Theres been a lot of mention recently about sleeping bags which I've been keeping an eye on because I'd like to get a winter bag that would do me for UK use if not too cold.
Looking around the shops and online I'm sure I'm not the only one thats confused about how to buy a bag. Firstly I looks at specification then price. A Mountain hardware spectre was said to be a good bag but I looked at the specification and it looks the same as the North Face Green Kazoo so why is spectre more than double the price. Also Kazoo is only 625+ filling yet spectre is 800+ how can they be the same cold rating?
Lady said recently that she wanted to use a liner for -9 rated bag because she was too cold. I think that many people are too worried about buying an expensive bag only to be too cold. is rating system a con?
Can anyone offer any advice on a good bag that cost about £200 maybe an extra £50 that would be good for using on campsites and maybe a wild camp but not for Arctic use or -50. hankyou
Fill power is how effective the down used is at filling space, given as the amount of space a given weight will fill. So if you have x grammes of 800 fill power down it'll do more than x grammes of 650 fill power down. But if you have 2x grammes of the "lesser" down it could well be warmer because there's more of it. It'll weigh more though.
The rating system is not a con, but it is not perfect. I used to have a very hot winter bag which I eventually sold to a friend because I found it too hot, even in winter. She finds it fine for general use. For me the rating (-25C) was fair, for her it wouldn't be.
Dififcult to know how your personal perceptions compare to the rating systems except trying the hard way. But I think it's probably fair to say they work for most people, most of the time. If you're the sort using a hot water bottle and a winter quilt in July you might want to consider that as evidence though.
The Alpkit SkyeHigh range is also very good. A bit heavier than the Pipedreams of similar warmth, but still very effective and exceptionally good value. The Skyehigh 800 might be the one for you -- depending on how hot you sleep, as Peter said.
Rab bags come up on eBay all the time. I was looking at two the other night but was out-bid each time.
My T Nova 775 fil bag looks completely different to the Rab 550 (?) bag and I'm starting to wonder too if the different feathers in a 775 bag really do account for the price difference.
My Rab is good down to -5 for me and cost £140 some 12yrs ago. I suspect that a lighter or similar weight bag will be warmer at the £200 mark with the better feathers.
I'd also stick with known brands myself.
I may be wrong, but I think the US manufacturers use a slightly different grading system meaning their bags can seem to be "more" . I think the UK bags top-out at 800.
PS - Forgive me, no way am I going to ask another bloke how hot he is in bed ; )
Warmth, lightness, and cheapness are mutually exclusive. You can have any 2 but not all 3.
I'd suggest considering whether you are likely to backpack with the bag. Then you can decide whether you need a light bag that packs small. Then you can decide whether you want to expend the cash to make yourself comfortable.
You can estimate the amount of insulation by multiplying grams of down by fill power.
Myself, I backpack and I hate carrying lots of weight and I like to be cosy. The Alpkit Pipedream is very well thought of, and reasonably priced, but it sounded a bit narrow. I like to be able to roll around at night. So I got myself a Cumulus Quantum 350, which I like very much.
Independent temperature tests. Our sleeping bags have been tested in accordance with BS EN 13537, which is the British and European standard for sleeping bags. The standard requires four temperature results to be displayed, which are as follows: Upper Limit is the temperature up to which a partially clad standard man can have a comfortable nights sleep without sweating. Comfort Rating is the lower limit at which a standard woman can have a comfortable nights sleep. Lower Limit is the lowest temperature at which a standard man can have a comfortable nights sleep. Extreme Rating is a survival rating for a standard woman. There is a risk of hypothermia and this temperature should not be approached. Sensitivity to temperature varies between individuals and depends on a number of physiological and environmental factors, all of which will influence a persons choice of sleeping bag.
What are you asking? That you are in the same situation or that all these situations (plural as per your post) are the same.
A professional is someone for whom their tax return states a profession. What professional advisers are you asking for, you don't make (anything) it clear?
You state, "more" - how many do you require? I don't know if any of these posts are from professional outdoors instructors - is that what you want - or do you want a sales assistant in Blacks to pop up here?
