[at-l] CampMor versus North Face - Sleeping Bag

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark)]

I think Campmor makes good stuff; if I were looking for a high end bag
to compare with the Campmor, I'd look to Feathered Friends
[http://www.featheredfriends.com/bags/bags.htm]and Western
Mountaineering [http://www.westernmountaineering.com/thebags.htm].
There are some potentially important "factual or technical details" to
consider in making a sleeping bag comparison, many of which do not
necessarily show up on a simple, comparison chart.  Some of these might
include: (a) differential cuts, where the outer nylon layer is cut more
generously than the inner layer, thus helping to preserve loft even when
you have a body inside the bag; (b) outer bag fabric selection - goretex
versus non-goretex is an important [and expensive] decision to spend
some time on; (c) the type of baffling used; (d) whether the main zipper
   is protected by a down filled, narrow "tube;" (e) how clautrophobic
you get in a mummy bag - i.e., how much wiggle room do you need,
realizing that more wiggle room generally means more weight and bulk;
(f) do you want a toe box that gives more room, and thus generally more
warmth down at the toes; (g) what kind of hood and drawstring mechanism
does the bag have, and do you want/need that; (h) what kind of shelter
arrangements do you plan to use with the bag - for instance, if you use
a good tent, you can be more comfortable with, perhaps, a non-gore outer
cover, and a lighter temperature rating, versus if you use a tarp, which
inherently may be more suscpeptible to occasional rain infiltration, you
might want to have the extra layer of goretex protection in the bag
construction - another key issue re goretex is how much body moisture do
you throw off in the night, and how humid are the conditions you will
use the bag in - the colder the weather you will be in, generally the
lower the humidity and the bette goretex works . . . in my personal
experience, on the AT, those conditions are rare for most thru-hikers .
. . maybe a couple of weeks out of the whole hike . . . most of the rest
of the time you face high humidity, and the higher the humidity, the
less effective goretex is at moving moisture out of the bag, and the
less attractive a down bag becomes . . . if you can afford it, and do a
lot of other varied hiking and camping, the best solution is to have a
great, lightweight goretex down bag for winter and a much lighter, less
expensive artificial fill, non-gore bag [or even just a fleece liner]
for late spring thru early fall; (i) do you plan to couple your bag with
another bag, and/or do you  plan to potentially put together a system
that incorporates a bivy sack . . . just as with clothing, layering can
make a lot of sense with a sleeping bag . . . one way to do it is to buy
a good, lightweight bivy sack that has a heavy duty coated nylon bottom,
and a combo netting top 1/3 and breathable nylon botton 2/3rds top . . .
then you can couple that with a bag that is lighter weight, because the
bivy sack traps a layer of air and adds 5-10 degrees to the bag's rating
. . . then you can use the same bivy sack with a Walmart fleece liner in
the summer, etc.; (j) a key personal issue is to know whether you are
cold versus warm natured - that alone can change what you need in a
bag's temperature rating by 10-15 degrees! and, finally, (k) consider
the issue of differential fill - i.e., having more than 50% of the down
fill on the top of the bag, and less than 50% on the bottom - can be a
good way to give a lighter bag a warmer rating - IF you are not the kind
of restless sleeper that ends up rolling over so that the less-than-50%
side of the bag ends up on top half way thru the night!

Hope all this info helps you and others!

thru-thinker

Robert Tomlinson wrote:

> I am looking to buy a zero degree bag for a trip to the North Georgia AT in
> two weeks and I am down (pardon the pun) to two choices - economy versus
> brand-name - does anyone have a comment on the pros/cons of these two bags?
> Are they really that different from each other? Thanks.
>
> RET in Sunny Florida
>
> =========================================================
>
> North Face - Superlight Regular 82x31x13  7.5x15 stuff size  3lbs2oz total
> weight - $249 (includes a $35 Thermarest 3/4 length mattress) (Campmor stock
> number 48100-P)
>
> CampMor - Mummy Regular  80x32x20  8x18 stuff size  3lbs5oz total weight -
> $140 (Campmor stock number 40067-P)
>
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