Touring - Sleeping Bag Recommendations?

This summer I’ll be doing a lot of beach camping/hiking, and by next year I’ll hopefully be able to do my first bike tour, but first I need equipment! So what brand of sleeping bag would you recommend? I’m looking into synthetic fill since I live in the great NorthWet (Seattle area) and will end up enduring who-knows-what on a tour, but I’m open. Would 3-Season be fine, or should I go colder for hammock use? I'm 5'6 if that matters.

I can’t find anything used, but I do have an REI gift card. Something like this http://www.rei.com/product/47921572.htm looks good to me, but I want to hear from the experts first! As always the lighter, warmer, and compact, the better. I'd rather not go much above $150 if possible, but I'd also hate to skimp out. A warm nights sleep is kinda important :)

Thank you for your time!

From one who has spent many a nite outdoors...Good choice!! just one thing,add a good ground pad,Thermarest or something like that. any coulder that 15f and you will proubly be headed indoors anyway. Sleep well!

Funny thing.... for a warm weather bag I went cheep and I found a hell of a deal... Coleman makes a 40+ bag and it rocks... packs nice and small and was only like 40$......Save some cash and buy more fun stuff... it's worked out great...

I have been looking into the Snugpak. Under 2 lbs, some models go down to 32F(0C), packs to 6"x6"(16cmx16cm). Priced well under 200usd, some models around 130.00. Also add a silk liner to get another 5-7 degrees. I feel the important aspect for a touring bag is packability. A 1/2 pound one way or another is no big deal but the ability to stuff it easily into your pannier is important. Charlie

here's a link to snugpak
http://www.snugpak.com/20_outdoors/21_05_micro.htm
Also check out Big Agnes sleeping systems. Some models have no fill under the bag but use a sleeping pad instead. They feel that the fill is compressed and gives little insulation under the sleeper so they save some weight.

From one who has spent many a nite outdoors...Good choice!! just one thing,add a good ground pad,Thermarest or something like that. any coulder that 15f and you will proubly be headed indoors anyway. Sleep well!

Pfft, sub zero nights arent bad as long as you dont plan on getting much sleep ;)

And Ive camped a lot of sub zero nights. Brr.. cold. But it is livable with any bag. I think my bag is rated at 15 deg. Most 15 deg ones can keep you fairly warm after they warm up a bit.

This summer I’ll be doing a lot of beach camping/hiking, and by next year I’ll hopefully be able to do my first bike tour, but first I need equipment! So what brand of sleeping bag would you recommend? I’m looking into synthetic fill since I live in the great NorthWet (Seattle area) and will end up enduring who-knows-what on a tour, but I’m open. Would 3-Season be fine, or should I go colder for hammock use? I'm 5'6 if that matters.

I can’t find anything used, but I do have an REI gift card. Something like this http://www.rei.com/product/47921572.htm looks good to me, but I want to hear from the experts first! As always the lighter, warmer, and compact, the better. I'd rather not go much above $150 if possible, but I'd also hate to skimp out. A warm nights sleep is kinda important :)

Thank you for your time!

Select a sleeping bag based on the temperatures you expect to encounter. If you plan to tour through Minnesota in February, you need a different bag than if you are in Texas in August. Even a three season bag can be pretty useless on a hot summer night. Also, be wary of manufacturer temperatur ratings. These are highly subjective to say the least. I would add 10 deg F to any rating. If you are comparing bags, do it based on the amount of loft, if possible. Regardless of the type of insulation or the manufacturers claims, a bag with more loft will be warmer than one with less loft. The type of insulation affects the weight of the bag, its compressibility, the ability to maintain loft over time, and how the bag performs when wet.

For all but wet performance, goose down is still the best performing insulation for a sleeping bag. Synthetics can be good, but down still wins. But down loses almost all its loft when wet, which is only a problem if you either do not safeguard your bag properly from rain (think plastic bags) or use it over an extended time in high humidity without opportunity to air the bag out.

What would one use on a hot summer's night? Nothing? Just sleep on a pad and call it good? I'm doing a small tour towards the end of July by myself but have a place to sleep every night. But my wife and I will be touring some together hopefully next summer and I am in Texas.
Thanks

PS. sorry to hijack

I have a Marmot Trestles summer weight mummy bag. It's synthetic and packs nice and light. I think it's rated at 40'F. In the summer here in North Carolina I just sleep on top of it. That's a little nicer than sleeping on the ground pad directly, and if it cools off I can climb in and leave it unzipped. I sleep warm, so it works at 40'F for me, but everyone is different.

What would one use on a hot summer's night? Nothing? Just sleep on a pad and call it good? I'm doing a small tour towards the end of July by myself but have a place to sleep every night. But my wife and I will be touring some together hopefully next summer and I am in Texas.
Thanks

PS. sorry to hijack

I take two things for Texas summer camping. First is a silk bag liner that I use by itself when I first go to bed. Second is a down summer weight bag that is very lightweight and packs to a very small size. I usually just open up the bag and use it as a quilt in early morning hours when it cools off enough to get a bit of chill with the liner alone. The silk liner is also good to help keep the sleeping bag clean as it is much easier to wash and dry than the sleeping bag.

Make your own?
http://www.ray-way.com/quilt/index.shtml

You can always push the rating on your sleeping bag by wearing socks, tights and a toque to sleep in. Probably worth close to 10*F on the rating and plus you can wear the clothes when it's cold out or when your regular cycling gear gets soaking wet. Extra lightweight tights are always really handy and can weigh less than 200 grams and a lightweight polypro toque can weigh as little as 30 grams.