Cheap down sleeping bags?

Anyone got any experience of the cheap down & feather sleeping bags on ebay from China/Korea?

Wanting something warm & comfortable for UK camping duties, not a Himalayan mountain trip

How cheap is cheap? You can get a lot for your money here now.

About £50

Like clothing, sleeping bag warmth is not just materials and fling it together.
My Mountain Equipment, Blacks own and the lads Vango bags are a much better shape, have good baffles and shingle or box construction compared with cheap bags.
What time of year and where are you going to use it?
IMO you would be better getting a known brands bag here in UK, 2 or 3 season synthetic or down, and add a liner/clothes/bivvy bag if it gets colder.

Not surprising really – cheap, warm, choose 1!

http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/133121-blacks-aerolite-1000-mummy-sleeping-bag-green.html

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/0-light-hiking-sleeping-bag-id_8304271.html

Cheers!

http://www.cnfoutdoors.co.uk/snugpak-sleeper-expedition-sleeping-bag?gclid=Cj0KEQiA3bymBRC19IrD7O_NrYsBEiQAb2dpA7ug6irx0Cn1PHfxqtKNG6iNC8MTdwuAGLuMaQl3rUMaAnje8P8HAQ

I had mine for 4 years now , its been down to -18 in a bivvy bag in Wiltshire and I still woke up seriously good doss bag and big too

-18? In Wiltshire?
hmmmm

Yep 3-4 years ago mate at Copehill down on the Sailsbury plains

CDV is like Senny, has its own crap microclimate.

God yes Senny is the wettest place on gods earth and CDV is the windiest

Either or Snugpak doss bag is a winner

Ok.

I have one, I don’t regret it but it’s not aged well. I guess quality is hard to define in a product but having bought jackets and stuff from Montane and Rab in the meantime it’s made me realise how little details, design, and nice materials make up a product’s quality. The Chinese bag was fine out the box and it’s done two tours but the down is not well filled anymore and the material is a bit manky and some loose stitching etc. It was during a time I bought loads of stuff from China but now I would much rather a made in UK Snugpack synthetic or something like that.

Just linking to some info on goose down production if you’re interested.

Synthetic is a good option.
🙂

I was just about to ask about the conditions the animals are in…

IIRC if you’re in snow (very cold, dry) then down is they way to go. If you’re in less than dry and not so cold, go synthetic.

Wet down is not warm, and it gets trashed.

Bought my kids some mid price vango bags and they seem great. I’d get one for me if they were a touch more roomy for my large frame

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-ultralite-600-sleeping-bag-p196171

But we bought ours new off ebay for a touch over £50

kayak23 – Member
Just linking to some info on goose down production if you’re interested.

A lot of the top-end outdoor brands go to a lot of effort now to ensure that the down they use is ethically sourced and traceable – Mountain Equipment’s Codex is a good example. Patagonia too.

The down they use is a by-product of the food industry, the birds are kept in good conditions and there’s no live plucking, which is an abhorrent practice.

It takes a lot of time and effort to audit the process effectively and if you buy cheap down on eBay you have absolutely no idea where it’s come from. If I were going to buy down, I’d be looking at a quality brand with a publically accessible down policy like ME, Patagonia, Fjallraven or similar.

If you have any concern for animal cruelty, I’d steer well clear of cheap Chinese down.

At your price level I’d be looking at a decent synthetic bag, probably in a sale.

We have a couple of the Vango Bags that Amptill linked to -they and the ME Starlights are great little bags, warmer than I expected for the price. £50-60 gets you 80% of the performance of ‘great’ bags IMO.
Or you could spend £200+ on a ME Down bag that I have – it looses 100g in weight and gains you about 5*c (if you are lucky) on the warmth front.

Bit more than £50, but phenomenal value for money:
http://www.fieldandtrek.com/vango-catalyst-400-sleeping-bag-781196?colcode=78119690

Really warm, weighs nothing, packs down small.

kayak oooh FFS – think I’ll go synthetic for the limited funds I have!