[CampChamp]

I have two sleeping bags - One for below Freezing Temps and a nice lightweight summer bag. My wife can't stand sleeping in a Mummy because she gets claustrophobic and needs to move. Does anyone know of a good sleeping bag that packs down small, is NOT a mummy and is good to about 35 degrees??? I would prefer Polarguard 3D or Delta due to our humidity...

[-lol-]

[Backpacker Joe]

I know you asked for a synthetic bag, but the two (packs down small) dont go together very well. I have a Western Mountaineering mitylite and LOVE IT! It's a rectangular bag and is relatively roomy! http://www.westernmountaineering.com/ba_MityLite.htm Check it out. Another bag is the Feathered Friends Sand piper. http://www.featheredfriends.com/sleeping_bags/wide_series/sandpiper_forty.htm This is a very wide lite bag. TB

[Dante]

I recently got a Western Mountaineering MegaLite. It's a mummy, but means BIG. Before that, I used an old Marmot Grouse semi-rectangular bag (similar to the North Face Blue Kazoo). You might also check out the Big Agnes Horse Thief. I discovered Big Agnes after I bought my current bag, otherwise I would have considered one.

[Nick]

The Marmot Wasatch is a pretty wide semi-rectangular bag, but it does not have a hood.

[CampChamp]

Thanks folks. I may just have to go with down, for packability purposes. I have seen several bags filled with Polarguard 3D that pack quite small, but they are all mummies. From the looks of it, If I want to stay under $150, I can go with synthetic but sacrifice a little room in the pack. Or go ahead and spend the $200 or so and get a down-filled bag that packs as small as a football. The Big Agnes Horsethief and the Marmot Wasatch are both under $200, are both semi-rectangular and will hopefully answer my prayers that my wife will enjoy our outings as much as I do. (and both be able to get a good night's sleep!) Thanks!

[kiliki]

How about the Sierra Designs stretchy sleeping bags like the dreamweaver? It is mummy shaped but stretches-I love mine (I have the 0 degree bag, but they make them lighter). I love being able to sit crosslegged in my bag.

[CampChamp]

QUARK, Do you know what model your Mountain Hardware bag is? They currently (according to thier site) don't manufacture a Rect or Semi-Rect bag with anything but down fill. (The Quark, which goes for about $240). Just curious - thought maybe I could do a search for it if you had the model name... Thanx!

[CampChamp]

That's fine, don't be sorry! I'll look around on-line and maybe check out some stores and see what I can come up with. I just have to make sure my little wife is happy, cuz if she's not, she won't let me be! Anyone ever used the BIG AGNES systems before??? (I'm looking at the horse thief) They have no bottom insulation, therefore one must rely on thier sleeping pad for both comfort and insulation...

[CampChamp]

Kiliki- I'm looking at the Sierra Designs Dreamweaver and it could be a possibility. I'll have my wife go and check one out to make sure she likes it. How small does it pack down??? Thanx

[kiliki]

It is a little bulkier and heavier than other bags I've owned, but I have the 0 degree bag. I actually don't know how small it COULD pack down because I always just shove it in the front bottom pocket of my pack.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

[kiliki]

It gives easily-not too much tension. I sleep in weird positions, for instance, with one leg curled up but the rest of me really stretched out, and this is the first bag I've had that I can sleep comfortably in. I highly recommond pulling one off the rack (REI has them, and they seem to go on sale once a year) and laying down in it to try it out.

[Allison]

Getting in a sleeping bag to see how it fits you should be about the first thing you do. Like clothing, they are all cut differently. Try to move into positions you normally sleep in, and roll over if that's something you do, to see how the bags accomodates you. My women's bag, for example, fits my gigantic butt, but my unisex bag is harder to roll over in.

[CampChamp]

Thanks, Kiliki for the scoop on the Sierra Designs Strech Bags. Julie (my wife) just checked one out last night and wasn't dissapointed with the fit. I found last years model of the "Sweet Dreams" bag on-line at Rei-outlet for 99 bucks! It's a 15 degree Polarguard 3D bag. I think we may have found a winner for her and for my wallet. Quark, I'm actually knda interested in the 1st Dimension now for myself. I could use a new roomier summer bag. Thanks again, everyone.