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.

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better compact sleeping bag for the price. I've use this sleeping bag on several camping trips and it's successfully kept me warm and comfortable on spring, summer, and early fall trips. It's easy to store and the stuff sack gets to be fairly compact. If you're looking for the lightest, most heat effective sleeping bags there are, you'll definitely want to explore some of the much pricier options, but if you want something simpler and far cheaper, I would definitely recommend the ROVOR Buhl.

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.

This bag is very roomy at the feet, soft and comes with some nice features. The regular is pretty long. It comes with a stuff sack and packs down pretty small and it's a good weight for the trail. On the downside though, I used this bag on a night that got into the 50s and was uncomfortable but not miserable. I don't think this bag would keep you very warm below 50. It was tight around my hips but still very roomy for my feet (I am pretty short!) and upper body. I would recommend this as a summer bag for a slimmer person.

Light, fluffy, very warm, compacts well. Quite impressed with how warm it is after compressing it so small. A little to warm for some summer conditions. I'm 6'2", and I fit with room to go! Haven't found that in a mummy bag before. Great purchase.

First, something very, very important---you will DIE from HYPOTHERMIA if you try to use this bag in cold weather---I am not kidding. It is listed as a "3-Season 14-45 degree" bag. I used it in Costa Rica this February where the nighttime temperatures dropped to about 58-60 degrees Fahrenheit. I tried sleeping completely unclothed and was cold---and finally ended up wearing a pair of flannel pajamas and socks. I have NO idea how anyone could survive even at 32 degrees Fahrenheit---much less 14 degrees! Even at 45 degrees--the "high" temperature rating--- you would have to be bundled up inside the sleeping bag--unless you are someone with lots of adipose tissue who is comfortable in very cold weather. I am on the lean side--but even if less lean folks would be more comfortable in cold weather than I, it seems inconceivable to me that this would work in sub-freezing conditions. So buyer beware---honestly you will die if you try to use this in sub-freezing weather. All this said---it is a very nice ultralight warm weather bag. I have yet to launder it but will see how it holds up. It compacts easily and comes with a stuff sack with a carry handle. If it were warmer I would have given it 5 stars---but the seller (or manufacturer) needs to have a more realistic temperature rating. They do advise people that the lower temperature ratings imply sleeping in full thermal clothing. Fair enough--but if you have ever slept in a bag that was not warm enough with heavy clothes on inside you know how miserable that can be. Happy trails everyone---and stay warm!

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.