Ok, so I'm a big guy at 6'3 and built like a refrigerator. I have two sleeping bags, one of which is a big agnes lost ranger with the air core pad which I use for colder weather and the other is a cheap coleman 32 degree bag I bought a long time ago. I've outgrown the coleman and was wanting to replace it with a nicer summer bag. Are there any clydesdales out there like me and if so, what kind of bag do you use? My perameters are: lightweight and must be sold at REI or REI.com (have gift certificates). I was looking at the sierra designs arrow rock 30 degree, but I didnt' know if the shoulder girth would fit me. Most sleeping bags make me feel like I'm in a sausage casing!

The best bags in my opinion are the Western Mountaineering range. They do a wide shoulder girth at 64" for some models. The Alpinlite would easily keep you toasty at 30 degrees.

Cheap they are not, but if you want something you will love owning, you have to pay.

If you sleep warm, you may get away with a Megalite at 30*:

http://www.westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm?section=Products&page=Sleeping%20Bags&cat=ExtremeLite%20Series&viewpost=2&ContentId=19

Otherwise, Marmot do an 8" extender to widen their bags I think. Your other option is to switch to a quilt and get it custom built by one of the MYOG experts here. I had a light quilt made by Tim Marshall which is superb, and was very fairly priced.

Edited by tallbloke on 09/26/2009 11:43:32 MDT.

I can't really wrap my head around the concept of the ultralight quilt... How do they work? Is it kind of like a big agnes sleeping bag in that there is no loft under you and you suppliment it with a sleeping pad of some kind? What exactly is a quilt and how do you use one? I've been wondering this for a while now.

Edited by judach on 09/26/2009 11:48:40 MDT.

yes you use quilts with a pad of some sort. Some folks like CCF pads while others use a inflating pad.

this thread might help a little. It talks about JRB quilts but Speer Hammocks also makes a good top quilt

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=23977

Edited by Ewker on 09/26/2009 12:00:08 MDT.

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/Large%20Family.htm

The three season JRB quilts are rated about 25F, and I have after a year and a half of using them no question of the accuracy of the rating. Cold sleeper, warm quilt.

well, they are interesting. Can't buy them at REI though, which is one of my requirements since I have gift certificates there.

I'd have to ask my husband - he is a Clydesdale as well ;-) (Love that term...it so fits him). He has bought all of his bags at REI and while not UL fashionable brands has done well with Sierra Designs and Marmot for the super broad shouldered/very tall men out there.
Do you sleep on a 25" pad as well? He has to or his shoulders droop.

I've been getting away with a 20 inch pad just because I mostly sleep on my side. If I lay on my back though, my shoulders fall off both sides. Being a clydesdale definately has it's advantages (was a good nose tackle on my highschool football team) but for backpacking, my size is proven to be somewhat of a pain; especially when buying sleeping bags. I'm very adaptable otherwise. I use a eureka spitfire 1 tent and people always laugh watching me get in and out of it. It's like a clown car! But I like it.

People laugh when I bring my 6' 8" frame out of tiny tents too, but so what, I have the last laugh when I pass them and their packs on the way up the hill.

I got an extra wide ccf pad from army surplus in the UK. Plenty of Clydesdales in the British Army. ;-)

The idea of quilts is that the down under you in a sleeping bag is squished flat and doesn't do much, so you get a warm but light pad, and a lighter quilt with as much down in as 2/3 of your sleeping bag.

My Western Mountaineering Ultralite is just wide enough to use as a quilt for me and my lady. The Alpinlite is same spec but 5" wider.

if you like the big agnes you have now, why not get a warm weather one? the horse thief is 32+ and weighs in at 1.5 pounds.

Because it doesn't fit very well at all in the eureka spitfire tent with the air core pad. The corners of the pad bend up along the walls of the tent. I need a bag I can use without the integrated rectangular pad. I have a quarter length therm a rest that I can use, but with the big agnes system, I'd get a little chilly with nothing under my legs. I did think about that though. If I had a different tent maybe...

The spitfire is a diamond shaped tent more designed for a mummy bag and small sleping pad. The lost ranger is a cross between a mummy and rectangular pad and the air core pad is rectangular. Not only does it not really fit into the tent, but it raises me a good 2- 2.5 inches off of the ground, so my head is barely touching the ceiling of the tent due to the angle of the "head side" corner.

Edited by judach on 09/26/2009 14:18:11 MDT.