I had a moment of weakness whilst I was in the Penrith Survival shop and found myself the proud owner of a Buffalo 4 season outer, inner and thermaliner 
I've owned a Special 6 shirt for years and love it to bits. Its had more use than just about any bit of outdoor kit that I own, being either on my back or in my pack on just about every outing. I have been yearning after the sleeping bag for ages but was unable to find anywhere that had 'em in stock. I was attracted to the idea of a sleep -system- which in theory should be able to provide appropriate gear for spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Okay, first things first. What have I actually got for my money. The 4 season outer comprises of a pertex shell lined with thick fibre pile. The thermaliner is a plain pertex shell and the inner is fibre pile only. All three items have the same basic design and shape, a sort of square shouldered mummey with a fitted hood. The zips are all 3/4 length and run down the middle of the bag. All parts of the system have tapes/toggles to enable them to be 'nested' one inside another.
Quality of construction is excellent, heavy duty free running zips and no loose threads.
I chose the XL size, not so much for the length but for the girth I'm just a little above the recommended weight limit of 238lbs but the bag fits fine with plenty of room at the chest and shoulders. Its worth noting that the bag is not designed to allow you to turn in it. If you roll in your sleep your bag rolls with you. This is due to the close fitting hood which does an excellent job of both keeping your head warm and preventing heat loss from the body of the bag. This design is much more efficient than the combination of head and shoulder baffles/drawstrings that I'm used to having to fiddle with.
Nesting the bags one inside another is a job probably best done before venturing out. Its not difficult in controlled conditions but I would imagine it would be fiddly in the dark with frozen fingers. Getting in the bag also needs a little practice. You need to shuffle down the bag and the get your shoulders and head inside the bag then do the zip up. Obviously if you have the bags nested you will need to fasten the outer bag first and then work inwards.
When I first laid the bag out I will admit to being a little concerned. There is very little in the way of loft and I'd always believed that more loft=more warmth. How was this going to keep me warm. Getting into the bag for the first time was a bit of a revelation, the fibre pile just feels so -warm- against your skin. There isnt that 'warming up' period that you seem to get with other bags.
In use - the first outing the bag had was as a doss bag after a party. I just used the fibre-pile inner and the house (A student property) was bloody freezing. I was toasty. Next usage was a weekends camping in the Lakes. Again the temperature dipped below freezing but I was still toasty, in fact I ended up taking the 4 season outer off and turning it upside down like a quilt over the inner.
Of course the bag is capable of much tougher tests (I hoped) than this so last night I stepped out into the back garden armed with just the sleeping bag, a standard foam sleeping mat and a bit of ground sheet. I slept in wool socks and a set of thermals and spent a fairly passable night. I had the snorkel hood done up really tight and was never cold despite the temperature hitting a low of about -3. I had planned on rolling the groundsheet over the bag to protect it from the odd bursts of sleet/rain but it kept blowing off and I gave in in the end. By morning the pertex outer was pretty much soaked through and the outer layer of pile was damp. There were a few spots of moisture on the thermaliner but the inner layer of pile was totally dry. Result The wet outer dried very happily and quickly on a warm radiator but would have dried just as happily with body heat.
I wouldnt have liked to have attempted this sort of bivy (Even in the back garden) in any other kind of sleeping bag. My other attempts at bivvying in bad weather have all relied on gortex bivvy bags which are just condensation traps.
Downsides? Its expensive, you get little change from £200
Its heavy. No it really is heavy mine weighs about 3kg
Its bulky. The full system takes up about half of my 80l sack and it doesnt compress at all.
It doesnt like flame, the inner already has a small hole caused by a careless smoker at the above-mentioned party
Overall I'm really happy with my purchase. I just -know- that its going to last me for years and years and (hopefully) give me many nights comfy sleep. I'd be pleased to answer any questions that anyone has.
Cheers,
Simon
I've owned a Special 6 shirt for years and love it to bits. Its had more use than just about any bit of outdoor kit that I own, being either on my back or in my pack on just about every outing. I have been yearning after the sleeping bag for ages but was unable to find anywhere that had 'em in stock. I was attracted to the idea of a sleep -system- which in theory should be able to provide appropriate gear for spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Okay, first things first. What have I actually got for my money. The 4 season outer comprises of a pertex shell lined with thick fibre pile. The thermaliner is a plain pertex shell and the inner is fibre pile only. All three items have the same basic design and shape, a sort of square shouldered mummey with a fitted hood. The zips are all 3/4 length and run down the middle of the bag. All parts of the system have tapes/toggles to enable them to be 'nested' one inside another.
Quality of construction is excellent, heavy duty free running zips and no loose threads.
I chose the XL size, not so much for the length but for the girth
I'm just a little above the recommended weight limit of 238lbs but the bag fits fine with plenty of room at the chest and shoulders. Its worth noting that the bag is not designed to allow you to turn in it. If you roll in your sleep your bag rolls with you. This is due to the close fitting hood which does an excellent job of both keeping your head warm and preventing heat loss from the body of the bag. This design is much more efficient than the combination of head and shoulder baffles/drawstrings that I'm used to having to fiddle with.Nesting the bags one inside another is a job probably best done before venturing out. Its not difficult in controlled conditions but I would imagine it would be fiddly in the dark with frozen fingers. Getting in the bag also needs a little practice. You need to shuffle down the bag and the get your shoulders and head inside the bag then do the zip up. Obviously if you have the bags nested you will need to fasten the outer bag first and then work inwards.
When I first laid the bag out I will admit to being a little concerned. There is very little in the way of loft and I'd always believed that more loft=more warmth. How was this going to keep me warm. Getting into the bag for the first time was a bit of a revelation, the fibre pile just feels so -warm- against your skin. There isnt that 'warming up' period that you seem to get with other bags.
In use - the first outing the bag had was as a doss bag after a party. I just used the fibre-pile inner and the house (A student property) was bloody freezing. I was toasty. Next usage was a weekends camping in the Lakes. Again the temperature dipped below freezing but I was still toasty, in fact I ended up taking the 4 season outer off and turning it upside down like a quilt over the inner.
Of course the bag is capable of much tougher tests (I hoped) than this so last night I stepped out into the back garden armed with just the sleeping bag, a standard foam sleeping mat and a bit of ground sheet. I slept in wool socks and a set of thermals and spent a fairly passable night. I had the snorkel hood done up really tight and was never cold despite the temperature hitting a low of about -3. I had planned on rolling the groundsheet over the bag to protect it from the odd bursts of sleet/rain but it kept blowing off and I gave in in the end. By morning the pertex outer was pretty much soaked through and the outer layer of pile was damp. There were a few spots of moisture on the thermaliner but the inner layer of pile was totally dry. Result
The wet outer dried very happily and quickly on a warm radiator but would have dried just as happily with body heat.I wouldnt have liked to have attempted this sort of bivy (Even in the back garden) in any other kind of sleeping bag. My other attempts at bivvying in bad weather have all relied on gortex bivvy bags which are just condensation traps.
Downsides? Its expensive, you get little change from £200
Its heavy. No it really is heavy
mine weighs about 3kgIts bulky. The full system takes up about half of my 80l sack and it doesnt compress at all.
It doesnt like flame, the inner already has a small hole caused by a careless smoker at the above-mentioned party
Overall I'm really happy with my purchase. I just -know- that its going to last me for years and years and (hopefully) give me many nights comfy sleep. I'd be pleased to answer any questions that anyone has.
Cheers,
Simon
