D of E sleeping bag

Stephen,

 A bit more info. would be helpful.

 Time of year going, Syn. or Down, temp. rating wanted, max. weight. etc. EG.

 I was selling a Snugpak Softie 9 Hawk, (Syn. rated @ -9c, 1.2kg) for £60, P+P inc. I didn't sell it because of no interest. (I'm not saying that's the one you need/want), but that sort of detail would help give people an idea of what you want.

 Paul.

You'll not go far wrong with a Vango Venom 300 - then she'll have a good useful bag for the future. Should be able to get one (and sell it later?) on ebay for under £100 from a private sale.

Those Snugpac Softie 9s are really warm bags with good outer shells to boot. Bulky and impossible to compress without hydrolic gear, and a bit heavy to backpack. Worth the weight when it's cold. I got one to try out last year paying less than £40 (yes, eBay!) and my son soon nicked it. I recommend them to my scouts for winter camps.

Grumps,

 If you have the Snugpak Compression Sack, it normally comes with/in, you can get it down to less than 'normal football' size.

 You are better not to go that far, it then has space to compress with the weight on top of it.

 When I did use one, I rarely compressed it at all, just put at bottom of sack, everything else on top made it compress as more air escaped, filling space better.

 Many times when I was an assisant scout leader, Grumps.

 Sometimes had to 'undo' C/S at 1st camp, when 'daddy' had compressed it for their 10, 11, 12yr old. I struggled sometimes to get the C/S 'undone' and the bag out, never mined the kids!.

I just had a look on eBay -here's one venom 300 in your budget. It packs quite small and weighs less than a kilo iirc - but check Vango's site for specs. This one might be last year's model but that isn't very important I hope.

It has baffles in the right place. The hood closes easily to just a breathing hole if need be.I've got one and use it mostly with a basic Decathon rollmat. Sometimes with a Vango Trek self inflating mat. Sometimes with both! You'll know that what you put under the bag contributes a lot to how warm you will sleep. Just wearing clothes inside the bag won't help without insulation from the ground.

And while I'm teaching you how to suck eggs ... Choose the zip on side you sleep on. Then when you get too warm and unzip the bag drapes over your upper shoulder like a duvet. You will find yourself laying on the zip pull occasionally, however that's offset by the alternative of a cold torso.

Other bags are available. Vango pitch their products firmly in the DoE / affordable range and serve that market well. The Alpkit bags are also good value and able to cope with more extreme cold than the Venom range - they also cost a bit more. The lasses like them because they are very warm and girls tend to need that. The Skye 600 is a good useable bag.

Wish your daughter luck for her gold - my son does his this year.

Stretching the budget a bit, but for another £25 the Alpkit Skyehigh fits the bill very well at £125. These bags are durable and set at a realistic price point.

SkyeHigh 600

alpkit have a 'yard sale' soon...might be worth a look?