UKC

Hi there, I'm looking to buy a Marmot Col -20f sleeping bag. The bag is measured at 183cm in the various item descriptions online and I am 185cm. Despite (supposed) manufacturer measurements some vendors suggest it's suitable for anyone up to 190cm. 

I just wanted to check if anyone here has encountered a similar situation being right on the limit of the sizing? And is there a bit of a margin for error with the soft material having a decent bit of give? Obviously if I can avoid getting a bigger and heavier bag that would be preferable but I would only do so if I didn't think I'd be uncomfortable or squeezed in. The next one up is north of 200cm, maybe the extra 20cm is no big deal and so get the bigger one to be safe?

Any comments would be appreciated. I did think I can always send it back but I'd prefer to avoid the faff. Cheers. 

Depends how much you will use it with the hood deployed, generally people mostly sleep on their side as well which shortens the body length to a degree. if you sleep on your back a lot then expect it to be tight which might add pressure in the hood or more likely foot box area 

Other consideration is whether the long version is also wider which might be good if you are a bigger person rather than just taller 

I am 187cm tall and I always buy the standard size for sleeping bags, which is normally, as you say 183cm. I have never had a problem so far. I currently own a mountain harwear sleeping bag and it fits fine. It has the advantage that there are no empty space inside the bag when you are on it. So its warm capacity gets optimized. If this makes sense!

I bought a Marmot Lithium (0°f) last winter. I'm 181cm and I opted for a long on the basis of having plenty of room to wriggle around and to stash boot inners, gas cylinders etc. I don't regret the choice at all - for a summer backpacking bag the extra potentially unnecessary 100g would seem huge, but it's not like I'm going to notice in in a winter rucksack

Cheers guys, it sounds like I'm going to need to order one and see where I get to with the dimensions etc. I actually stumbled across a good price on a Rab 1200 expedition last night and ordered one of those. It seems a little bigger and hopefully will do the trick. The problem I have is I have zero recent experience of using, carrying or even sleeping in sleeping bags and I'm going from 0-100 in getting one for 750 quid! C'est la vie, I'm sure it will be fine. If I love the expedition experience I can worry about refining my kit down the line but hard to think a decent item from Rab won't serve me well provided the dimensions work.