Sleeping bags

[rudedog]

I'm after a new bag for a trip to the Cairngorms in May. My budget is around £100 and I've narrowed it down to either the Mountain Hardware ratio 45 or the Montane Featherlite. Both are down and are similar weights, rated for similar temps, similar price (£115) and have full length zips - I'm leaning toward the ratio as it has hydrophobic down. Just wondered if anyone had any experience of either or knew of any other similar priced bargains before I hit the button?

cheers

Rob

[voodoo_simon]

Personally, I would find a bag rated at 45F to be too cold for Scotland in May. I have two mountain hardware bags, a phantom 32 which I use Easter onwards and a lamina 45, which is a loan out bag for mid summer only

[rudedog]

Yeah I did think about that, I'm generally a warm sleeper and was thinking I could put some clothes on if the temp drops below 4 degrees though. I've got an alpkit down jacket which worked OK as a quilt inside my bag before when it got cold - its not ideal but there's always a compromise when you looking to save money/weight etc.

[Bearbonesnorm]

At around 750g, both bags seem heavy for the warmth, the Montane only has 170g of insulation, so that's 580g of 'bag' you're carrying about. The down in both is roughly the same fp, although the spec looks different Montane are quoting (the higher) US figures which seems a bit naughty for a UK company.

I still think this is the bag bargain of the year, granted it's a little over budget but well worth the extra. Luckily F&T are bad at writing blurb and getting descriptions right, which tends to produce some true gems

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/vango-catal ... e=78119690

[Chew]

Stu's right, bargain of the year. Seen a couple of these in use and i cant fault them (especially for that price)

Scrimp and scrap on any other bit of kit, but not your sleeping bag. Its the one area i'd say spend a few extra quid on to make sure you get something which will keep you comfortable over night.

[ScotRoutes]

Personally, I would find a bag rated at 45F to be too cold for Scotland in May. I have two mountain hardware bags, a phantom 32 which I use Easter onwards and a lamina 45, which is a loan out bag for mid summer only

Yep, come May, I'll be using my Lamina 32. Seems warm enough for me. Not sure a 45 would cut it.

[rudedog]

Thanks for the replies - that vango-catalyst does seem a good deal, the only thing thats putting me off the is that it doesn't have a full zip. Being able to open the bottom of the bag for ventilation is something I've really missed on my current bag.

[Karl]

I have the Vango bag and I'm really happy with it. I thought the half zip would of been a problem at first but I've got along with it really easily. Weight and size of the bag compressed was the biggest selling point for me. I've used it on the northern winter bivvy and had a comfortable nights sleep.

[sillybigfella]

As someone who sleeps cold, my only concern is that it wouldn't be warm enough. I think the comfort rating is 2 degrees.

[Richen987]

That Vango does look a bargain,
As a slightly different offering that I have found for around £100-£120, the Robens Causcaus 300 is pretty good.
a slightly lower comfort rating at -1, but uses duck down rather than goose and the fp is 600 so the bag weight with included drybay is 980g.

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/robens-c ... lsrc=aw.ds
http://www.robens.de/en/Products/Sleepi ... us300.aspx

I have been using this all winter with a silk liner and a down mat and has done me fine whilst still being reasonably light weight. If you shop around a bit you may be able to find one cheap, I paid £95 for mine in a sale.