Sleeping bag for big guy on Pacific Coast?
 

I'm hoping to do the Pacific Coast from Bellamy on down, starting near the beginning of September, and I need a lightweight sleeping bag.

1) anyone know what night time temperatures to expect heading down the coast?

2) I need recommendations for a lightweight bag for a big guy (6 4", 250). Priorities (highest to lowest): big enough for me to be comfortable, small stuff, price (though it would be great if <$100, I don't really expect it).

Thank you *very* much in advance.

PS: I ordered a Slumberjack Super Guide long (30 degrees) earlier today, and then cancelled. The price was right ($54 at Campmor :-), but then I found some other comments at amazon saying it was more like a 50 degree bag (not a big problem, as I am pretty warm), but also that it is not very large, which *is* a big problem.

Big Agnes, Park series, for big and tall people. You have to get a sleeping pad to go with it, they work together. Best system I've came across, you won't have the problem of rolling off the pad.

http://www.bigagnes.com/str_bags.php?bid=1

3 lbs(good), compressed size of 8" x 12" is kinda big, but it is a bigger bag.

That's a pretty big range of climates. I'd expect anything from the high 30s to the low 70s. Price range makes a big difference too. You can get a sub 1.5lbs, 35degree bag, with a tiny stuff size, but it will cost triple what a 3lb synthetic fill with much larger stuff size will.

I'd also suggest getting a bag with a full zip so that on the hotter nights you can use it like a comforter. My suggestion would be a Western Mountaineering MightyLite. It may be more than you want to spend, but you'll have it forever.

Only a quilt has provided suitably comfortable space for my similarly petite body. There are several fine but expensive manufacturers of quilts like Nunatak and Jack'sRBetter. Jardine makes synthetic quilt kits.

I advised a friend who wanted a quilt to find a semi-rectangular hoodless bag and open the zipper until only a foot pocket remains at the bottom and spread this quilt over you and then you have an inexpensive version of the latest quilt technology. You will need a good pad under you as with any bag. You control the temperature by spreading the quilt wide like a comforter or tucking the sides under you for more heat retention.

Amazingly expensive. I think I'm going to try to find a place that has the Big Agnes in stock nearby. As a fallback Backcountry Edge has free returns and decent prices ($10) off the Buffalo Park right now.

It might be a bit small of a bag for someone your size. It isn't terribly warm and the funny vent zipper at the feet is a bad idea IMO. That said it worked out well for me for a Trans America last Summer.

The foot zipper vent wasn't much help when it was hot and made a cold spot when it was cold. Wearing my wool socks on cold nights resolved the cold spot issue. Most of our trip we slept on top of our bags for at least the first part of the night since we had lots of record heat. We did have a few cooler nights though.

Since Backcountry Edge has free returns, I went ahead and ordered the Buffalo Park, long, and an insulated air core mattress. It arrived (via free shipping) two days later.

Pros:
- stuffs plenty small, and
- very roomy inside (and really, I'm a big guy, I'm not currently at the 250 I quote, though I hope to be in a few months).
- mattress is quite comfortable. I tend to sleep on my side, but felt relatively comfortable lying in this, on my side, on a hardwood floor.

Cons:
- it *is* thin. It's a 40 degree bag so I expected this, and it really shouldn't be a problem. I don't get cold easily, and there's plenty of room !!! for me to wear polartec pants and sweatshirt.
- took a bit of blowing to get the pad firm. This might get a bit easier after the insulation gets a chance to expand a bit, but probably not much easier. Still, five minutes of hard blowing shouldn't be much of a hardship.

Overall, I am very pleased. I did not really expect to get a bag and pad this roomy, comfortable, and compressible, for $200 (and this is a bit under that).

Of course the acid test is yet to come, and I'm not actually planning on hitting the road even for a shake-down tour for another six weeks :-(.

Thanks for the recommendation my canadian-or-californian friend.

Cool! I'm probably going to get the same bag. I'm a Southern Californian btw. :)