Paws on the first sleeping bag we've seen from top-end US down specialists, Western Mountaineering.
We recently told you a bit about the launch of
kit
from US down specialists Western Mountaineering
in the UK and now we've got our paws on an Apache, one of
their top-end sleeping bags, for a look.
It's the first chance
we've had to take a proper look at a Western Mountaineering bag and
with a price tag of £340 for a bag rated to -10C -
the extreme, survival, rating is -29˚C by the way - so we're expecting
a lot.
Why the highish price? Well, for starters the bags are made in the States
and are some of the most carefully specced and produced pieces of
outdoor kit we've seen. The company has been making sleeping bags for
38 years now and should know their stuff.
The basics include East European 850+ fill power goose down,
differential cut hoods and main bags so the inner is smaller than the
outer to eliminate excess fabric and maximise lofting. Fabrics are top
spec and completely downproof, parts are double stitched and main shell
parts are a single piece of fabric to minimise seams and potential weak
points and leakage.
The fabric panels are custom cut with a hot knife so the edges are
sealed and... well we could go on, but you've probably got the basic
message which is that these bags are made with obsessive care from top
quality ingredients.
Stuff we noticed subjectively on first acquaintance are that the thing
lofts like mad. That the side baffle has a laminated strip sitting
against the main, double-ended YKK zip to minimise snagging without
adding much weight. That the bag weighs a real 930 grammes, that the
down seems really evenly distributed and that the baffles at side and
3D-sewn collar are nice and plump, so they should work well.
Western Mountaineering say it's a 2-3 season bag, but we suspect it's
going to prove a lot warmer than you'd expect.
Of course for £340 it should be very, very good and we're
looking forward to using it as things get cooler this winter and
reporting back.
More information at
www.westernmountaineering.com.
Stockist info from
www.beyondhope.co.uk.
