Howdy.

I'm beginning to think about an extended (16 day!) trip in Alabama in January. I currently have two sleeping bags and not very much money at all.

One bag is a North Face Blue Kazoo, a down bag rated to 15F, and weighing in at a fuzz over 3lbs (sans stuff sack). It's a long, and I'm decidedly not, but so far that hasn't been an issue. It packs down well and recovers nicely.

The other bag is a Coleman 0-deg synthetic mummy which I got on clearance for five bucks. It's a very warm bag, and I've actually gotten it down pretty low without wearing a hat or baselayer; I think adding those would let me get it even lower. The problem is that it weighs nearly six pounds and won't pack down like I really need it to.

I'm going to be experiencing temps that could range widely; this past January we had some daytime highs in the mid-70s with lows in the mid-to-lower 50s, but then just a day or two later it was lows in the teens or low twenties and highs in the 30s. Rain is an ever present possibility.

Ordinarily I'd take the Coleman and be done with it; I've had it down much colder than the TNF (which tends to get really cold on the backside, due to compressed down) and I'm a tiny bit worried about the down bag getting wet. Also, I've had the TNF down to upper 30s, socks, hat, baselayer, and fleece on inside, and wasn't too happy. If I'm going to use it, I'm going to have to have some insulation beneath the bag.

I can see four possibilities. One is to simply take the Coleman.

Two is that I'm going to experiment with putting my ccf pad in my hammock and see if that helps the cold butt with the Blue Kazoo. I'm not overly hopeful.

Three is that I could purchase a new, lighter (and arguably more compressable) synthetic 0-degree bag. Backcountry has a TNF Snow Leopard on sale right now for $197 with free shipping, and if the website stats are correct it's nearly two pounds lighter than my Coleman bag.

Four is an underquilt for my hammock, coupled with my Blue Kazoo bag. My only worry about that is that between the bag and the UQ, how much pack volume will that take up? If I got one, I like the Jacks R Better Greylock 3 (a torso-length UQ) for less than $200. I'd still come in a pound lighter than the Coleman bag.

So what say you? Perhaps there is another answer which I'm overlooking?

ETA: I can squeeze $200. More than that is pushing it. I'd love a Western Mountaineering bag, but I just can't spend $400-500 right now.