Dearest daughter is impressing her dad and heading head first in to silver d of e so I’ve got to be monetarily assisting where required.
She needs a new sleeping bag, gotta be light as possible however warmth is a more important factor as she really does get cold at night. This weekend car camping has further reinforced that as I don’t think it would be physically possible for an individual to wear any more clothes in bed. Any suggestions? I really don’t want to be heading in to 3 figures either.

Snugpak?

Link to 4 season but maybe one of the others

Light, cheap, warm, pick two.

Your first question is, is she likely to be able to keep it dry? Down is warm and light but expensive and useless when wet. Synthetic is cheaper (and probably your only two-figure option TBH) but bulky and heavier. For me when wild camping size was the biggest problem, warm cheap bags are huge.

I don’t think your criteria are all reachable without a compromise in one area or another. (I’d be happy to be proved wrong as I’d buy one myself, and I run hot.)

It’s been a cold wet weekend though. What kind of sleeping bag was she using this weekend ?

Spent last nigh under a snugpak tarp with a snugpak elite1 bag, bit cold but punching above its weight for temp rating.

Worth noting that they are showerproofish, this has been proven and welcomed,,,, will be buying a lower temp rated elite soon for winter, best for the price bag I’ve used in all my years of roughing it.

Edit…..
800g and packs 200x600mm ish.

Don’t bother with down,,,,,, unless your a glamper 😆

Edit edit, elite1 is about £60

In an outwell 60 quid job this weekend (huge tho) which when i use I find toasty, but I got relegated to one of the old crappy ones this weekend. She complains of being cold all the time to be fair though, not just when camping. She does have a good rucksack and they do have rain covers on so keeping it dry should be ok as they will only be walking and not doing anything too adventurous. Practice run is 3rd week in October so we could easily be hitting ground frosts by then.

What does she sleep on? That can easily have as much impact as the bag, if not more sometimes.

Snug pack was best balance cost warmth weight for me 5 yrs ago and haven’t felt the need to upgrade.

Don’t bother with down,,,,,, unless your a clamper

WTF?

Fair enough, I have no idea what a clamper is, but the first part of the sentence is tosh. The two most important factors are weight and warmth, so clearly you need to buy a down bag. There is no sensible alternative.

Fair enough, you also wanted something sub £100, but that’s pie in the sky.

To be fair, I do like the Snugpaks, they’re good compared to the really shit synthetic bags, but still not the right tool for the job.

Everyone trots out the same old truism about down…. that it’s no use when it gets wet… WELL DON’T GET IT **** WET THEN. It’s not that tricky. Perhaps a poly bag for when you’re carrying it, and perhaps a tent for when you’re sleeping in it.

I think we’ve got approximately 27 seasons worth of sleeping bags in the gear room, and there is no way I’d take the synthetic ones if I was expecting it to be chilly.

We’ve been camping for many years now so know all about insulation from the ground. We started out on air beds like most others. It’s just a case of her being cold really. Standard d of e kit will be a basic carry mat but Mrs ws has got a nice little self inflating mattress which I reckon is not much bigger than a carry mat or much heavier.

Don’t bother with down,,,,,, unless your a glamper

Utter shite.
Just don’t get it piss wet through, which, to be fair shouldn’t be that hard if you’re in a tent.

What does she sleep on? That can easily have as much impact as the bag, if not more sometimes.

That’s a very good shout.

Utter shite ha, depends

I’ve got a down bag, I use it for glamping.
First part of my sentence defo isn’t tosh, I spent the night under a tarp 😀

I very much doubt a youngster will have the nouce to treat a down bag with the care and respect it needs,,,,, much better a synth,cheap number ,,,,,,, NO ?

Ultra light sleep mat underneath? These things are surprisingly good if you are “really” trying to save weight

http://www.balloonbed.co.uk

Otherwise decathlon do a lightweight semi self inflating kip mat.

I would say having a decent bit of insulation between her and the ground will make a huge difference

I think the dofe has a website with recommended kit list and best prices.

I use this sleeping bag (it’s predecessor which is slightly better) half price, £50, down sleeping bag. Ditch the compression sack and put it in a waterproof stuff sack and it’s about a kilo

https://m.millets.co.uk/product/red-eurohike-down-500-mummy-sleeping-bag/133692/?option=545200&istCompanyId=b238823a-59fd-4816-9c36-7dd47877f2a8&istItemId=raxrmwrma&istBid=tzil&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuoT8upKt1gIV6rztCh2pwwmKEAQYASABEgJtZfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Only problem is it’s 220cm so unless she’s an amazon there’s a lot of wasted bag which will loose heat and also add weight.

Also, wearing clothes in a sleeping bag isn’t always a good thing. Wearing less can make you warmer.

I bought a silver thermartex blanket and stitched it up to make a sleeping bag. It weighs 200g and adds a season or 2 to my bag. Brilliant piece of kit.

http://www.thermartex.com/

But the biggest difference to warmth for me was a quality mat with thermal properties to keep the cold out.

https://m.millets.co.uk/product/yellow-exped-synmat-ul-7m-sleeping-mat/100975/?option=858164&istCompanyId=b238823a-59fd-4816-9c36-7dd47877f2a8&istItemId=qtqxwmqtt&istBid=tztx&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6qK40ZSt1gIVSbHtCh3I7g29EAQYBiABEgKA7fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

My default answer is alpkit for a sleeping bag but this time of year they will probably be out of stock.

Decathlon down bag for £99.99

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/forclaz-0-helium-id_8382843.html

I agree it is at least as important what she lies on, rather than what she is in.

This weekend car camping has further reinforced that as I don’t think it would be physically possible for an individual to wear any more clothes in bed.

I know its counter intuitive, but I find that more clothes doesn’t necessarily = better. I’m not sure why but suspect its actually the inside of your bag gets sweaty and the warm air doesn’t circulate within the bag as well so parts that get cold stay cold. If its damp weather and kit gets damp at all that is definitely a recipe for a night of shivering. The tent can affect that too – I assume that is being provided though. Wearing a hat makes a big difference. Socks are very easy to get wet (or sweaty). Getting in a bag with damp socks is a big mistake.

Normally you don’t do DOE in really cold weather (like snow), but it could certainly be very wet. She’ll need to learn some discipline about keeping stuff dry and organised. Straight in at silver means she doesn’t have the more gentle intro of bronze where its only one night under canvas. You can just about tolerate one night of misery. Two nights (especially if there are three days of walking in the rain) without sleep and being cold is tough enough to put people off after a practice expo.

She doesn’t need superlight kit. Her friends will all have far too much kit with them anyway, and they will also be on a budget so they can only go at the pace of the group.

I know its counter intuitive, but I find that more clothes doesn’t necessarily = better. I’m not sure why but suspect its actually the inside of your bag gets sweaty and the warm air doesn’t circulate within the bag as well so parts that get cold stay cold. If its damp weather and kit gets damp at all that is definitely a recipe for a night of shivering. The tent can affect that too –

Wearing lots of clothing inside the bag can mean that the dew point is within the bag too, causing dampness, loss of insulation and cold.

It’s your body heat that lofts the down/insulation. If you stop your body heat getting to the bag it can become ineffective

I’m still using my age old snugpak softie 9 and for bang for buck can’t fault it

Not too heavy, compresses to a decent size and nice and warm.

I’ve a similar situation to resolve with my lads

I think poly makes good points above. Yes, a down bag is useless when wet but a synthetic bag is hardly at peak performance when wet either. Better to get a dry bag (or a couple of bin liners) and keep the bag (whatever material) dry. It’s about learning good practice.

Blacks have a few decent bags on sale atm. They also have a 20% off after a purchase – buy something cheap (dry bag 😉 ) get the 20% discount code – then get the bag

A silk liner will add a couple of degrees of comfort and help keep the bag clean. Dirty, or often washed, insulation doesn’t work as well as clean/new.

When I say straight in I mean straight from bronze to silver. She’s a clever girl so will take instruction well about keeping kit dry etc. As I say she is already off the floor when car camping on a camp bed, then will be on the Mrs’ self inflating mat for dofe. Need to break it to her about less clothes in the bag.

I very much doubt a youngster will have the nouce to treat a down bag with the care and respect it needs

No disrespect to Wrightyson’s daughter but this is definitely an issue on DofE. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell them about being organised and paranoid about keeping stuff dry, they just don’t believe you!

I would suggest that she is taught packing discipline. At least a decent dry bag for the pit inside a sack . Covers are not perfect. I use a decent synthetic quilted jacket inside an old down bag. Makes a huge difference. Dress properly. For me wool vest and long johns. Force Jersey if cold and/or jacket. Decent hat and socks. All kept solely for sleeping. A bivvi bag can help. Protects the pit and adds warmth.
I sole cold but the above keeps me warm down to frost temps. The pit is an old Point Five stitched through down thing that I was given as a surf board cover in 1986. Doubt its over special now!

she is already off the floor when car camping on a camp bed, t

This doesn’t help. No insulation under air sucking all the heat away