Sleeping bag on Vinson
Also called: Expedition sleeping bag, Sleeping kit (bag and mat, for the overnight)
What it is for
Keeps you warm through the night in camp. On the coldest mountains it is the single most important thing you pack: you cannot climb well after a night spent shivering.
What Vinson asks for
Standard
One bag for the whole climb: −30 °C and colder, comfort; most lists ask for a bag "rated −40°" (ALE's own list: −40 °F / −40 °C), a figure closer to a bag's limit than its comfort, you carry it
What to look for
- Comfort rating (ISO 23537)
- The lowest temperature at which a typical adult sleeps comfortably, measured to ISO 23537. The limit and extreme figures on the same label are colder, and they are survival numbers, not sleeping ones.The gear lists ask for one of five comfort bands:
- 0 to 10 °C comfort (32 to 50 °F)
- −10 to 0 °C comfort (14 to 32 °F)
- −20 to −10 °C comfort (−4 to 14 °F)
- −30 to −20 °C comfort (−22 to −4 °F)
- −30 °C and colder, comfort (−22 °F and colder)
Kinds
- Expedition Down Sleeping Bags
- Mountaineering Sleeping Bags
- Trekking Sleeping Bags
- Synthetic Sleeping Bags
Other mountains
- Standard on: Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, Kosciuszko, Carstensz Pyramid
