Lite Weight Sleeping Gear For Larger Hikers

Need a recomendation for a bag and pad for a 6'3'' 300 lb hiker that's getting back into the sport after a 12 year absence.

I'd prefer "not" to have a mumy bad as they are wayyyyy too restrictive.

<wave> Two suggestions based on personal experience:

1) If you're going to sleep on the ground, get the 25" wide and long Big Agnes insulated aircore pad. (the long and wide here)
You will appreciate the extra size, and this is actually a *comfortable* pad as opposed to
thermarests or hard foam. I'm heavy and I use this. it kicks butt for sleeping on the ground.
It also doesn't actually weigh that much.

2) Alternatively try a hammock - I hammock most of the time spring->fall where there are
trees because it's even more comfortable to me than anything else. Try it first with
something like This simple test rig to see if you are suited to sleeping in one. Not everyone is.

As for sleeping bags, I'm totally with you on the mummy bag front. I suggest a quilt. There are links and plans to make your own on this site, however, I never have. As a big guyI actually end up using (guess what) a mummy bag! - I can buy a light mummy bag for barely more than I can make a good quilt and I simply *use it as a quilt* - meaning most of the time I sleep in it, I zip up only the foot box, and cover myself in the rest of the bag quilt style. I can still zip it up if I *really had to* - but I don't. bear in mind however that I typically sleep in at least some clothing - long johns, socks and a toque.

If you don't sew, look at Big Agnes bags. They typically offer 70 inches of room at the shoulders and many are a semi-rectangular style which gives a mummy hood but rectangular foot, providing much more room within.

The down side is that you must use a 20" x 72" (for a regular length) or 20" x 78" pad for the long bag you would need. But the roominess is worth the weight.

One other caution about Big Agnes; don't believe their published weight. My Mystic lists at 2 lbs, 4 oz, but it is actually 2 lbs, 12 oz. The insulated air core pad lists at 24 oz when it is actually 29 oz. Still not bad, but a bit of a disappointment from published weights. You will likely find the extra room worth the weight.

Also, if you are willing to sew or have someone who will sew for you, look at making your own quilt from thru-hiker.com. My quilt is 60 inches around at the shoulder, the same size as typical sleeping bags except that I don't have the wasted underside. The quilt wraps nicely around me and I have used it to just below 10 degrees F. It weighs 32 oz exactly and cost me about $175 in parts and some interesting time with my wife and some down-chasing cats (who had to be vacuumed later <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)




I like my quilt MUCH better than any sleeping bag I have ever used. I've even made lightweight primaloft ones for temps in the 40's and up. These only cost about $55 total.

Indeed, in fact I traded lots of email with SWS and bearpaw about his quilt, as I still look at it enviously. However, Bearpaw has the advantage on me of being recently married, whereas after 20 years when I invade my wife's sewing area I receive a healthy dose of the evil eye and a great deal of skepticism. With two cats and a wife who eyes all my outdoor sewing projects with the look of someone who is going to have to rescue the incompetent from a bad situation (because it's frequently true <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) I ended up bailing and dropping the cash on the bag instead. Lord knows I'm only today doing a small tent modification project, and I had to soften her up with tickets to Elton John last night - I don't even wanna think of the trouble I'd get in for a basement and cats covered in down <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />