Ok, may have possibly gone a little overkill with the pictures but hopefully this gives you a good idea badger.....
Heres a pic of it on top of my czech bedroll. The bedroll is well know for fitting the larger specimens among us and you can see the bag is very similar in size at its widest and longest points. Looks like a winner for taller or wider set fellas.
I measured the bag and length was around 6ft 4" and width at the widest point around 2ft 3".
This hopefully gives some indication of the lining. The overall bag traps air quite well I think for something that is full of man made fibres. The zip gets really well insulated on both sides too. You have the velcro layered lining on the inside of the zip and then a really thick section that covers the outside of the zip. Slightly closer view:
Close up of the head cover with draw cord. Fairly standard set up really and closes over the face almost completely if you can bare it. Only thing which would have been a nice addition would be a shoulder baffle as any cold air that gets in to the face opening can make its way in to the bag.
These toggles are all the way down both sides of the bag. To button in to a bivi perhaps?
This isn't a standard feature
An idea I got from Harvestman and a very good one at that. Means there's always a source of light at hand when in the bag. Can get pretty difficult fumbling around for a torch in the darkness.
Here's the compression sack it will go in to, borrowed from Harvestman as I didn't know what size I needed. This one is a 20L which is about perfect for getting the bag in without a fight.
All packed down. For a point of reference, I placed it next to an old washing up bowl now used for storing/drying my kindling. You'll have to ignore the bag not being properly closed at the top. The velcro doesn't hold up well so I'll probably go for one of the army type compression bags where there is a seperate "lid" that covers the opening and gets pulled in by the compression straps. I think it makes the chance of anything damp getting at the bag while packed much less likely.
For reference the bowl is 10L and the bag will go inside but just pokes out a bit depth wise. At a guess then, packed down you're looking at around 12 litres give or take?
Seems reasonable enough to me for a £30 bag but I'll say now its my first (what I'd call) proper sleeping bag. No doubt there are much better ones out there but can they be bought for £30 or less? I don't know.
As said in my earlier post, the night I went out was forecast to drop to -3. There was thick ice around a cm thick on puddles we passed on the outskirts of the wood the following morning. Granted that my tarp which was pegged to the ground in an apex design with an opening each end, pitched under some dense trees may have caused a slightly warmer micro climate for me but I think its safe to say it was at least 0 degrees where I slept in just boxers inside this bag on top of the bedroll. I'd say in this state I was at the upper end of the bags comfort rating. I wasn't cold or shivering but come the dawn I did chuck a Tshirt and fleece on. I should also mention I did have a silk liner inside the sleeping bag.
Final comparison with the only other bag I own, a Tesco summer bag. It packs down very small that one but the comfort rating is at around 13 degrees so considering the extra warmth the dutch bag gives it seems like a reasonable pay off on the size front.
Hope that helps
