HI im thinking of buying a snugpak softie 9, for british use, most of the year, would this be anygood? or can anyone reccomend a different model which would be better suited. ideally as cheap as possible.
cheers
alex
cheers
alex
Snugpak Softie 9 Hawk Sleeping Bag
- Thread starter odin13
- Start date
-
Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
Alex
A search (or a browse through this forum) should turn up lots of opinions on sleeping bags, it's a very regularly discussed issue. As the old line goes.. Some people swear by Snugpak.. others swear at them.
Myself I use the Softie 9 and have found it great.. but then I'm a warm sleeper and haven't been out in the worst of winter weather with it. This time of year I'll use the Merlin, ie softie 3 because the 9 would be too hot for me.
A search (or a browse through this forum) should turn up lots of opinions on sleeping bags, it's a very regularly discussed issue. As the old line goes.. Some people swear by Snugpak.. others swear at them.
Myself I use the Softie 9 and have found it great.. but then I'm a warm sleeper and haven't been out in the worst of winter weather with it. This time of year I'll use the Merlin, ie softie 3 because the 9 would be too hot for me.
I'm from the swear at camp - firmly so. It's difficult to choose a bag for all year use - for winter a -10 rated bag will keep you warm in all conditions, but you wouldn't want that for summer. But a lighter bag wouldn't be nice at all for winter.
I'd recommend the Nanok Endurance 0 and -10 - these can be nested too if it gets really bad, or if you go abroad somewhere cold. Other forum users have this combination. A quick look at nanok.no gives quite a few reasons why they're better bags - one they don't mention is that their temperature ratings are true, almost to the point of underestimation. This means that the bags tend to be heavier than what appears to be the equivalent, although in truth it's just false marketing on the others' part. If you want any more reasons to buy Nanok, take a look through my previous posts! (I swear I'm not affiliated with Nanok in any way!
)
I'd recommend the Nanok Endurance 0 and -10 - these can be nested too if it gets really bad, or if you go abroad somewhere cold. Other forum users have this combination. A quick look at nanok.no gives quite a few reasons why they're better bags - one they don't mention is that their temperature ratings are true, almost to the point of underestimation. This means that the bags tend to be heavier than what appears to be the equivalent, although in truth it's just false marketing on the others' part. If you want any more reasons to buy Nanok, take a look through my previous posts! (I swear I'm not affiliated with Nanok in any way!
)
Alex,
I normally reccomend the softie 9. It weighs 1.5 kilos and packs up very small. It is long and is of good build quality.The materials used are soft and comfortable and the filling works better than others I've used when it's wet.
Obviously there are many other choices but I'm not familiar with them. Whilst looking on their website recently with a mate, we discovered a bag I hadn't heard of. It was called "The Sleeping Bag". These went down to -7 and weighed only 1.1 kilos. I would like to buy one of these as well. Not sure of the price.
Julian.
I normally reccomend the softie 9. It weighs 1.5 kilos and packs up very small. It is long and is of good build quality.The materials used are soft and comfortable and the filling works better than others I've used when it's wet.
Obviously there are many other choices but I'm not familiar with them. Whilst looking on their website recently with a mate, we discovered a bag I hadn't heard of. It was called "The Sleeping Bag". These went down to -7 and weighed only 1.1 kilos. I would like to buy one of these as well. Not sure of the price.
Julian.
I have both a Softie 6 and a Softie 10 (bought it on sale, like 50% off). I think that the Softie 9 will probably do for most times, possibly not all year though. I used the 10 in a hammock in the middle of winter, it only got down to about -2degC and I was warm, hammocks are a much harsher test than a basha and much more than a tent. I agree that Snugpak are REALLY optimistic about what temperatures their bags will keep you warm in.
I think if I had bought the Softie 9 I would not have bothered to get the 10, but the 6 is just not warm enough in the hammock for anything but warm weather. I am not a swear by, or swear at, they have filled a gap and worked adequately while I learn the ropes. I haven't worked them all that hard, but I would be kidding myself if I pretended that I would
I think if I had bought the Softie 9 I would not have bothered to get the 10, but the 6 is just not warm enough in the hammock for anything but warm weather. I am not a swear by, or swear at, they have filled a gap and worked adequately while I learn the ropes. I haven't worked them all that hard, but I would be kidding myself if I pretended that I would
for summer/spring/autumn i use a highlander voyager ultra compact.
it ways 900g packs down to 25cm by 13cm or so - so it's really handy for when i am on my bike.
it ways 900g packs down to 25cm by 13cm or so - so it's really handy for when i am on my bike.
That highlander voyager compact looks good, could be just what I need for summer use. I would probably get away with it a bit later in the year as I sleep very warm. For winter use I have just inherited a rab, but I also have a current issue UK army bag, its just a bit on the large size when packed.
flibb said:
The Army bags do keep you warm but are bulky. I read something that made me laugh. " packing away an army sleeping bag into your bergen is like trying to pack a rapidly inflating rubber elephant into a matchbox"!
This was in the days of the '58 pack however, but the same still applies!
Julian.
I've got the option of buying a CAMP down sleeping bag rated to -5, that weighs 1kg, for 25 pounds. I figured that whilst I'm in the tropics I can sleep with it open if I'm too hot and when I get back to the UK it'd be good for a spot of winter camping that I want to do. Does that sound reasonable? Do people use down sleeping bags much in winter in britain, or is the dampness too problematic? I'm tempted by the low price and light weight.
Similar threads
