A couple years ago I picked up an Alps Mountaineering Clearwater sleeping bag off Cheap and Steep for, well, cheap. It was my first "real" sleeping bag and I've been shocked at the size, weight, warmth this offers for the money (really wish I'd bought more). Since I've been looking to pick something similar up but without being able to go check out sleeping bags first hand it's difficult to tell what will offer similar qualities. I want to get at least one more for my wife to use on our next tour but would really like to get 5 more total to save room when we go car camping as a family... Price becomes an issue quick when you're looking at buying 5

I'm looking for something under $50 (cheaper the better) that's good to 35 degrees and packs down as good as my current bag - with the compression sack it came in I can get down to a ~9" ball.

Sierra Trading Post buys overstocks and closeouts ..

showing 78 to choose amongst currently.. ,
https://www.sierratradingpost.com/sleeping-bags~d~208/

$80 bag for $50 seems to be the lowest priced one.

With so many to outfit, have you considered making synthetic quilts with Climashield Apex to match your temperature requirements? See the DIY/Make Your Own Gear forum at Backpacking Light. And see ThruHiker for the materials.

Apex only requires perimeter sewing rather than needing stabilization or quilting as with other synthetics or down. Quilts will fit the kids longer as they grow. If the kids learn to help make their own gear now it may save you more money in the long run.

You can't find much a decent bag for that money, really. There's really nothing with decent fill, a proper and accurate temp rating, small stuff size, compressible, or durable, with good features and lightweight materials for packing.

If you're choosing for female family members, make sure you understand that the ratings on labels are totally bogus estimates. Most cheap bags won't have it, but look for an EN rating. You'll want the Lower Limit measurement for men, and the Upper or Comfort Limit for women, which will be about 12-15F higher for women, typically. In other words, if you buy a bag that is labeled as a 20F, it may only actually reliably offer 30F performance for a male, but will offer 45F performance for a female. Bags with EN ratings provide more accuracy. You can compare specs a little, but it gets harder when dealing with cheap fill comparisons and weights and sizes, etc.

The other thing to know is that a pad is responsible for maintaining accurate bag performance too. The EN rating standard uses an insulated pad with an r-value of 5.0r. Without a pad with that insulation factor beneath you, a bag will not perform to the same temp rating. So again, ultimately value is in the form of an accurate system of bag and pad, regardless of how a cheap bag may be sold or what it may be sold as. If you get the right pad, you won't need a bag that is way overkill in terms of temp rating to get the warmth right, they need to be matched in terms of performance with an insulated pad that is up to snuff. The right pad will allow for a smaller, thinner bag which will be easier to get to the stuff size you are after too.

Anything in that price range is going to be cheaper synthetic fills, which don't last many compression cycles and don't like being stuffed for long periods of time, or really at all. They can lose a lot of loft quickly, within just a few uses. In the end I think you'll have to spend more than you want, but it won't be at the cost of warmth.

Kelty, Big Agnes, Marmot, Sierra Designs, those are a few of the better brands that have some decent value bags. REI bags are worth looking at too. Another thing to keep in mind is the right sizing. There may be a nice option in the REI Outlet, but I find a lot of times their bags are tight dimensions. REI usually shows the EN Lower Limit for ratings.

$50???


yard sales

Thanks for the replies guys. I was afraid of that... I guess for now I'll just grab the last $50 one on amazon that matches mine and maybe grab something super cheap for the kids... They'll probably just trash the anyway right?

That might be, but make sure not to skimp on the temp rating for them either, just like women, they've got less lean body mass to make heat so they need more loft and more pad r-value too to be as warm as a 20-40 year old man.