Sleeping bag

[A&S15]

mau already be a topic on this but I'm needing to know what people are using to stay warm I haven't found a bag or way to keep my wife warm need help she loves to camp but the summers here in west ky are to hot and the fall temps drop rapidly. We've tried cold weather down bags. Thanks in advance for your tips 

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Welcome to the forum! What bags and sleeping pads have you tried? What kind of low temperatures do you need to target?

[A&S15]

Thanks for the welcome. We would like to camp with nightly lows in the 30s to put our hiking and climbing in the 50s during the day. She sleeps on a thermareat foam pad. We have tried a mountain hard wear Pinole 20 degree bag and a kelty 20 degree bag which is what I sleep in comfortably down to 30 degrees. She uses these bags in lows of 50s and freezes. We have also tried putting my summer bag in her 20 degree bag as a "liner" and still no help in the 50s. We sleep in hammocks and tents and either way she still needs more. She loves to camp hike and climb but we don't get to do many over nighters when we would really like to. She has dressed in base layers and also tried fleece layers. She is good going to sleep but wakes up after about 3 hours and that's where her rest ends. 

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Well, here's 10 of my ideas with more in the comments:

Sounds like all might need to be utilized!  Plan to cheat a little this winter as well and take a page from @Dogwood's comments from the blog post above - just picked up some of these hand warmers the other day:

http://www.amazon.com/HotHands-Body-Super-Warmer-Value/dp/B00KDHJBAK/

Sleeping pads make a big difference and some are warmer than others, do you know what model you're using? You could always try to upgrade to a warmer pad or supplement it with a foam pad as well. From what I'm seeing the EN Comfort rating on the Pinole is 29 per MH, but oddly listed higher (35) at Backcountry and REI. (REI only lists the lower limit but it matches BC) So not sure what the discrepancy is there. Perhaps on the liner idea some of the insulation was being compressed? If the bag is well used or older (synthetic) and / or needs to be washed that could play a role in reducing the warmth further as well.

[HikerJen]

I tend to be a cold sleeper, too.  I use a 15 degree REI Zephyr sleeping bag.  It's cut specifically for women - there's more padding at the hip and shoulders, and it's in a shorter size since I'm only 5'2". I add a silk liner to the bag, and use the Big Agnes Q-Core sleeping pad which has an R-value rating of 4.5.  I wear fleece bottoms, a Patagonia long sleeved base-layer for a top, thick REI hiking socks, and a knit hat, and sometimes a Buff to keep my neck warm.  I usually stay warm enough, but if it's really cold I'll bring a closed cell pad and use that in addition to my BA Q-Core.  I've also been known to bring a couple of hand and foot warmers in the bag with me...although I'm pretty sure that I'm going to get called out for admitting that!