Sleeping bag length.

Howdy,

I pretty much need a new sleeping bag for the colder parts of winter, but instead of buying one I've talked a buddy into letting me borrow his.

Thing is though, his bag is 7ft 2in long. I am 5feet 9in tall. I also sleep in a hammock.


I've read that having a bag too long will make it so you won't warm up as fast, since there is more dead air in the sleeping bag that needs to be heated.

Even so, I don't think I'd have to worry. The bag is just gonna compress with the loft. It's not like the wind is blowing tons of dead air into my bag.

Can anyone else chime in with their share on using sleeping bags that are too long..

Here is my buddy's bag btw, it's the zero degree long version.
http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSMountaineeringNavajo.htm

Yes stuff your clothes or jacket in the bottom it will be warmer to put on in the morning. Only drawback I see is you will be carrying a bit of unneeded weight in a longer bag.

Well, I've always used a crappy synthetic bag which no doubt weighs more than my buddy's bag. So the weight is not an issue in the slightest, ha.

I like the idea of a warm jacket for the morning, hmm.

While it's better to have a bag more suited to your height, you can get rid of the dead air space either by tucking the foot underneath (assuming you stay in one place when you sleep) or using a string to tie off the extra length.

What temps do you expect to use it in?

Not sure about the temperatures, cause one day it was 12F on the mountains.. then the next day was -18F. Basically, the whole reason I'm borrowing my buddies bag is that I've only camped in temp. around 20F so worst comes the worst.. I'd rather use a better bag if one of those really cold days hit.

I do not think you should use a bag that is too long, but if you must take the advice of the others here to make due.

I use a long bag, not as long as the one you describe; I like having the extra space for socks and I like to curl up, so the extra space gets used up, at least that's my theory.

If I get cold, I toss my big parka (the one in my picture) on top and put on a fleece hat or balaclava with socks and glove liners.

I suppose when I go to mountains in a few days I'll report back and tell you guys how it was.