First of all, I wanted to say that I have been looking at many different threads on here about different brands and choices and they have been very helpful. I am going to Northern Norway end of March for a 10 day photography, and I am thinking of camping, as it will be cheaper and much more exciting! I will be mostly based on Lofoten islands but I might wonder inland towards Sweden, so I expect cold temperatures. until now, all my camping experience has been during spring to autumn in UK, so my gear is not upto the winter standard. Long story short, I have been looking at buying new sleeping bag, mat, and a tent for this trip and for future winter camping in UK... I think I know what I am going to buy, but I wanted check that I am buying right level of equipment! Before I list the equipment, I must say I am a very cold sleeper, so I tried to pick gear with much colder rating. For sleeping bag, I was thinking about ME Iceline - I thought about snowline as well, but not much difference in price, and figured few degrees warmer won't hurt. I do have couple of lightweight blankets that I use inside sleeping bags as well as cotton liner.. So should be plenty warm I hope... For sleeping mat, I was thinking exped synmat 7. Exped seems to be a popular choice here. I thought about downmat, but I think synmat should be enough... plus, I have a cheap foam sleeping mat as well that I can add for extra warmth. Tent is a bit more difficult choice.. Weight is not really an issue, but lighter the better of course. Thinking about something £300 max... I want to go see the tent in store before I buy them so I know what I am buying  So I looked at models available at a local store. I was thinking either F10 vortex 200, or Vango Spirit... I don't think Vango is rated 4 seasons, but comments on both, or any other similar models would be helpful. So what do you think about my choices? Can I survive Norway in Spring and scotland in Winter with this gear?? PS - apologies for the long tread!
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| Edited: 26/01/12 21:13 |
 If you sleep cold I would definately get a downmat rather than a synmat. The extra warmth will be welcome. Exped are a good brand and a good choice.
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 The Synmat should be fine; its a good bit of kit. The Iceline, too... shame you're going so soon, because you can often get good deals on winter-weight kit in the springtime, but in this case it seems likely that you'll pay full price. The Vortex 200 is a bit of a monster, weight wise. Might also be overkill for the conditions, but I'm less certain of that. Will you be carting this stuff around by hand? How much photography gear are you taking with you? Will you be using the tent by yourself? What is your budget? I doubt you'll have to worry about that selection of kit in the UK; it'll be fine anywhere. If anything, the Iceline might be too warm for many places, though if you're really a bitterly cold sleeper maybe that'll be fine too!
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Only reason why I didn't mention downmat was worry of getting the down wet when inflating...
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 I used to have an Iceline. Sold it 'cause it was too hot (Scottish winter use), so should be fine for this. Pete.
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The current downmats have an inbuilt pump so unless the air is a bit 'steamy' you're OK. No blowing it up 'by mouth'.
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The Synmat should be fine; its a good bit of kit. The Iceline, too... shame you're going so soon, because you can often get good deals on winter-weight kit in the springtime, but in this case it seems likely that you'll pay full price. The Vortex 200 is a bit of a monster, weight wise. Might also be overkill for the conditions, but I'm less certain of that. Will you be carting this stuff around by hand? How much photography gear are you taking with you? Will you be using the tent by yourself? What is your budget? I doubt you'll have to worry about that selection of kit in the UK; it'll be fine anywhere. If anything, the Iceline might be too warm for many places, though if you're really a bitterly cold sleeper maybe that'll be fine too!
Well, I saw iceline for £300 - not sure if it's cheaper than usual or not, but for a -25 C bag, it can't be a bad price?
Tent will be for my use only, and the photography gear! I will be renting a car, so not much walking involved... And budget for tent is around £300 - I can't justify paying more than that for what I will be using it for... Even in UK, I am most likely to be doing car camping...
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 If you're taking the car how about a siliconised Reindeer hide for under a basic kip-mat - get into the Nordic vibe. ebay link Snowline would likely be fine & more versatile thereafter. You can always wear a baselayer & more in it if it gets too cold.
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Take a rifle, or camp with someone that knows how to use one.
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Rifle? What for? No Polar Bears on Lofoten Islands. Is there??
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as far as I know there are no polar bears in Norway other than Svalbard.. which is no where near where I am going
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Tent will be for my use only, and the photography gear! I will be renting a car, so not much walking involved... Oh right. It'll all be dead easy then... a big heavy dome tent will be no problem! I'd almost be tempted to suggest getting a less hot sleeping bag, and gettng a big synthetic bag to stuff it in. Warm, robust and damp-resistant, and the inner bag will be much more versatile. Might be a bit of a faff to sort out though. Rifle? What for? No Polar Bears on Lofoten Islands. Is there?? I take it you've never met a horde of hungry puffins on a dark night? 
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A saw a Snowline go on ebay for about £120 this week.
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Tent will be for my use only, and the photography gear! I will be renting a car, so not much walking involved... Oh right. It'll all be dead easy then... a big heavy dome tent will be no problem! I'd almost be tempted to suggest getting a less hot sleeping bag, and gettng a big synthetic bag to stuff it in. Warm, robust and damp-resistant, and the inner bag will be much more versatile. Might be a bit of a faff to sort out though. Rifle? What for? No Polar Bears on Lofoten Islands. Is there?? I take it you've never met a horde of hungry puffins on a dark night?
Hehe.. Honestly no Shelter in the car?
I do look on ebay once in a while, but I haven't seen any on there yet - bit of a luck I guess...
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 You don't mention a price for the sleeping bag but I Just noticed that Snow & Rock have the rather excellent Mountain Hardwear Banshee SL on sale for £360 in long. A quick compare with the ME offering and theres no doubt in my mind what I'D be getting if I had the choice.
I'm not a fanboy and nor will I turn into one but I have to say as a basic tent the £300 Alpkit Kangri is pretty good and should definitely be on your list for consideration. Yup I HATE the way there mail order only and the only reason I have one is coz somebody else bought it. I've got a "Kangri: First look/impressions" video that I'll be up loading to YouTube probably tomorrow. Link to follow.
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 I would get a 'mid/tipi and woodstove. If you are car camping, then do it in comfort. Kifaru and Titanium Goat are a couple of manufacturers you could look at. A heated tent could mean you don't need such a warm sleeping bag.
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A quick compare with the ME offering and theres no doubt in my mind what I'D be getting if I had the choice. The ME for me: the MH seemingly has a formally waterproof shell, which will very probably translate to reduced breathability. Welded baffles is Good in that reduces leakage through needle holes, but will give quite possibly give you lines of fabric that again won't breathe so well. The more you waterproof anything the less breathable it is. Unless you're in a particularly wet place that's likely to be an own goal. Pete.
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You don't mention a price for the sleeping bag but I Just noticed that Snow & Rock have the rather excellent Mountain Hardwear Banshee SL on sale for £360 in long. A quick compare with the ME offering and theres no doubt in my mind what I'D be getting if I had the choice. I'm not a fanboy and nor will I turn into one but I have to say as a basic tent the £300 Alpkit Kangri is pretty good and should definitely be on your list for consideration. Yup I HATE the way there mail order only and the only reason I have one is coz somebody else bought it. I've got a "Kangri: First look/impressions" video that I'll be up loading to YouTube probably tomorrow. Link to follow. I would get a 'mid/tipi and woodstove. If you are car camping, then do it in comfort. Kifaru and Titanium Goat are a couple of manufacturers you could look at. A heated tent could mean you don't need such a warm sleeping bag. While I like the idea of a warm tent, it does look a bit of a inconvinience when I have to set up and remove the tent everyday - especially with the hot stove? Also, any place I can buy in UK or are they only sold in states?
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I went to a local outdoor shop today (Taunton Leisure) and saw Spirit 200+ and Vortex 200. Vortex looked really bombproof even without pegging but it was much more difficult to pitch... I do like the huge porch area on Spirit 200+, and they said spirit would be good enough for winter camping as well... While I was there, I also tried some down jackets and I was amazed how warm and light they were. So I thought about possiblity of buying a cheaper sleeping bag like Alpkit Skyehigh and combine it with a nice down jacket (RAB ascent or neutrino plus)? Is this a good idea or am I better off sticking to an iceline or a snowline bag?
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If you want a sleeping bag you can use in less extreme temps as well it might be a good option. Also depends on cost, considering you're talking about buying £300 bags new I presume cost isn't the most important factor. In which case Id get a sleeping bag warm enough so you don't have to wear a down jacket. It will be comfier and less constricting. If you're car camping it may as well be in luxury...
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