Bag for a *possible* benighting

[Dave Barter]

Hi all

I am doing a very very lightweight tour in a few weeks and will be in hostels/B&B most nights (I hope). I'm not pre-booking anything so there is always the possibility of having to doss for a night. Any recommendations for a lightweight bag that I could use for the occasional night in a hedge. I'm really keen to keep the weight down and carry next to nothing. One bloke on STW recommended the Macpac EPIC 150 sf which is 500g and waterproof. This seemed ideal but is not made any more.

Cheers Dave

[welshwhit]

If its an emergency bag you can't go far wrong with the blizzard bag at 385g, reusable too but pack size is larger once the vacuum pack seal is broken.



http://www.blizzardsurvival.com/product ... rvival-bag

[JohnClimber]

Under £20
http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-micro ... d=204-2384

[Anthony]

Very good sub 400g sleeping bags (1L packsize, circa £2-300) are easy enough to source from the likes of WM, Montbell, PHD, Yeti.....it's keeping it dry that's the issue if your looking at tramping en route. If the weather is looking favourable then sub 200g water resistant bivvy covers again are readily available, but being designed to be used under a small tarp they can't be fully sealed against the elements and in heavy rain will be an unpleasant nights sleep (or lack of!). Sadly most fully waterproof (think eVent or goretex) bivvybags will be bulky and 400g+.

A well chosen spot in something like the PHD Minim Ultra sleeping bag custom made in their dryshell fabric (fabric will shrug off most, but myriad of seams will let it down) will see you right. But at circa £275 and a possible 4 week manufacture time it's not a simple option! That and you need to allow an hours faffage each night trying to find a suitable spot out of any potential 'weather'.

Trip sounds fun, have a great time.

Anthony

[voodoo_simon]

How about a mountain hardware Lamina 45?

Not sure of its ratings off-hand (5*C?) but it does pack down small and it's synthetic, so didn't matter if it gets damp :)

[alansmout]

I chuck a yeti vib 150 (390g 1l pack size) and an amk heatsheets emergency bivvy in my pack when walking.

Adds very little bulk and gives me a just in case option. Not the best nights sleep as the amk is not breathable but far better than having nothing! In summer I have swapped the sleeping bag for a silk liner. A mat would be useful too, I use an xs neo air and small bit of polyolefin but a roll mat would work too.

[Dave Barter]

alansmount - thanks, I was looking at the yeti and I think you've made my mind up.
Dave

[Bearbonesnorm]

Although the Yeti bags are nice they are a bit spendy and if we're honest will only just keep you warm on a good summer night in the UK.

Something like the Xlite 200 in the link below would get my vote. It's still plenty light enough at 430g, has a rating of +3, packs to 2.5l and best of all, it's less than 150 Euro

http://www.highmobilitygear.com/PBCPPla ... ID=1172579

[alansmout]

@s8tannorm - good point the yeti bags are not the warmest.

@dave barter - one thing worth considering is the yeti does pack much smaller than most bags, around 1.5l.

Cheapest I can see the yeti bag for is £153 delivered here

http://www.mightcontainnuts.com/store/i ... cts_id=674

[Dave Barter]

I've gone for the yeti in the end. Ordered along with a bivi bag, train ticket booked, maps marked up, another bikepacker joins the ranks