I need a new sleeping bag. I'm looking to spend no more than $400 for it. I generally don't camp in the winter but it can get below freezing at night on those early and late season trips. Anyone got any good advice on a decent bag?

Run a search, you newbies need to do some leg work on your own, then ask some questions. You will know whats out there then. We would need more info on temps etc.

Hard to recommend a bag without specifics. What is your idea of ultralight? How far below freezing do you want to go? Are you a warm or cold sleeper? Will you be in a bivy or a tent, or out in the open?

I can take my 16 oz. WM Highlite down to freezing IF I'm wearing warm clothes and a hat in a tent on a good pad. And barely. But I'm a cold sleeper and YMMV.

I'd recommend you start the legwork by spending some time at Western Mountaineering's website. Also check out Montbell's website. My local outfitter told me that Golite is coming out with some pretty good looking bags - don't know if they're on the website yet, though.

After you do a little research, you'll be able to give everyone a better idea of what you're looking for - and then you'll get so many specific recommendations you won't have any idea which one to choose!

I generally sleep in a hammock. Never much below 25F/-4C. I've looked at a lot of bags, but theres a few hundred to choose from. I'm looking for something under 1.5lbs/681g. Obviously the lighter the better. I've looked a lot at feathered friends and Mont-bell, but from all my experience with sleeping bags the rating on the bag is more a "you-wont-die-at-this-temperature" than a "you'll-be-comfortable-at-this-temperature." (Keep in mind that I've never really spent the money on a quality bag.) I've done plenty of reading and comparing this bag to that bag, i just cant come to any sort of good conclusion about which bag is going to perform well.

I noticed that REI has started using the EN rating system on their bags for more accurate ratings. EN is used by a number of primarily European countries so that temp. ratings are consistent regardless of brand.

Read more about it here:
EN Rating System

You should also consider quilts for sleeping in a hammock. Add Jacks'R'Better to your search list.

I think that the recommendations to look at Western Mountaineering and Marmot are good choices. But that is as far as any one here could go, and again as you have already heard, you'll need some more specifics like where you are hiking, what temps you may encounter and so on. We do know that you sleep in a hammock now so that should help to start narrowing it down to more specifically what you need as far as bag...sabre11004...

In a hammock down to 25F the JRB Hudson River will do the job. You'll be carrying about 20 oz of quilt and very comfortable, especially if you are a warm sleeper. I'm a cold sleeper and it does very well for me. Only had a feeling of being less warm at 25F, not actually cold. I have a second one as an underquilt.

Yep, if this is going to be used primarily for hanging I would be looking at a quilt and not a bag. Also IMO a quilt is more versatile if you decide to go to the ground. I have two Jacks R Better quilts and I'm very happy with them. Well constructed, light for the amount of loft, versatile and reasonably priced. They even ship fast.

I hang and use a Jacks R Better Mt. Washington underquilt. That keeps me warm on bottom.
I use a Feathered friends Veiro half bag with a down parka/jacket inside the hammock. I have slept down to 26 F comfortably this way. Real comfortable.

As stated by several others here, it's basically impossible to recommend a sleeping bag until we know a lot more about how you're going to use it. Where will you be backpacking? Will you be going to places like the Rockies, where it can snow in midsummer? Minimum possible low temperatures? (10*? 20*? 30*? All are "below freezing" and can be encountered in shoulder season somewhere.) Are you male or female (most of us females need more warmth)? What kind of shelter do you use? What kind of sleeping pad? Are you skinny or stout? Tall or short? The bag needs to fit you properly so that you don't press its sides and thus compress its insulation--including when you're wearing insulating clothing--but you also don't want to have a lot of extra air space to warm up. How do you sleep? Do you toss and turn or do you stay on your back all night? All these are important factors in chosing a sleeping bag.

Searching on this forum and in the archives will aid your research. There's a "sticky" post in the General Discussion forum on how to search.

Here are the main top quality brands: Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, Nunatak, Valandre, Marmot (their series of bags named after lightweight elements), Montbell. These all have 800+ down fill (search the archives for what this means). A number of these should be within your budget. I have undoubtedly omitted someone's favorite sleeping bag manufacturer; I hope those folks will add them!

EDIT: I missed the statement from the OP that he/she is a hammock person. Heed the recommendations of the hammock folks for a quilt (or two) rather than a sleeping bag, and note the manufacturers they recommend.

-I'm male.
-6 feet tall.
-I sleep a little on the cold side.
-I camp in the Adirondacks. (drops to 25*F in april and december but record lows are around 5*F)
-I generally sleep fully clothed (Under Armor, socks, hat, pants, and sweatshirt).

I've seen a lot of sites where people put sleeping pads underneath them in a hammock... has anyone tried that? And two quilts sounds like a pretty good idea. Didn't think of that.

I just received my 1st hammock (Warbonnet BB) and intend to spend my 1st night in it in my yard this weekend, so I am a newby. I went straight for the underquilt (Warbonnet Yeti) since my reasoning for going to a hammock in the first place was comfort. Pads are supposed to do the job, keeping you warm, but at the expense of comfort. The down side to the UQ's is their cost. I have not yet purchased a TQ, but will do so in the near future. I am leaning toward a Tee-Wa or a JRB. The UQ and TQ combined will push your budget but you can probably get there.

Wow... nice yard..

Thats what I'm looking to achieve. Quilts are expensive for anything thats quality, but one thing at a time I guess.

Would a quilt work for a ground-sleeper?

I am interested in a "quilt" 15-20 degree rated UL sleep system.

I have read the GoLite Ultra 20-degree UL is not generously temperature rated, meaning cold.

I am 5'6" female, not a cold-sleeper.

I sleep on my back, on my side, and on my stomach.

The only "mummy" bag I like is a MontBell Super Stretch.

I have always been of the opinion the "down" under me is pretty much wasted. I am an "early-adopter" and so my first and second Marmot down "quilt" was too cold.

Does anyone have experience and success using a quilt for sleeping on the ground? What pad(s)?

Down or synthetic?

I use a pad with with my hammocks and never considered them to be an impediment to comfort. They actually provide more insulative value than an UQ due to the fact they are also a VB. Staying warm is necessary for comfort too. Oh, they weigh less than UQ's as well.

Warm at 15-20 degrees Farenheit?
and what sleeping pads: closed cell foam? thickness? ?

I tired a Choinard "Peapod" with a Sierra Designs "Perfect" years ago. I had the Sierra Designs repair department make a big "bound buttonhole" in the foot of the bag.

It worked fine.

However, I do not find two trees everywhere I go, and so, I am interested in a 15-20 degree Farenheit quilt-pad combination on-the-ground.

Nunatak Arc Alpinist with 4 oz overfill.

Big Agnes Insulated Air Core.

Gossamer Gear 3/8" ccf pad. Most of the time on the bottom, but move to the top when it gets cold.

But this is only part of the sleep system. You need to keep your feet, hands and head warm.

I've had very good success at staying warm with Mountain Hardwares 800 down bags. I have an original phantom, and I've been in it at freezing often, and no problems. Its right at 23oz with stuff sack and it has all the bells and whistles, hood, 3/4 zipper etc....

Connie,
I have a RayWay quilt (home made) with the Alpine upgrade and I've gone down to mid 20F's with it. It weighs 26oz with the stuff sack and is about the size of a volleyball. I typically use a hammock but have used everything on the ground also: 3/8 in. blue ccf pad, RayWay quilt, warm clothes AND an Exped7 down air mattress.
I picked it up on sale at MooseJaw. The Exped can inflate to about 1.5 inches. It weighs 34.15 oz. My ccf pad is cut down a little and weighs 9 oz. You could pair it with a fleece blanket to add some warmth and cut down on the potential for sweating due to the ccf pad. The two would probably add up to the same weight of the Exped.

When I hammock I just use the Exped and the quilt. If it is going to be below 20F, I have a hammock sock that slips over my whole rig and adds about 5-7F degrees. I do plan on making an underquilt this winter.

Tango