Hello everyone,

I am heading out to Copenhagen in December with climate camp to protest at the climate summit. I'm looking to buy a down sleeping bag to take with me as I have no idea where I'll be sleeping, it sounds like it's going to be a bit of a hap-hazard-sleep-on-activist's-floors type thing, or in huge group tents.

I've got a Thermarest Prolite Plus pad, and was looking at a Alpkit Pipedream 400 or 800 bags, as the 600 is out of stock. I sleep cold, but will the 800 be excessive for the rest of my camping trips which would normally be spring, summer and autumn?

Any other advice/opinions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I just bought one of a similar temp (-19 comfort, -36 extreme) and there's no way in hell I'd be using it in the summer, just lying on my living room floor with no heating on and I'm in sweating.

Get the one that's meant for slightly higher temps and put a liner in it, they make a good difference in my experience – bes of both worlds.

Do you mean a silk liner Dave? I've heard conflicting advice about them, some people seem to say they make a big difference, others say they don't. I think I will go for the 400 as it will be useable more, and maybe I'll splash out on some merino in case I get cold…

How can a soap dodger afford a decent down bag aswell as flights to Denmark?

flatfish, I'm taking the bus!

I'll tell you how to: don't own much more than a bike and clothes and live in a, ahem, communal and creative way with loads of other 'soap dodgers'.

hmmm… yet still can't give up on luxuries such as the interwebs! 😆

Well, i've found sleeping bag liners to make a positive difference anyway. Can't remember if mine is cotton or silk though, sorry.

Yeah, I'm an environmentalist not a luddite. 😕
It's difficult to reconcile these things though sometimes.

Though saying that, I ride a singlespeed so maybe I'm a luddite-in-training…. 😉

flatfish, I'm taking the bus!

Ah, I forgot buses dont have carbon footprints 🙄

maybe I'll splash out on some merino in case I get cold…

Ah, yeah, that would be the wool thats made on the other side of the world, or the alpkit sleeping bag thats made on the other side of the world, although theres UK companies like Rab making stuff in the UK from european down…

thats a bit cynical of you zulu-eleven.

Zulu-Eleven – Member

flatfish, I'm taking the bus!

Ah, I forgot buses dont have carbon footprints

maybe I'll splash out on some merino in case I get cold…

Ah, yeah, that would be the wool thats made on the other side of the world, or the alpkit sleeping bag thats made on the other side of the world, although theres UK companies like Rab making stuff in the UK from european down…
😆

You won't need a sleeping bag, just a liner.

Or don't you believe in global warming?

🙂

What sleeping bag for hugging trees.

Sorry.

I'd buy a cheap synthetic, stays warm when damp and easy to clean (important when staying with soap dodgers). The advantage of down is warmth to size/weight which is important if you're climbing a North Face in winter, not if you're taking the bus….

footflaps – Member
I'd buy a cheap synthetic, stays warm when damp and easy to clean (important when staying with soap dodgers). The advantage of down is warmth to size/weight which is important if you're climbing a North Face in winter, not if you're taking the bus….

These are very good points…. and quite constructive in the context of the rest of this thread 🙂

Thanks for the help everyone. I might also be sleeping outside/in tents footflaps, so was worried about being warm.

As far as environmentalism is concerned, well everything we do/make has an impact on the environment. Rab sleeping bags aren't really much better, the pertex material if I understand correctly, is not made in Europe either. And yes I use the internet, but not that much, and our electricity is partly generated by us. We all share a computer. Taking a bus is more environmentally destructive than not going to Copenhagen, but then dying is more eco-friendly than being alive, so what are you gonna do?

At the end of the day, I own so little stuff and have much less impact on the environment than most so I can take the ribbing. I'm not perfect, and I think most 'soap dodgers' would say the same. That all sounds a little defensive, and I suppose it is, but, you know what, I'm trying.

mansonsoul – Member
Thanks for the help everyone. I might also be sleeping outside/in tents footflaps, so was worried about being warm.

Mansonsoul, I'm not bothered about all the eco guff and I think they're just winding you up anyway, something to do with apparent irony…

Get a 4 season synthetic bag for about £50. It'll be warm enough (easily as warm as a Pipedream 400 anyway) and you can sleep well in it if/when it gets damp. You can even take it back for your Mum to wash in the Vac whereas down needs a bit more TLC.

Mansonsoul; A liner means that you will not have to wash the bag as often, thus making the bag less effective.If that is a big consideration.However Crusty protests CAUSE global warming. Just think, you protest-the police get overtime-which they spend on bigger cars/holidays.

duckman – Member
Mansonsoul; A liner means that you will not have to wash the bag as often, thus making the bag less effective.If that is a big consideration.However Crusty protests CAUSE global warming. Just think, you protest-the police get overtime-which they spend on bigger cars/holidays

why don't you just write a letter to your local mp who will pass on your concerns to gordon, rather than travelling all the way to denmark and killing our planet.

i have a alpkit bag and it's ace. got a sky high 600 and it's really really warm.

however your not sure where you'll be sleeping – you may get wet. so i'd go for synthetic fill over down.

Sorry, Mansonsoul, just joshing.If Politicians didn't think they were being watched the world would be a far worse mess than it is now.

No worries.

I actually managed to borrow a sleeping bag from a friend, so I don't have to use my crappy 1 season jobbie, or buy one at the moment anyway. But thankyou all for your help. It was good to learn about liners for when I do get one.

Environmental lesson number 946773 (maybe?) : borrow before you buy 😉

Read this thread yesterday and only just remembered the name of an 'ethical' down bag maker. Thought it might be of interest for future purchases.

http://www.tundrasleepingbags.com/Ethics.asp