budget lightweight sleeping bag question

[gairym]

evening all,

i'm looking to get a new sleeping bag for bikepacking and i've found two bags which look to fit my needs and was wondering if anyone on here has any experience of either/both and, if so, are they any good???

they are:

1. Snugpak Travelpak Extreme - (http://www.snugpak.com/index.php?MenuID ... ItemID=152)

2. Gelert X-Treme Lite 800 - (http://www.gelert.com/products/x-treme_ ... eeping_bag)

i've found them both online for £30ish and so it's down to size/weight/warmth/quality priorities.

any thoughts....?

is there anything else out there that i've overlooked?

cheers for any input, gairy.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Gairy, like many I am a sleeping bag snob ... but I'll try not to be.

What sort of temps are you expecting to see ? The temp ratings seem a little odd, the snugpak bag says comfort of 2 degrees then goes on to say that it's ideal for summer and indoor use.

If I had to pick one of the two, I'd go for the snugpak. If you could up your budget I would but if that's your top limit I'd go secondhand or see if Tesco are still doing their down bags.


EDIT: Just found this, it's the same price but should actully keep you warm. Not the lightest or smallest pack size but not a bad compromise really.
http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN70184

EDIT 2: Just remembered Decathlon bags. I've got one kicking about somewhere and they're very well made. The ratings seem very honest too
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/hiking-sleep ... ports.html

EDIT 3: I'm enjoying this now - We've upped the weight a bit and the price by a fiver but this WILL keep you warm in most situations.
http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/snugpak_slee ... eping_bag/

Right, someone elses turn now

[gairym]

s8tannorm,

thanks for your input.

re: expected temp - i'll be using it in the alps in july (as well as for general bikepacking/camping duties) and so the weather should be warm but could potentially turn cold.

re: cost - it's not all i'm willing to pay but i'm very keen to keep costs down and so i'd rather not spend more unless it's necessary.

that Vango looks ok but what are your thoughts on this:

http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN70190

it's not under the magic 1kg but it looks like it'd do the job.

[Bearbonesnorm]

what are your thoughts on this:

I saw that yesterday but didn't mention it due to the temp rating of 'comfort 6 degrees'. I'm possibly thinking it's colder in the Alps in summer than it really is or I might just be soft My 'summer' bag last year had a comfort rating of 4 degrees and there were times that even with a layer of clothes on, I wasn't exactly warm.

[gairym]

no worries - i went crazy this morning and bought this:

http://www.vango.co.uk/sleeping-bags/venom-300.html

RRP £117.50 but i got it for £69 (not a bad deal i hope!)

i'm now thinking that you're going to say something like "well, if you were willing to spend that much i could have recommended something that weighs 50g and was comfortable down to -50" - no?

i'd be interested to hear your thoughts on what i went for!

thanks for all your help (i hadn't seen the vango's until you mention them).

look out for my "budget lightweight tent question" thread coming soon to a forum near you!

cheers, gairy.

[griffdowg]

Check what the ratings comply to. hopefully EN13537, if not walk away.

The standard measures four temperature ratings:

Upper Limit — the temperature at which a standard man can sleep without excessive perspiration. It is established with the hood and zippers open and with the arms outside of the bag.

Comfort — the temperature at which a standard woman can expect to sleep comfortably in a relaxed position.

Lower Limit — the temperature at which a standard man can sleep for eight hours in a curled position without waking.

Extreme — the minimum temperature at which a standard woman can remain for six hours without risk of death from hypothermia (though frostbite is still possible).

standard man is assumed to be 25 years old, with a height of 1.73 m and a weight of 73 kg; a "standard woman" is assumed to be 25 years old, with a height of 1.60 m and a weight of 60 kg.

for comparison my Mountain Hardware Lamina 35 is comfort 5 limit 1 and I used it on the Mach n Back with some clothing and was toasty warm. Using my other bags and with these ratings it is vary easy to compare bags like for like.

We were down in the Alps 2009 between 2000-3000m in September and it was cold at night, from memory it was around -2 to +2 so hovering around 0c but that was high up.

It also depends on the quality of the rest of your sleep system.

Keep your eye out for specials as sleeping bags can be had cheap. Particularly Rock Bottom (cotswold outdoors) and go outdoors.

G

[gairym]

griffdowg,

thanks for the heads-up (i had no idea about that).

it was a tense few minutes as i looked to see if the bag i've now purchased had said qualifications i can tell thee - but.....thankfully.....it does!

i went for the vango venom 300 (http://www.vango.co.uk/sleeping-bags/venom-300.html) and so i'm hoping that i'll be happy with it (and it was a bargain!).

cheers, gairy.

[griffdowg]

griffdowg,

thanks for the heads-up (i had no idea about that).

cheers, gairy.

The bigger makes generally have the $$$ to do the testing. I notice Alpkit dont run to EN but British standard and are a very honest company so you can take their temps as a given to.

Looking at the EN standard the 'limit' rating does not seem all that bad!

G

[Anthony]

The beauty of down is that, for usual simple box-wall constructions, it's difficult to be anything but honest.

300g of 600US fill down is just that. Within reason you can't make it any warmer than the specification listed, regardless of who has manufactured it.

I would say it looks a great buy tbh. A summer bag for sure but good weight, small packsize and will last years.

[gairym]

I would say it looks a great buy tbh. A summer bag for sure but good weight, small packsize and will last years.

let's hope that you're right!!!

will post a review once it's been thoroughly tested.