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I have a Rab synthetic sleeping bag but its way too bulky & pretty heavy, so looking at getting something else for 3 season use as I have an Alpkit down bag for the colder nights.
Any suggestions? I dont mind synthetic or down.
I have a north face blue kazoo that keeps me warm in November and in cooler summer nights I use it like a quilt when it's too cold for my pipe dream 200.
If money is no object then PHDesigns will be best weight to warmth ratio I would imagine.
I've found that the Vango bags offer a great balance of value vs performance. We have to Ultralights, and they are genuine to the rating. I see that they have down bags, and even better some on the Vango outlet store on eBay...
Without mentioning brands or specific models, there's a few options. When I mention "bag" it also refers to quilts.
Zipped three season bag. Get something that will deal with whatever temperatures you expect at the lower end and simply unzip or vent when it gets warmer.
Get a summer bag then either a light liner bag or a quilt that can wrap the bag for cooler temps.
As above: PHD if you can afford it. Cumulus quilts and bags are very good as well, the bags are sold under the Criterion marque here in the UK. You have to buy the quilts from continental suppliers.
I've a PHD Minim 200 bag and a Cumulus 150 quilt. Both are rated to the 5-8C range but together they are good to -5/6C which is good enough for most of the year in the UK. If you were going to the Scottish Highlands in winter then a better bag would be in order.
Don't forget you need good insulation from the ground. Doesn't matter how good your bag is if the ground is sapping all your warmth thru an inappropriate sleeping Mat.
Yes, I have a really good thick mat, so well insulated from the ground.
I have been looking at the Alpkit bags, although many of them are out of stock, but I have a lot of Alpkit stuff and it works.
I've quite a bit of Alpkit stuff including some down products. Decent quality for the price but they use fairly low fill power down (650fp) so are quite bulky whereas PHD, Cumulus and other use 850fp or above.
You won't notice much difference between say 800fp & 850fp but there's a lot of difference between 650fp & 850fp. The really high FP numbers like 950 & 1000 are silly prices though and I'm not convinced that the weight savings and reduced pack size are worth the price premium.
Too late to edit the above:
For the bags you are looking at which will be in the zero to -5/6C rating range you have.
An Alpkit Pipekit 400 which is rated to -6C weighs 860g, costs £200
Criterion Quantum 350, rated to -6C, weighs 695g, costs £270
PHD Minim 400, rated to -5C, weighs 670g, costs £330
PHP Hispar 300 rated to -5C, weighs 585g, costs £399
Note that my suggestion way above about getting a lightweight summer bag and liner or quilt will work out about the same weight and cost as the PHD Minim.
This seems a good price and is pretty much equiv to Alpkit pipedream 400 which has a similar comfort rating of -4C and same weight. Pipedream is Hydrophobic down tho which is quite a big bonus in this country. [url= http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/mountain-equipment-helium-400-sleeping-bag-d2134006?id_colour=107 ]http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/mountain-equipment-helium-400-sleeping-bag-d2134006?id_colour=107[/url]
Don,t forget PHD bags come in several widths and lengths. Worth paying for a well fitting bag if you are not an average size and can afford it.
I do like the phd bags, but I feel I would have to lie to my girlfriend about the cost! 😉
I like Vango Venom bags. I have an old 225 and a newer 300. I think the 400 would work well as a 3 season bag.