MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Looking for recommendations
I've decided to invest in a good sleeping bag this year after faffing about with cheaper ones (yes I know, buy cheap buy twice...)
Primarily it'll be used for late spring/summer/autumn bivvying and bike packing. I want it to be able to cope with the range of conditions that represents - but probably wouldn't plan to be out if it was really very cold and/or wet.
Worth mentioning I could boost the temp rating with an alpkit cloud cover quilt I already have that's pretty good, or down jacket /merino longs etc. too.
I'm more bothered about being comfortable ish and getting a good night's sleep, than I am about absolute minimum weight. Having said that, I do want it to be as light as possible within reason!
I guess I don't either sleep hot or cold, however I do move about and don't like being too constrained (find it claustrophobic). Would probably prefer it to have a zip for this reason too (open up if too hot or constrained)
I'm 6'3" and about 85kg mediumish build.
It'll be used with a ground matt and both tent and bivvy/tarp setups.
Regarding cost, I don't want to spend more than I have to, but if paying more gets me something significantly better then I'd consider it. Maybe £200-300 ish I guess (or more if it is worth it)
Thanks!
Try https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/sleeping-bags-c21/sleeping-bags-c88
Also consider a quilt, something like the Cumulus 250 https://cumulus.equipment/uk_en/quilts-and-comforters-quilt-250.html but at 6'3" you might want to get a custom one with an extra baffle. I'm fine with the 150 for the times of year you mention.
I don't camp in winter much as I sleep cold.
I bought a massive bag out of tiso as I was doing the bear bones winter ride.
It's kept me very happy and warm in spring and autum.
I went for an alpkit light weight down bag for the Jen ride a couple of years ago as the folk I do that with are much fitter than me and i wanted a light one to help keep up. It was mostly fine.
The warm one is too hot in summer, the light one is too cold out of summer.
The quilt on top suggestion seems a good one to me
Thanks, regarding the quilt options, do you find you need to pair them with a really insulating mat e.g. thermarest neoair X therm?
The mat I have is very lightweight and comfy, but I'm not too sure about its insulating properties
Thanks, regarding the quilt options, do you find you need to pair them with a really insulating mat e.g. thermarest neoair X therm?
The mat I have is very lightweight and comfy, but I’m not too sure about its insulating properties
It does depend on the conditions, I've used mine with, at separate times, an Exped Synmat and a Klymit X-Frame and been fine. It's always beneficial to have a decent mat as unlike sleeping bags they don't have an upper usable temperature so you can use a winter rated mat in the middle of summer with no problems but a winter rated bag in summer would be a nightmare. If you know the make of your mat you can check out its R-value (don't confuse with the R number!), the bigger the number the better, there are two systems so make sure you compare like with like.
A quilt is lighter for a given warmth than a bag because it doesn't have the material and insulation under you (since the theory goes you'd be squashing this so it wouldn't be working as it should) or for the hood but that gain is potentially slightly negated by the extra weight of a decent mat. Quilts have a wider usable temperature range than sleeping bags, even ones that you can unzip, but when at their lower limit you do need decent head covering.
Something I do is use the quilt as a sort of overbag for my sleeping bag. This extends the range, so my sleeping bag has a limit rating of 8C and my quilt has a limit rating of 4C. Either is fine in summer but in autumn and winter I can combine them and I've been down to -6C and been warm. That means I don't need a winter specific bag, certainly for the UK in most years anyway, I do have a full on expedition bag that's good to -30C or so but it's unusable in the UK, it's also absolutely massive when packed! You could do the same with a warmer quilt/bag and get to even lower temps. The starting formula in degC is:
rating of bag#1 - (20 - rating of bag#2)
So in the case of my bag and quilt I'd have ( 8 - (20 - 4)) = -8C. I'm not sure it's totally accurate and I wouldn't head out at those temps without having got close on previous trips and been happy. Since I've been to -6C and been fine it's not far off for me. It's also nice to have a bit of a buffer in case you are tired/wet/hungry. My wife used her Cumulus 350 over an old Marmot 3 season bag, probably rated around 0C, at -16C bivvying in the Arctic and was warm. Here's a page (with table in F (grrr)) from a quilt manufacturer - https://support.enlightenedequipment.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002770588-Quilt-Layering , they've plenty of other tips on their blog.
I've found the Marmot Hydrogen to be an excellent blend of lightweight and spring / autumn warmth:
I've been very happy with this, an ME Firelite. I got it for around £280 I think.
https://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/collections/sleeping-bags/products/firelite
Have an Enlightened Equipment Revelation that I’m pleased with. They’ll prob work out expensive though by the time you pay to ship to the UK.
Thanks all, particularly Whitestone, for all the information! Lots of reading to do then!
A bit over budget but world class gear.At 6ft3 the long version of PHD bags are perfect for me.
.
.
https://www.phdesigns.co.uk/minim-350-down-sleeping-bag-spring-sale-2021
So what the difference between all these pricey bags and my £40 2-3 season mountain warehouse one?
After a recommendation (by Greg whatshisface after his TD) I got a Rab Neutrino 200.
its available for £252 (in XL, 225 for ’normal’ 😜) from facewest (my usual go to, not checked anybody else).
its fine for three season but needs supplementing if bivvying in the Cairngorms early spring/late autumn frosts (from personal experience I might add) but a thermal jacket and socks more or less sorts that.
i have used it in winter with an Alpkit cloud cover quilt (but that takes up more room than my old TNF winter bag).
i recently bought a Neutrino Pro 400 for winter duties but, due to the obvious, haven’t tried it in anger yet (suspect it’d be way too warm in summer at 400...) as I liked the 200. I think that was either Needle-sports or Joe Brown, both worth a check. 20% off is doable (30% on very rare occasions and only if yer in quick).
i also have a mountain hardware 3 season bag (I bought on extreme temp rather than comfort) which probably packs smaller than the Rab but I got that 1/2 price on close out from Rick+Run a couple years back.
So what the difference between all these pricey bags and my £40 2-3 season mountain warehouse one?
1-1.5 kilos, less sweaty, smaller pack size, warmer, probably not made in a sweatshop.
So what the difference between all these pricey bags and my £40 2-3 season mountain warehouse one?
Weight, bulk, longevity.
Your £40 bag will be synthetic (or very, very poor quality down). Likely to be poor quality synthetic as well. Over time the fibres in the insulation will break and it won't perform as well. Every time you pack it, particularly trying to pack it tightly will break more fibres.
For a given temperature a good down bag will weigh much less, probably 40% of the weight of the cheap synthetic bag or even less. Down also compresses and recovers extremely well with virtually no damage to the down.
Like anything, you pays your money ...
Alpkit have a decent sale on their sleeping bags and other camping gear. The Pipedream 400 3 season bag is £150 currently.
Oh cool! I've just ordered a Cloud Cover quilt. Ta.