Buhl 45 Degree Backpacking Sleeping Bag

I bought this bag almost 3 years ago and have taken it on many, many camping trips. The coldest I think I’ve slept was in Yosemite or Lake Tahoe in December/January when the weather got down to 11°. For that weather, it was definitely cold, but with an additional sleeping bag slip, it’s fine!In the Smokies in the winter (20-45°) it performs like a champ, and never makes me overheated during hotter camping (Florida, April).LIGHTWEIGHT, smallest I’ve seen packing size-wise, rolls up well, strong material! I even washed it in the wrong washer (top loading) and the zipper got a bit funky, but nothing ripped or was actually damaged!I can’t say enough good things. If everyone bought one of these bags, there would be much more space in the car on the way to camp, and much more comfort while we’re there.I’ve been telling people this bag was $45 and was a steal, and now that I go back to write my review years later, I remember it was only $30. Worth every dollar!!!

TLDR: This bag is pretty great for a budget sleeping bag, it is not as warm as the ratings show for hammock camping, but may be perfectly comfortable at the rating in a tent. Do not kid yourself: if the weather looks like it will dip into 45-50 degrees do not assume this will be enough for a comfortable night's sleep if you sleep cold.. but for spring/summer camping this guy's price and size is pretty great.I put a lot of research into a budget sleeping bag, and I was convinced this bag was it for me. I was going hammock camping, and that will flavor this review as I feel like it will hold up better and be warmer for tent camping vs the colder-running hammocks.How warm is it? Fairly.. but I would not trust that 45 degrees to be a hard and fast rule for this guy. For beginners, those warmth ratings are for the LOWER end of things. You want the warmth rating to be markedly lower than the temperatures you'll be facing. For example, although we expected mostly 55 degrees, the temperature did dip into the 45 range.. and you could tell. With an REI thermo-reactor liner, thermals, and this thing, I was still quite cold upon waking up in the early morning. The REI liner pretty reliably adds 5+ degrees of comfort, and my thermals are really top-notch quality as well, so I really expected those to add to the already lower end ratings.. But hammock camping tends to run colder in the first place, and while I had a sleeping mat, I did not use an underquilt because of the space it would take up while backpacking. I was significantly warmer with all of this gear versus my boyfriend's simple jungle snug-pak sleeping bag though. I suspect that right now's weather here at home (60 degrees in the evenings, 80s-90s in the daytime) is where this sleeping bag shines, and it would be sufficient by itself. I also have already purchased a kickstarter for a great brand called Ravean with a heated sleeping bag liner currently in the works as a pre-order, and I think that this guy + that will be a pretty good combo for camping in the 45-50 degree range. I do not plan on camping in anything lower than that though. I have the jackets from Ravean and they were really great quality, so I suspect the liner to be up to the same standards.How does it look and feel? As the picture shows. The yellow is.. VERY yellow. Slightly pastel highlighter yellow, with a blue exterior. It doesn't look too bad in terms of camping. I definitely like the look of the snug-pak more with its subdued military vibe, being ex-military myself, but the yellow is on the inside and so it does well. There is a great youtube review up about this thing that shows off some of the external features, but mainly the zippers are high quality, the mummy-top-part did not get in the way if you did not want to use it as one, there was space enough to roll around in it for me (5'3" female, 135 lbs), the feet did not feel cramped or too spacey/airy that they felt colder than the rest of my body, and there is a hook-and-pile zipper cover if you desire. I never used it, but I was really glad they included a small pile that keeps it out of the way for those that decline. The zipper area did not feel especially drafty either. The material is fairly silky, and slippery, but it was comfortable all the same. I also washed this guy as soon as I got it to ensure it held up to machine washing and it did very well, let it air dry outside for a whole day and then threw it in the dryer for a while to take out any leftover moisture. I feel pretty confident that if I sweat in this guy it will not ruin it.I went backpacking and while this guy is very compact for its warmth and size when opened, it still takes up a decent amount of space. If you have a 65-70L bag you'll be fine with everything you'll ever desire for hammock camping + space for an underquilt too. If you're like me and you have a 52L bag, it is actually easier and takes up less space to just stuff this guy in as he is without the included stuff sack.. but I do like the stuff sack included with it, and it will zip down fairly compact with it. The stuff sack is pretty handsome as well.This bag is lightweight, feels great, is fairly portable, and fairly comfortable. If you're looking for budget camping but want something that will be a step up from the old giant entire-torso-sized heavy coleman-style bags of yesteryear, this guy is definitely right up your alley. If you want something that will withstand 3 seasons and you sleep VERY warm naturally, this guy will probably do the trick. If you're a small, petite lady looking for an early spring bag I would say this is probably not going to keep you comfortable by itself.. but it is still a great bag in it's own right, and I probably would purchase it again. I would say if you're only summer camping, go with the lighter-weight model of this, or a snug-pak because those are really light weight small bags.. but this will do well in 60-70 degrees for cold sleepers and 50 degrees for warm sleepers.

This bag shipped fast and arrived on time for me to take it out over the weekend on a backpacking trip. Not only is this sleeping bag light weight, it doesn't take up very much space and I slept pretty toasty in 45° weather. I like the little added features in it too. It's able to tighten up around your chest so your body stays warm and then the head closure tightens as well. It also has a little pocket inside for small valuables you need close by. I'm 5'3" and 110 pounds so there was plenty of room for my legs to move around. Overall I'm really happy with it. It's a great bag for the price!

This was a good bag for the price, but I wouldn't risk thinking that the advertised 45-degree bag will keep you warm in 45 degrees. I wore smartwool long johns, two pairs of wool socks, 2 layers of shirt and a down coat, a beanie and gloves and I was still cold in 40-45 degrees. Plus I added a mylar blanket.One plus was the length of the bag, you won't find many that fit guys like me who are taller than 6 feet.The stuff sack was also very nice and helped to keep the bag to a manageable size to keep in my pack.I plan to keep this bag for use as my summer bag, but I certainly won't be taking it out in weather less than 55 degrees.

Great Sleeping bags. My wife and I are getting into backpacking and wanted to find a lightweight mummy sleeping bag that didn't break the budget. So far these are exactly what we were hoping for. Very light weight and very warm. I have not taking them out in anything under 50 but at 55 they kept me very snug and warm. For me not being an experienced backpacker yet and never owning a mummy type sleeping bag I was a little worried about how easily it could fit back in it's stuff sack. I tried rolling it tight and forcing it in there but it seemed pretty difficult. I went to youtube and found that most people don't roll these bags up. They just stuff them back in the bag. It made it so much easier and fit well in the bag. I'm not sure if that is the correct way, but it worked well for us. I would highly recommend this product.

BUYER BEWARE. I rarely write reviews, but I am so frustrated.On my second trip one of the pull strings broke and tore some of the fabric (I was not pulling it very hard). I asked for a refund and they said, "It is beyond 30 days." I bought this sleeping back less than 2 months ago.I am pretty frustrated that this company did not stand by their product.

Used this to sleep in 40 degrees - I could feel the cold air on the sides that were not against the sleeping mat/ground. I was able to sleep through it, but not what I would call comfortable. I ended up returning the sleeping bag.