I'm new here, stumbled across this forum while searching online for a sleeping bag and was impressed by the friendly and helpful advice I saw here, which has helped me to narrow my choice down to two. I wonder if one offer a little more help to make my decision easier?
First things first, I'm female, 5'2" and usually camp in the UK in the summer/autumn, though hoping to venture to Norway and/or the Alps next year. With a trip to Snowdon also planned next month I need a new sleeping bag. I want something synthetic (not down, for ethical reasons - I'd rather not get into a debate in my first post here!) and easy to carry. I figured I need a 3 season and have narrowed it down to two;
The Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20 (women's fit for short me!, lighter and it looks really snuggly!) or the Snugpak softie 9 Hawk (far too long for me, and slightly heavier but smaller to pack and about £25 cheaper at the best price I can find online but the reviews I've seen of these seem to be mixed). I'm just wondering whether anyone could offer any comments through personal experience of either of these bags that might help to tip my decision one way or the other?
hi Trix My wife has the lamina 20 and is very happy with it - its got a very small pack size for a synthetic bag and it feels really soft and luxurious to touch, so it nice against the skin. It is a very nice bag. One thing to bear in mind is that the published weight does not include the compressing stuff sack - its works really well but it weighs about 140g on its own. MH also provide a large mesh bag to store it in when not on the hill. So you can store it at home without it being compressed and losing its loft.
Plenty of snugpak experience and, though I don't have a MHW bag, believe MHW to be better and the size for you is important. No point carrying 12 inches of bag you don't need. I am looking to replace a snugpak bag soon and was very impressed by the ultra laminas. I believe them to be a bit warmer for weight than Snugpak.
The MHW lamina synthetic fill is much better than the fill in my SnugPak and Mountain Equipment bags (in my opinion). Its not as chunky, compresses much smaller and the bag fabric makes it feel much nicer to touch. The ladies fit will be more snug than a std Snugpak too.
Fantastic, I was leaning towards the Lamina anyway but just wanted to justify the extra cost to myself! I've frozen in cheap bags before and while it's certainly a lot more money than the Eurohike bags I've seen on sale in Millets, I want quality this time. Bet I'll be boiling in it now but I'd rather unzip it than be too cold!
Related to this (sort of...) can anyone explain the difference between lamina and ultra lamina bags from Mountain Hardwear? It seems that Mountain Hardwear are selling more sleeping bags in UK now and I will give them a serious look as they seem lighter than snugpak. Thanks.
I'd go with the MHW Lamina. The 20 is a great size and has a really good warmth to weight ration, the Snugpack Hawk is still a good bag, but I have a slight love affair with MHW after using the Lamina 0 on an overnight trek in Canada. A three season bag is a good investment, and with things such as the Snugpack Thermalon liner available it's pretty cheap to add the extra five degrees to take it up to a full four season bag.
Ben, I haven't had a proper look at the ultralamina range but one of the new features is dual side zips, so you can sit up and prepare meals etc more easily. This may be one of those 'is it actually worth the extra cash' things. I'm a sucker for new, if slightly useless, features though...
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