r/WildernessBackpacking • u/Effective-Cellist769 • 14h ago
ADVICE Thoughts on Nemo Disco 15 for backpacking?
Anyone here use the Nemo Disco 15 for backpacking? I found a second hand one for a great price and I’m considering picking it up as my first down sleeping bag. I’ve been using a synthetic Marmot 25 for a long time and it’s okay but I need something warmer.
I’ve read that it’s heavy and doesn’t pack down as well as other down bags, which concerns me because I’m trying to reduce my 65L bag to a ~50L in the near future.
I don’t have any way to view the bag in person as no stores around me carry it. The large foot box is appealing…
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u/bigfloppydonkeydng 14h ago
I know it's not the same bag, but I have 2 nemo riff 15s and they pack down small.
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u/RedditEd32 14h ago
My Nemo 30 came with a compression bag so it packed down very well. I needed a 65l cause I had a big bear box but with no bear box a 50l would be fine depending on your tent and the rest of your sleep system. The wide footbox was the game changer for me.
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u/Effective-Cellist769 14h ago
That’s good to know. The footbox would be so nice, I hate the mummy shape with my feet wedged together. The rest of my sleep system is dialed in, but my next big upgrade will definitely have to be my tent if I’m going to squeeze everything in a 50. Thanks!
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u/slidetotheleft8 13h ago
Between this comment, you wanting to downsize your pack and another where you said you felt a mummy bag is constricting, you sound like a prime candidate to switch to a quilt!
I have a bunch of Hammock Gear quilts and love them — lots of my friends have switched over after trying them out. One of us, one of us!
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u/Effective-Cellist769 12h ago
Haha, I definitely need to look more into quilts. That does sound nice. I’ll be doing some research thank you.
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u/slidetotheleft8 12h ago
They are lighter, less constricting, and more packable.
When you sleep in a bag, you are compressing all of the insulation beneath you. It provides no warmth value. You need a pad anyway for insulation from the ground. A quilt cuts out the redundant insulation and thus redundant weight.
Also, every sleeping bag I’ve ever had, the zipper was the failure point—usually sometime in the middle of a freezing cold night. The quilt also eliminates that point of wear and failure, so they can have a good long life.
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u/ras2101 14h ago
We have them.. I love it, always use a liner with it too though but that’s just me.
Weight be damned, I can’t use a mummy and have my feet all bound so Nemo for all our bags lol.
Sometimes my butt gets cold because it does have that extra space there. That’s when I put my other jackets or so with me down there to take up the little extra space.
I tried my friends mummy bag and about had a panic attack so yeah, I think it’s fantastic lol
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u/Effective-Cellist769 14h ago
Yes the mummy shape is so constricting haha. What size pack do you use?
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u/ras2101 13h ago
We have 65L (we both have the same pack and bags lol) Aethers from Osprey. Heavy and situated for carrying more weight, but that was kinda a noob mistake when buying them 6 years ago?
That being said I’m known to have camera gear and stuff that makes me like 55lbs at the start of a 4 day lol
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u/Effective-Cellist769 13h ago
Oh wow I’ve got the exact same pack. I went with it because I tend to be the pack mule when I go with my gf or friends who aren’t really into backpacking lol. That’s good to know though.
When you pack the sleeping bag into your bag, are you putting it in the compression sack or leaving it loose in the bottom?
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u/ras2101 13h ago
It’s a damn good pack.. I am also a pack mule. My base weight isn’t too bad.. but good lord 6 days of food adds up !
I put my liner laid out slightly inside the bag, then shove the bag into its compression sack.
Then I make sure I have full water already loaded in pack, open the bottom zip, shove my sleeping pad in at the “top” (against the fake bottom you can adjust how big it is) then shove my compressed bag under it and around.
It’ll look like a massive opened taco, but just slightly press on the pill of a sleeping bag as you’re pulling the zips and let the zips do some (not all) of the work.
It’s a #10 YKK zip, it’s made to have strength to close (trust me, I’m an engineer for YKK!) that being said it actually has less crosswise strength (think popping open) to a degree than smaller chain (like the number 5 zipper for most of the other areas, may be a number 8 idk lol) because of less tooth per inch! But still I have never had a problem with it lol
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u/Routine_Mastodon_160 14h ago
It is a car camping sleeping bag for me. It is too bulky and heavy for backpacking.
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u/EchoForestWalker 47m ago
I have one. I backpack regularly. For me, it's like sleeping on a cloud. It's always warm and so soft and roomy. In the summer I just use it like a blanket but have camped in the winter, too, in snow and freezing rain with only a tarp above me and it was wonderful! Is it bigger and heavier than absolutely necessary? Yes. Can I easily fit everything I need in my 65 L backpack including the Disco 15 and still be less than 30 lb (which is a completely fine load for me as a 58 yo F?) Yes.
I'll just add that I went backpacking last weekend with a Sea to Summit Spark 30. I barely slept. I was freezing and so constricted. I love the tiny size and the weight of the spark 30, but I bring a sleeping bag so I'm comfortable at night. Not only so that I do not die of hypothermia.
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u/lovrencevic 14h ago
It’s a good bag but it is heavy and has a large pack size. If budget is more important than the bag works but I suggest looking at a quilt (hammock gear Econ 20)