Our Backcountry Sleep System

For years I ran a zero-degree mummy bag into the backcountry. Warm, reliable, and something I never questioned — right up until this year, when I hunted the Uintas for over-the-counter elk archery and realized how much dead weight I'd been carrying without even knowing it.

What I used to do wrong

The mummy bag was heavy and bulky even compressed all the way down. I never thought twice about it because that's just what you take — it's what everyone takes. I assume that was a lightweight system until I swapped it out.

What I upgraded to

This trip, I used the Outdoor Vitals StormLoft UL 0° Top Quilt, paired with a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir pad and the Outdoor Vitals camp pillow. I only got a couple of nights in before I had to head home to other duties, but it was enough to tell me I made the right decision.

Temps dropped into the low 40s both nights. I slept in underwear, no socks, and a t-shirt, and I was warm the whole night. A hunting buddy, running my old zero-degree mummy bag, was colder than I was. That's not a knock on mummy bags or that brand — it's what a top quilt system done right can do, at a fraction of the weight and pack space.

I'll give you the honest read on it too. There's a small V-shaped gap at the bottom of the quilt, right around where your thighs meet. The first night I felt a little draft slip through there a couple times when I shifted — never enough to actually get cold, just enough to notice. Second night, nothing. My guess is the quilt settled into the pad better and sealed that gap up on its own. Either way, zero complaints.

The detail I didn't expect to care about

The pillow comes with an elastic string that ties in and wraps around the back of the pad, locking it in place. I've spent my whole life waking up with my pillow nowhere to be found and my pad drifted out from under me — that's just been part of sleeping in the backcountry, as far as I knew. With this setup, that problem didn't exist. First time I've had a pillow stay exactly where I put it, all night, every night.

I'm still dialing in how much air to run in the pad for my body — that part's personal preference, every hunter has to find their own number — but even without it perfectly tuned, I slept better in the backcountry than I have since I was a kid, with no aches and pains. That was a big surprise.

Keeping it dry, keeping it protected

I also used our own Bed Down Ground Sheet underneath the pad every night, keeping the whole system dry and off sharp rock and debris. Small piece of the puzzle, but it matters — one bad night on wet ground or a puncture can undo everything else you did right.

Why I'm glad I made the change

Based on these two nights, I don't see myself going back to anything heavier unless I'm heading into truly frigid country, somewhere below 20°F. Even then, this quilt with a sweatshirt and pants layered on would likely keep me comfortable enough into the 30s. For everything else — the bulk of Western archery and rifle seasons most of us are actually hunting — this is my system now.

We got in close on a few raghorn bulls, nothing mature enough to fill a tag on. That's over-the-counter elk hunting. You put in the miles, you get your looks, and sometimes the story is about the country and the gear that got you through it rather than a tag filled.

Outdoor Vitals wasn't a partner of ours before Cole put me onto their stuff. In general, we do our best to only partner with brands we already use, support, and trust — that's how we choose who we stand behind at MTN BONDED. We're not interested in selling gear we haven't tested or standing behind a brand until it's actually earned that in the field.

Trust your gear, focus on the hunt.