Sleeping bags from
top-end
American down specialist Western Mountaineering are now
available
in the UK
giving another option for anyone looking for a high spec sleeping bag.
The California-based
company has been producing specialist down equipment for over 38 years
and use top spec manufacturing techniques and raw materials. The outer
fabrics on their bags are custom-specced for the company and the fill
is Polish goose down with a certified EU900+ fill power.
All the shell panels are custom cut with a hot knife so edges are
sealed, all parts are double stitched with the stitch separated to
minimise down leakage and top and bottom, inside and outside main shell
parts are all a single piece of fabric which reduces the number of
seams, lowers the weight and reduces down leakage.
The bottom line, say importers Beyond Hope, are that the Western
Mountaineering bags 'offer exceptional warmth, weight and durability'.
The specifications are certainly impressive, the Ultralight bag, for
example, has a fill weight of 450 grammes and a total weight of 820
grammes. Similar lightweight bags use less down but have a higher
overall weight, making the WM bag both lighter and warmer.
It's rated at -9˚C for comfort and -27˚C for extreme survival and
retails for approximately £325. To put that in perspective,
that's around £70 more than a Rab Quantum 400, thought the
Western Mountaineering bag has a higher spec and is warmer.
We've seen some of the bags in the flesh and they do ooze quality and
look to be a very interesting option for anyone looking for the best
warmth to weight ratio in a sleeping bag.
More information at
www.westernmountaineering.com
and from the UK importers Beyond Hope at
www.beyondhope.co.uk.
Graham Faithfull (stourvalewalker)
