Sorry, don't use a tent. If ever out in the Mojave at night, I look for an alcove or any southeast slope and dig in. Never too bad out here.

I suggest you look at www.clubtread.com
these folks are from British Columbia and post your question there in "Gotta Get GEAR" section. These folks are always living in sub zero weather and love it....
They are very friendly and knowledgeable, too.
I heard in British Columbia, they bronze the Baby's first
SNOWSHOES :)

One word of caution about the rating of sleeping bags.

I have LL Bean Mt Katahdin sleeping bags rated at 20 degrees that I have been comfortable in at 30 degrees, but wouldn't want to use any colder than that. They are very well made with baffles around the zippers and neck area.

I also have a Campmor bag rated at 20 degrees that I wouldn't trust below 40. Or maybe 50.

Both bags are rectangular down bags with the same rating, but very different characteristics in fill and build.

Try going to Backpacker.com and following the link to their sleeping bag pages. Lots of good information on product reviews, how to pick a bag, and what to look for.

I have a -20 rated sleeping bag I bought from cabelas and at 20 degrees I wish I was a little warmer. If I were buying a sleeping bag I would make my choice by the rating in degrees. Cabelas has some nice camping equipment and a free catalog. dave

i'd look at the northface synthetics (as opposed to the down). i love down, but for occasional campers it takes more care & caution than the synthetics. sythetics insulate even when wet, while down is usless if it gets wet. down is more copmpressable & loftier than synthetics, but with the new generation polyester hollow core fibers it's a close race. down takes more care in preserving the loft of the fibers. if you do choose a down bag, always pack it in a dry sack (mine stays in a WXTex Pneumo bag) & bring a few hefty steel sack trash bags (advice from my expedition friend).

a 0 degree synthetic is my choice. my girlfriend & i have 0 degree northface snowshoe bags which zip together if you get them with left & right zippers. i haven't used my 20 degree cat's meow bag in years since i've learned that camping for a week or so usually means the weather will probably get colder than the weatherman says.

the advice i usually give people on a tight budget is concentrate the budget on your boots, jacket & sleeping bag in that order. if your feet hurt, the trips over. if you're too cold or bulky then you probably won't hike as much as you should. if you're sleeping bag is poor then you're going to be miserable at night & sleepy + grumpy in the morning. i've slept in the open, under a tarp & in a snow cave so tents fall lower in priority unless bugs are an issue.

i got my first northface bag at rei. they had underweight bags for sale at a discount. they weight their bags & if they fall under the label weight even by a few grams they have to sell it as 2nds.