i have a wm alder 25 deg 850 fill which i love but im wanting to try a 15-20 deg bag

with hood to see if it is any better than what i have now im kind of a cold sleeper but stay warm in the alder other than the occasional draft thet sneaks in thru the
top of the bag occasionally due to it being hoodless

in 6-1 and about 215 lbs with shoulder girth around 53 inches

looking at suggestions and budget is about $325 shipped for a new bag

what would you guys choose for around that price and also where would you shop to get one ??

thanks all

kevin

I'd get one of these, probably leaning toward the Marmot:

Montbell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #1
whichever Marmot 15F model has 800 fp down and a draft tube

I use a MB #3 (30F) for warmer weather, and a 600 fp Marmot 0F in winter. I'm not sure if I want the stretchy stuff in colder weather. I find it a little more prone to cold spots than my Marmot bag.

You could save a bunch of money by getting a down hood instead of a new bag, and then your system would be modular. Check out these hoods from Katabatic: http://katabaticgear.com/shop/category/hoods/

If you are set on getting a new bag, I would probably sell the Alder and get an Ultralite (which has the same amount of down and same total weight but with a hood and draft collar, and thus would be significantly warmer)

Andrew

I picked up a Marmot Helium 15F bag not long ago. I've had it out on two weekend trips with temps in the teens and was quite toasty (had to unzip a bit one night after overheating), and I think the sizing should work pretty well for you. Great bag that just works.

-David

+1 on the Marmot 800 fill bags. My husband and I both have Marmot Pinnacle's and we love them! They are always toasty warm! They are the best piece of gear we ever bought.

As for where to get them, REI has them marked down about $100 off a few times a year if you watch their sales. Or, if you have enough REI dividend money, you can pick one up for 'free' like we did.

There are probably many good options, but this was the warmest, most luxurious and relativly light weight bag we could get using our REI dividends. We have not been disappointed at all.

I have a WM Megalite (30 F. bag used comfortably at 24 F.) which I recently got overfilled and it's now good to at least 20 F. I like the roominess of the Megalite B/C I can wear insulated clothes in it without the bag being constricting.

That way teh clothes serve a dual purpose and I save bag weight. I did this combo comfortably down to 15 F. before I got the bag overfilled.