Kids sleeping bags

[wildernesswanderer]

I’m taking my 8 year old on his first multi day hike and looking for a sleeping bag, only been camping up till now and the bag he uses for camping is not a backpacking bag. He has a good mat and even been thinking of getting a quilt for him. Want to keep weight down 600g say for a -6 bag. We do go above the tree line in the avid high country.

Recommendation appreciated. Thanks

[Moondog55]

Do you have a monetary figure in mind? If funds are adequate I'd recommend a good down half bag that becomes part of a LW system as he gets older and bigger.
https://www.westernmountaineering.com/s ... /semilite/
https://www.westernmountaineering.com/s ... s/tamarak/
I've owned a Tamarack and it's a good bag and roomy enough for an 8YO to wear insulated clothing inside it to boost the rating
PHD also do half bags and they are shorter than the one from WM
https://www.phdesigns.co.uk/hispar-down ... -delephant
Another possibility is an Alpine Down Blanket from Macpac in combination with extra clothing.
https://www.macpac.com.au/macpac-nzat-3 ... 15775.html

[Biggles]

Fill weight or Packed weight? Fill weight is not the same as packed weight, but it is a definite indicator of temperature rating (Tr)

I bought the MacPac Dragonfly yesterday to replace my 28 year old (but still fully functional) Snowgum Colloir 500. Yes, it is pricy, but get a decent discount if you are a MacPac member.

Though it fits me snuggly (I'm not a tall person), it may well swallow an 8 year old, but he'll be toasty warm!!

981gm packed, with compression sack that makes it very, very tiny.
Tr is Comfort —3°C | Limit —10°C | Extreme —29°C

https://www.macpac.com.au/macpac-standa ... 20076.html

Don't make guesses with temperature ratings and weight when venturing into the alpine area, especially in winter. School kids everywhere are regularly carting around much heavier bags, albeit with terribly mismatched Tr ratings for their destination (e.g. out of Hotham).

Avoid the temptation of buying overseas; the sheer hassle of organising returns, etc., along with the impost of GST at the gate, makes it a foregone conclusion. I stopped buying anything from overseas in 2014. Was a big user of products from REI .

[Moondog55]

A Macpac Dragonfly 400 Regular size with the foot end bungied would work at a small [ 131g] weight penalty and the aforementioned insulated clothing would easily get the bag down to low levels

[Hiking Exped]

I would speak with Ryan at Nevegear.com.au he is in NSW and makes superb quality 950FP down quilts and sleeping bags in varying sizes and temperature ratings. The 950FP makes them super warm and light and very compressible. He is very customer service focused and his bags are great quality and much cheaper than his commercial competition. I gave my son one.

I have one of his three season bandicoot bags which has been brilliant down to about -5° and a summer quilt which is as light as a feather and great down to about -1°

Worth a look

If down is a no go due to damp or wet weather then Snugpack are great for synthetic bags at competitive prices and are very durable. I think they do kids bags too.

[Bill P]

Thats a good idea Moondog about cinching off the bottom of a regular bag. Ive got a couple of kids bags that were only used twice because they grew out of them.

[wildernesswanderer]

Thanks for the replies, I’ve tried to get in contact with Nevegear but got no reply so I’ll probably go with Elightened Equipment quilts.

[Moondog55]

If you go with an EE quilt my experience with kids is such that I'd go with the fixed footbox Enigma, but you won't save all that much weight by going to a small kids size. Would it be worth buying a bigger one so you don't need to upgrade in a year or three?
EDIT
Don't forget to get sleeping hoods as well

[Son of a Beach]

Buying kids bags for my kids was a mistake. A good sleeping back will last for decades, if it's looked after. Kids only stay kids for a relatively short time.

Having said that, our down jackets with sleeves and waist all cinched/tied up, made great sleeping bags for our kids when they were babies.