Sleeping bags for bikepacking.

So looking to scratch an itch i have had for some time and go bikepacking. For a taster going to do a one night in the next couple of weeks with plans to do the west highland way (again but with camping)

I got some lovely apidura bags (14l drybag sear bag, meduim frame bag, medium front dry bag and a top tube bag) but having big issues with a sleeping bag. The one i have is the biggest thing in my kit and finding somewhere to put it (thats not just stapped to my backpack inside a carrier bag…) is proving tricky.

Anyone any reccomendations? I run mega hot and will have a basha and bivy with me so a 2 season is fine

Any suggestions? Will spend what i need to that isnt just plain silly so nothing over the 200 mark.

Or do people have better ways of doing this bit?

How small does it need to be? Vango Venom 200 is pretty small and you can pick one up for about £100.

Depends on time of year but I have a couple. Alpkit pipedream 200long for spring/summer/ autumn. Conditions allowing.

For low level winter and high level spring/autumn I have a north face blue kazoo.

Cost of both together was within your budget as the blue kazoo was bnwt off the classifieds.

I have no complaints about the pipedream and for a 2 season it’s warmer than any synthetic 2 season I’ve had in the past.

Mate swears by the alpkit pipedream.

I looked at alpkit but it was all pre order on thier site. As small as possible, would like to fit it in the seatbag if possible.

https://www.apidura.com/product/saddle-pack-dry-14l/

Unlikely to get anything worth using in Uk on all but the warmest nights that fits in a seat pack.

Wife’s got a mountain equipment helium minimus down bag that will fit in a seat pack but it’s +11 comfort …I’ll think twice before borrowing that. Even the pipedream will struggle to go in a seat pack unless it’s the size of a revelate viscasha or ortlieb sized

@stevemuzzy – I fit my bigger alpkit sleeping bag in my 13L alpkit koala for bikepacking.

The reason they are all pre-order is that they sell out – quick. 🙂

I have got an Aegismax down quilt bought from Aliexpress. It’s very comfortable.
I paid about £60 for it. Delivery was about two weeks.

So if its hard to get in a saddlebag, where fo people put them? Tbr handlebar bag is full with my basha and bivvy bag amd not as wide opening as my saddlebag.

Cumulus quilts or bags (the bags are sold under the Criterion brand in the UK). You’ll need to buy the quilt from Europe if you go that route. If you are feeling flush then look at PHD.

I’ve the Cumulus 150 quilt and a PHD minim 200 sleeping bag both of which are fine for UK summer use. Both of which will easily fit in a seat bag, actually they’ll both fit in a 14L seat bag with ease. I can fit the quilt, a Klymit x-frame mat, bivy bag and solo sized tarp in a Wildcat 8 litre dry bag quite easily.

Budget for a decent sleeping mat as well – either Exped Synmat or Thermarest NeoAir are the standard bikepacking lightweight options.

Almost any decent 2 season bag will fit into a seatpack. My MH Phantom 32 is used in 3 (Scottish) seasons and fits easily into the likes of a Viscacha, along with other overnight gear (insulated jacket, bunnet, etc).

If your running a big bag like a viscasha no bother anything will fit in there it’s pretty much a pannier

As white stone I run an 8 litre bag in a wildcat carrier and the pipedrean won’t fit in there.

So I roll it up inside my bivvy with my thermarest and pop it inside my narrow sweet roll up front

I’d like a cumulus quilt they are keenly prices but only if your lucky enough to be short enough to fit them 🙁

You fit in a woman’s bag?
ME Titan
I have got the men’s xl version, a bivvy bag and a lightweight inflatable mattress into a 13 litre handlebar bag. You may get this into a seatpack.

Millers/blacks do a couple that are pretty small pack size, for £100 or so full price. They are often discounted to £50 ish.

I have a blacks cosmos 200 which has been fine for spring weather. It fits in a 13 litre bag with a bivvy and a mat.

We’ve got a PhD duvet, but this year will be running PhD half bags in Italy

Where do you put your bikes when your bikepacking and sleeping in your tent? Assuming it’s a little tent with just enough room to sleep in..

Outside, obvs. Where else?

Don’t think these guys are using tents, just bivvy bags- which is a waterproof bag that goes on the outside of the sleeping bag.

Tent or bivvy bag, the bike just lies on the ground or propped against a nearby tree/wall/boulder.

If you’re concerned about security then you’ve pitched in the wrong place.

The alpkit stuff that I’ve preordered has all arrived at the time they stated or before, so it’s worth considering preordering.

That said, recently I got a down sleeping bag from Go Outdoors for about £125, 3 season, packs down to a size that won’t even take up your whole saddle bag. I haven’t got around to using it yet, but the pack size vs temperature ratings were way better than anything else I could find at that price.

Cheers guys. No tent. Use a bivy bag and a basha (basically a waterproof tarp you have over your bivy in a v shape. Will take a look at the suggestions. All my kit fits into a large backpack so was confident i can get it all on the bike.

@trail-rat It seems that some struggle with the length of the Cumulus quilts, I’m 5’11” with a 42″ chest and don’t have any problems, the quilt will wrap over my shoulders. Could depend on how you sleep as well.

Cheaper down bags tend to use a lower rated fill power down, typically 650 – 750, whereas the down in the higher priced bags will use down with a fill power of around 900. The higher fill power down also tends to have a better down to feather ratio. What this means is that for a given warmth the higher fill power bags will use less down and that down will pack much smaller. You do pay for this though. Conversely getting a bag at the same weight with better quality down gets you a much warmer bag.

The Alpkit Pipedream 200 (£140) uses 750FP down and weighs 545g, according to trail-rat it won’t pack into an 8 litre bag.
My PHD 200 minim (£180) uses 900FP down, weighs 430g and fits into an 8 litre bag with plenty of room for other kit.

Both the above bags have a similar temperature rating. The Cumulus 150 quilt is not quite as warm but weighs just 375g.

A little hard to see but here’s my setup from a crossing of the Trans-Cambrian trail at the end of March

The yellow 8 litre bag on the front contains sleeping bag, sleeping mat and bivy bag plus a small amount of clothing.

Outside, obvs. Where else?

In your tent Obviously.
If your in the middle of nowhere chances of an opportunist nicking your bike when your sleeping is zero.
But if you don’t live in the middle of nowhere or have that kind of area in reach of the house, say some scrote stumbles across you walking his dog?
But don’t worry found some decent suggestions here

The chances of anything untoward happening to you or your kit when wild camping/bivvying is non-existant. Your axe-wielding maniac (or dog walking scrote) is going to want a target rich environment, wandering around the countryside on the off-chance that there’s going to be a cyclist camping in a remote location isn’t going to be very productive.

Back on track – if you are only going to do one or two trips then just get something cheap and deal with the weight and bulk. If you end up doing it regularly then it’s likely you’ll gravitate to something more specialised and expensive.

PHD bags are very warm vs their size/weight.
But if you cant spend that cash, Alpkit have 15% off until Monday AUGUST15

whitestone, I’ve got my eye on the TCW – bro in Law lives in Tywyn. Where did you bivi?

I “bivvied” in a cottage that was being renovated! I won’t say exactly where for obvious reasons but it was to the west of Claerwen reservoir.

I probably wouldn’t have bivvied but the only train I could get to Knighton didn’t arrive until 1500 so it was a case of having to split the route over two days. It was pretty early in the year and everything was very wet so it was hard going – at one point I was forced to push the bike along the flat 8O. I need to do it again when it’s dry, maybe the double.

Gotcha, cheers! I’d probably combine it with a long weekend with my wife in Tywyn, so we’d drive over and I’d get out with the bike at Knighton. Thinking maybe fatbike too with all I’ve heard of soft stuff.

If it’s been dry beforehand then a hardtail or rigid with large volume tyres will be fine. Due to being the back end of winter it was basically a mud fest when I did it, even trails high up on ridges were standing in water. I was originally planning to do the Cambrian Trail but with the weather forecast I thought that would be a bit optimistic.

Weirdly I was internet window shopping for just that yesterday …. no intention of buying..just curious as I used to own a really small, light down 2 season…and we’re off camping Thursday night… (but with a car)

I came to the conclusion you get the smallest possible and if necessary then use a liner in spring/autumn then the two together might be bigger but both fit into the bags easier ???

I popped into my local cotswold and met a very helpful guy who was a bikepacker. He recommended quite a cheap bag (relatively) along with a silk. The bag is tiny and easily fits in the saddlebag along with a full change of clothing amd wipes.

I use my bag and quilt together in winter – they are good to -5/6C or so.

I was going to try this this morning but had to head out to work. The PHD minim 200 fits in an Exped XS roll top dry-bag which apparently is 3L capacity, it’s still “squishy” (scientific term) so could pack smaller but gives an idea of how small it packs down to.

@ stevemuzzy , another vote for a Cumulus quilt, ive got the 350 , very cosy and it easily fits in an apidura seat pack with my down jacket , a few clothes and still plenty of room 🙂
My setup below from the weekend