when I had warmer clothing on inside the bag. (Normally stretch fleece pants and a micropuff vest)

Edited: I should note that I had a Prolite 4 in my 22 degree trip and on subsequent trips now use an Exped DownMat 7 short which is much warmer.

Edited by backcountry on 02/09/2009 11:51:35 MST.

Gday Jason,

I've owned a Caribou for about 4 years now (I'm sure WM changed its name since I bought one??).

I have used mine down to at least -6˚C (24.8˚F). I had my thermals on and I was pretty pleased it didn't get any colder - I was only just warm enough. So that (for me at least) is the borderline temp.

That said, the Caribou is a great sleeping bag. For a start it is beautifully made. It's roomy. It sheds water making it great for use with a tarp, and (most importantly) it weighs so little.

I reckon you'd be pretty pleased with one.