ok, here's an update for those who're not sooo bored of my inane quest for the perfect (non-existent) sleeping bag that they've committed suicide.....

i've decided to play it safe (read: be a bit of a pussy) and not take a risk and get a sleeping-quilt.

the reason being that this will be already my second purchase of a sleeping bag in as many months and i can't afford to not like it and find myself in the market for yet another sleeping bag.

so.....i've got a compromise to make (in order to get a bag that will work for my trip).

do i:

1. get something synthetic and light but that isn't rated to the lower temperatures i might possibly encounter?

2. get something synthetic and warm but that isn't as light as i would like?

3. get something warm and light but that isn't synthetic and so i could be in trouble if it gets wet?

each option could be fine or could make my trip a misery if i get it wrong for what happens to happen along the way - arse!

i'm a little miffed and more than a little bored of this search!

anyone got any other possibilities to throw out there....?

i promise that i'll shut-up about bloody sleeping bags after this - honest!

cheers, gairy.

I'm enjoying this :)

Below is a link to a sleeping bag - it has a synthetic fill, suits folk up to 6'6", has a temp rating of well below 0 and is on offer at £55. However ... it's slightly heavier than you were looking for BUT being cold at night will spoil your trip much more than carrying an extra 500g ever could. It's also a nice shade of blue rather than some dayglo orange or yellow.


http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN61105

Don't mention it

s8tannorm wrote:Below is a link to a sleeping bag - it has a synthetic fill, suits folk up to 6'6", has a temp rating of well below 0 and is on offer at £55. However ... it's slightly heavier than you were looking for BUT being cold at night will spoil your trip much more than carrying an extra 500g ever could. It's also a nice shade of blue rather than some dayglo orange or yellow.

i'm glad someone's enjoying it!

that North Face bag doesn't look like a bad option at all.

i've been looking at some mammut bags and there seems to be a whole bunch which are suitable for around the £100 mark???

something like:

http://www.trekkinn.com/outdoor-mountai ... er/12023/p

or

http://www.trekkinn.com/outdoor-mountai ... on/12022/p

any experience of mammut bags?

it's a little extra cash for a small amount of weight saving (as long as the warmth is there).

I used a ajungilak bag for years ... it was a good 'un. Only got retired when the zip self destructed one cold night

ok, i can't keep my eyes open any longer - after this post i'm off to bed!

it seems to me that if i was going to get the mammut 'ajungilak kompakt traveller' then maybe i should reconsider the north face 'lynx'?

(similar temp rating and price but lighter at 850g)

and.....

if i am considering the mammut 'ajungilak kompakt 3 season' then why not get the north face 'aleutian' you linked to?

(similar weight and temp rating but half the price)

i feel like i'm losing my mind!

If its any consolation, it took me 4 months of googling, research and contemplation before choosing my PHD Minim Ultra. Which was no bad thing as it gave me chance to save up the money! Normally I'm an impulse buyer.

Don't rush, something will stand out eventually.

TBH, down isn't that difficult to keep dry.

ok, i've slept and have awoken refreshed and ready for another full day of endlessly looking through the same websites and re-reading the same nonsense about sleeping bags i've already looked at.

well.....that and go to the dentists, feed the animals, build some units downstairs, draw-up some plumbing plans, go shopping, try and find some more hay for the sheep, hassle the bloody french electrician who simply won't turn up and many other farm/renovation related gubbins but.....in the back of my mind it'll be all about the sleeping bag!!!

anthony,

that's the worst part about it - i keep coming back to that myself which means that i'm not yet even fully decided about the insulation!

the problem is that i could easily find myself in 3-4 days of solid rain with just a tarp/bivi and nowhere to air the bag between nights, nowhere to pack things up without getting it at least a little wet, nowhere to sleep that is actually water-free and in those conditions (miserable and wet) the very last thing i'd need would be to have zero sleep because in my fatigued condition i didn't manage to keep my sleeping bag dry - i think it would finish me off.

i think that if i were going for a shorter trip or using a tent i'd go for down but for what i'm doing i think it's best to go synthetic.

or is it.....?

aaarrgghhh!?!?!?!

ok, one thing at a time.

dentists first and then back to google!

There may be another, wildcard option here Gairy. I've got one of these and it does do exactly what it's meant to ie, it's a waterproof down bag. It's also had quite a chunk of cash knocked off.


http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cf ... 51/level/3

That Mountain Hardwear might be too short, there standard length version doesn't fit me at 6'4"

how about this one....?

http://www.sunnysports.com/prod/MHWBSL. ... 06348344-2

my wife's cousin is visiting from the US in a few weeks - she could bring it with her and save my the $50 shipping fee???

still works out at about 170 quid though - hmmm.....

or this:

http://www.sunnysports.com/Prod/Categor ... BRVRL.html

this looks like it could be worth further investigation???

That mountain Hardwear bag with a conduit over shell, highlights what I said earlier, think about it as a system, use a bag like that and forget the need for a bivvy bag, the tarp will keep rain off you. The second GoLite bag, I wouldn't bother with and just get the quilt.

For what it's worth I reckon that north face bag Stuart found at the outdoor shop is a bargain and the best option out of everything on here.

Cheap, warm and light is a combination that doesn't go together very often, look at the stuff being used, Phd, GoLite, Mont-Bell, warm and light comes at a price and certain amount of compromise, zips, backs in bags!

didnothingfatal wrote:That mountain Hardwear bag with a conduit over shell, highlights what I said earlier, think about it as a system, use a bag like that and forget the need for a bivvy bag, the tarp will keep rain off you.

so.....if i got this bag you're saying that i could get away with just taking the bag, sleeping mat and a tarp - no bivi bag at all???

how about a groundsheet?

didnothingfatal wrote:The second GoLite bag, I wouldn't bother with and just get the quilt.

this looked a good possibility to me (a kind of best-of both worlds set-up) as it's light and reversible and yet warm and roomy - no?

and.....i'm almost certain that i'll experiment with a quilt at some point in the future (when immediate confidence in performance isn't an issue).

didnothingfatal wrote:For what it's worth I reckon that north face bag Stuart found at the outdoor shop is a bargain and the best option out of everything on here.

i definitely like the cheapness of this solution but it's not only quite heavy but also packs quite large and so that (and the bivi) mean that it'd be a lot weightier than the Mountain Hardwear 'Spectre SL 20F'.

hmmm.....so many factors to take into consideration.

from my test-rides with all of my new kit i am (right now) a little more worried by weight than i was when i started planning this trip and i'm concerned that if i don't make a concerted effort to keep things as light as possible that i won't be able to enjoy the technical riding that the alps has to offer and that the climbs will become miserable walks.

ok, more thinking to be done.....

thanks again guys for taking the time to talk me through all of this - it's all very much appreciated!

gairy.

You could always spend the money on a super-light tent which will give you confidence to take a lighter, smaller down bag

My TN Photon1 was £200 (granted in a very good sale) and this combined with my PHD sleeping bag weighs circa 1050g in total (w/o pegs) and will pack a lot smaller than a bivvy/tarp/synthetic 0'C (lower comfort) sleeping bag combo.

A small lightweight tent a has lot going for it if your trip may contain several days of sustained rain.

Tent-

He's got a point you know.

No he doesn't, all this to pick a sleeping bag, he hasn't got time to decide on tents before he sets off on the trip

Anthony wrote:You could always spend the money on a super-light tent which will give you confidence to take a lighter, smaller down bag

that barely audible 'pop' you may have just heard (followed by a very faint smell of burning) was my head imploding from too many possibilities!

didnothingfatal wrote:No he doesn't, all this to pick a sleeping bag, he hasn't got time to decide on tents before he sets off on the trip ;)

DNF - you definitely have a point!


ok, here's my attempt to bring this all together into something that i can understand.....

(all prices are the cheapest i can find online and if there's no price then i already own said item)

option 1 - tarp, bivi and synthetic sleeping bag.

tarp = £0 and 700g
bivi = £0 and 500g
bag = £55 and 1650g

total = £55 and 2850g

summary - cheap but heavy.

option 2 - waterproof down bag and tarp.

tarp = £0 and 700g (possibly less if i use the 300g 1.5m x 3m tarp from stuart)
waterproof down bag = £170 and 1200g

total = £170 and 1900g (possibly as little as 1500g)

summary - quite expensive but reasonably light.

option 3 - expensive tent and light down bag

tent = £250 and 720g (TN Photon)
sleeping bag = £100 and 800g

total = £350 and 1520g

summary - the most expensive but lightest option.

option 4 - cheap tent and light down bag

tent = £30 and 1500g (Gelert 'Solo')
sleeping bag = £100 and 800g

total = £130 and 2300g

summary - 2nd cheapest and 2nd heaviest option.

conclusions (in so far as i ever seem to reach any these days!):

- the more i spend the lighter it'll get.

- the expensive tent option just can't happen with the budget i'm working with.

- i like the idea of a tarp more than a tent but i've got a feeling that future me might not agree if/when i end up laying in a bag for days on end in the pouring rain.

so.....have we reached closure on this topic???

no.

have we moved forward and is there even a glimmer of an end in sight?

not really.

bugger!

ok, i'm going to do some more (soul) searching and see what i come up with.....

yours physically and mentally exhausted, gairy.

1.5 x 3m tarp - 300g
Venom bag - 800g
Bivvy bag - 500g

Total - 1600g

That's it, job done, you don't need anything else. I wouldn't want to sleep in any sleeping bag if it was wet, it'll be a pretty crap night no matter what it's made from.

Pack your stuff in quality dry bags, air it as and when you can and you'll be fine.

Have you considered that you could shed another 320g from the list above by changing your bivvy bag to a Terra Nova Moonlite?

TN laser ultra 500g
Phd quilt 300g
Windscreen sun shade 50g

All in under a kilo, no need to worry about rain either

So there you have it, you need to buy some serious gear, and sod the expense :)

s8tannorm wrote:1.5 x 3m tarp - 300g
Venom bag - 800g
Bivvy bag - 500g

Total - 1600g

That's it, job done, you don't need anything else. I wouldn't want to sleep in any sleeping bag if it was wet, it'll be a pretty crap night no matter what it's made from.

Pack your stuff in quality dry bags, air it as and when you can and you'll be fine.

Have you considered that you could shed another 320g from the list above by changing your bivvy bag to a Terra Nova Moonlite?

other than the Venom being a little small for me i think you may be on to something!

maybe all i need is to find a Long down bag of similar quality and weight and be done with it.

look out for a new 'LONG lightweight down sleeping bag' thread coming soon to a forum near you.

didnothingfatal wrote:TN laser ultra 500g
Phd quilt 300g
Windscreen sun shade 50g

All in under a kilo, no need to worry about rain either

So there you have it, you need to buy some serious gear, and sod the expense :)

sir, i like your style but unfortunately that idea won't fly with the mrs!

there's a part of me that wants to plan for every eventuality and then another part of me which thinks f*ck-it i'll get some reasonable/sensible kit that's suitable for most situations and then wing-it if something extreme happens.

apologies to everyone for the behemoth that is this thread!

- the more i spend the lighter it'll get.

I believe that's the first definitive statement we've had all thread

Ian wrote:

- the more i spend the lighter it'll get.

I believe that's the first definitive statement we've had all thread

true!

ive been up all night with a weird stomach thing and after getting no sleep i'm thinking that simply not sleeping at all would be easier than this whole bag choosing malarky.

maybe i'll just do that on my trip....?

Not sleeping, just keep riding? I know of some products that can help with that, you may shake a little, and don't touch caffeine, but you'll be ok

Have you considered a Reactor inner sleeping bag? Go google that, as that will add minimal weight and up the operating temps of what you have at minimal weight.

WE HAVE CLOSURE!!!!!

you may have noticed that I've been a little indecisive throughout this decision making process but.....an hour ago I ordered my new, longer length, (down) sleeping bag.

well....."what did he go for" I hear you ask....?

I opted to get the Mountain Hardwear 'Spectre SL 20F' waterproof down bag.

this coupled with my tarp will come in at a little over 1500g (with no need for a bivi bag).

i'm happy with this outcome and will hopefully be happy with the resulting performance (although I think that I'm happiest that the search is at long last over).

there've been some highs and lows throughout this thread and I think we've all learned a little something about ourselves - it's been emotional!

thanks for hanging in there and for all of your advice (and piss-taking) - t'was very much appreciated.

cheers, gairy.

Good choice ... I've got a Spectre SL 32 and it's right nice. Someone I ride with has a 20 and he loves it, the thing doesn't half loft well.