Child's Sleeping Bag

Our going on 8 year old daughter has had a child's 30* bag which is rather large and "heavy" for what it is. As we have to carry the majority of her stuff we wanted to reduce weight and size so we bought an adult Marmot Nano Wave 55 figuring we could either fold under the foot or maybe better yet the top.

Is there any reason why this wouldn't work? I'm wanting to get her a 30 and 0* bag as well.

I would take whatever is the lightest and most compact. If you are going out a lot, there are nice children's bags but they cost about $100. I got my grandson one last year. For once in a while outings, nothing wrong with your idea of using an adult bag and just tying the foot so it fits. Just have your daughter wear some warm clothes and a hat to bed.

Some UL adult bags are a bit fragile, so if your daughter is gentle on gear, OK, but if rough then I would hesitate. (I know my grandsons would start a sleeping bag fight in minute! stomp on the bag, wrestle and all those other things 8-year old boys do).

It seems I've read something somewhere long ago that dead space in a sleeping bag is bad, that it won't warm up well enough. My daughter thinks she is a clock hand and wiggles all night long so I doubt folding the foot would work well, which is why I wondered about folding down the top. However we like to tighten the mummy hood to keep her head in there too.

Maybe a large rubber band?

Yes dead space will take a while for her little body to heat up so it can make her cold. You could fill in some of the volume with her sleeping pad or extra clothes. Or.. you could try to figure out some way to cinch down the bag around her (but make sure you do not compress the down!).

I've bought a series of 45 degree bags for my kids:

1) a Marmot Pounder
2) a Mountain Hardware Lamina 45
3) a Marmot Nanowave 45

They all got them when they were 5-6 years old. The Nanowave 45 is 9 and 50th percentile for weight. The other two childern are older and lighter. All three solutions have worked.

I like the Nanowave 45 because it is fairly light, it is a synthetic bag (not totally hosed if it gets wet), and it is cheap. I'll likely buy another one for my youngest, who is currently a lightweight 5 year old.

I haven't pushed the boundary of any of the bags limits to need to tie or fold over the foot. If I was ever that close, I just brought more snivel gear (fleece pajamas and maybe a poncho liner). YMMV. Listen to the other opinions.

As to colder weather, I've bought down REI sub kilo women's bags on sale which work for the kids, are more heavily insulated for their rating, and have worked well thus far.

Unless you can score a really good sale, the Kelty Cosmic 20 bag in a regular length is probably a good bet for $150. It's possible to do better with the application of more money or by doing better on the sales. It's what I'm suggesting to scouts - for now - until I see something better (suggestions welcome!!) and it's what I'd buy if I needed another down bag. I don't, however, own one so my opinion is based on the reviews. Speaking of which, you might find this: http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Sleeping-Bag-Reviews/Kelty-Cosmic-Down-20 helpful.

Be sure the child is well past the age of accidents at night before getting a down bag. Synthetic bags are so much easier to wash and dry! My grandkids (who were rather late in that regard) had North Face Tiggers which worked fine when they were young. I don't know if those bags are still made.

A piece of cord tied around the excess length of a too-long bag will work just fine.