Could anyone recommend a sleeping bag?
after reading Ronald Turnbull's 'book of the bivy' i am keen to go bivying in the Lakes this summer,from spring to late autumn.
i have a rab bivybag & want a sleeping bag that is a good compromise between warmth & weight.
i would appreciate any advice from experienced bivy-baggers out there.
i am 6' tall & medium build.
i have a thermarest pro-lite 4 matress.
thanks in advance for any advice.

What temperatures will this be?

probably just below freezing at worst.

Howabout a mountain equipment Dreamcatcher range, they look good bags! The dreamcatcher 500 wil go to -5 and I have a friend who used it last year and highly recomended it!

i had a look & it looks good thanks,its on my 'to investigate list'

http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/The%20Gear/SLEEPING%20BAGS/Down/Dreamcatcher/Dreamcatcher%20500/

I use a gore-tex bivvy and find that i still get some condensation so if you get a down bag i would look for one with a water resistant outer. In summer i just use a cheapo synthetic wynnster bag that cost £20 a few years ago. Just now i've been using a Rab Quantum 250 Endurance and i've been toasty. I usually keep my clothes on as well.

I have a dreamcatcher 500 and I can't praise it enough - it's soooo cosy and comfortable. And it packs down pretty small too, even without extra compression straps. It's the elasticated bits round your legs that do it for me. See my post on later "sleeping bag dilemma" thread for a bit more info (and I said it was a 450 on there - I'm not good at remembering numbers! It's the blue one, whatever number that is)

I've recently purchased a Rab Top Bag on sale from www.outside.co.uk. Weighs about 500g and packs down small. All the down is on the top side of the bag (which is where you need it most) and it is rated to zero. Have spent two very warm nights in this but as Mike said, you can get condensation inside bivy bags, which I did! (not much though)

I also use a Mountain Equipment Dewline which weighs 700g and is rated to -5 degs. This has a water repellent DWR treatment on the shell, which helps to keep the down dry!

Are down bags OK for bivvying or do they get wet with condensation?

I also use a Mountain Equipment Dewline which weighs 700g and is rated to -5 degs. This has a water repellent DWR treatment on the shell, which helps to keep the down dry!

How do you find that bag and how water-repellant is the outer? I've got one coming (an Ebay purchase - couldn't be ignored at £45 buy-it-now) and was thinking about using it with a tarp and bivvy bag.

Stephen,

I don't find the DWR treatment makes a huge difference, as I've still found the bag to be damp in the morning if I've had a lot of condensation in the night.
However, I have been using single skin shelters though to save weight, which aren't great for avoiding condensation.

If you are using a tarp, that should be quite well ventilated and you shouldn't get that problem. The DWR should help to keep off the odd drops of water from getting through to the down.

£45 for a Dewline though - cracking bargin and you're getting a great bag for the money! Packs down small enough to fit inside any rucksack and weighs very little.
The only problem you might find is that you can't open the bag up if you get too hot in the night, as there's no zip. Being a cold sleeper though, this hasn't proved to be an issue for me.

Regards,

Mark

i use a Rab top bag as well. works well with my Rab survival bag and tarp also have a Rab ladakh for winter months.Never had a real problems with down getting wet

mike

Mark - the Dewline has arrived and it does look a very impressive bit of kit. The amount of loft from such a small pack size is amazing. It doesn't pack quite as small as my Vango Venom 225 (that is tiny when packed though) but it's rated for much colder conditions.

I'm quite a warm sleeper and have used the Vengo down to about freezing (it's rathed comfort +8C) without problems so it looks like I might have to wait a while until the conditions are cold enough for me to actually use the Dewline.

Yep. Looking at the forecast for the next few days it's time to use the Summer bag. Give it a few weeks, I'm sure it'll be time to get the 3 season bag out!