I’m very much a believer in that you generally get what you pay for. Hence why I’ll pay the extra for genuine Maxpedition, Kiffaru, Ventile, SBK, Nikon, Campagnolo, Sidi, Inov-8, OMM, Apple, etc, when it’s things I really want to trust. I guess it’s a military thing where the last thing you want when things are getting hairy is your kit to fail or fall apart.
However, there are times when the budget just won’t stretch as far as it used to and, as a full-time student (when I’m not project managing satellite components in the summer!) I have to be careful with the money.
I do a bit of adventure racing and also entered my first Mountain Marathon, the LAMM (http://www.lamm.co.uk) which was held a couple of weekends ago. If you’re interested in the LAMM (which isn’t really that bushcrafty, I’ll admit) then I wrote an article at: http://www.mightcontainnuts.com/wordpress/?p=1722
Anyway, the LAMM requires you to carry and run with your kit (tent, food, stove, etc) for 2 days and so size and weight become critical. Much of my bushcraft kit is designed for reliability and comfort and so is relatively heavy. Before anyone says it, you can’t just enter with a knife and a pot!
I had pretty much everything I needed except for a sleeping bag. It needed to be warm (enough) and it had to be lightweight and pack down small. There are plenty of down quilts/bags made for ultralight camping but, the price is inversely-proportional to packsize and weight. I then happened to spy the Tesco bag (pictures and description at http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-7415.aspx) for a much more reasonable £37 and this is what they have to say about it:
“The Explorer single sleeping bag is ultra lightweight and in a compact mummy style. It has a 290 tog micro polyester ripstop shell with a 290 tog polycotton lining and a 225g/m2 single layer goose down filling. This sleeping bag features a 4-way compression sack and a 2-way reversible zip. It has a comfort rating of +3.8 - +8.3, an extreme rating of -10.6º and is suitable for use from late spring to autumn.”
The first thing I’d like to say is that you’d lose fingers and toes if you used this bag at -10.6 degrees :togo:. God only knows where they got that from! It does pack down small and it is light in weight, however (that's 'light' in weight, Tesco, not 'lite', ***). I’ve heard that the amount of down in the bags can vary so you may want to get it out of the stuff sac in the shop and have a look. It comes with a 2-way zip with a Velcro tab at the top end and you could use it as a quilt (hammock kit?). It has a mummy-style hood with a draw cord. The build quality is OK – nothing special. In terms of what other people think, pretty much all of my thoughts on this bag have been reflected in comments about this bag on other forums.
It has no neck baffle and so, it is good to have a silk liner to use with this bag to keep the draft off your shoulders. It is quite a close fitting bag – I’m 5’10”, slimmish build and I felt pretty snug inside it. That’s great for reducing pockets of cold air but it means you don’t have a lot of room to move around if you’re an active sleeper. The silk liner is a ‘must’, not only for the extra insulation but also because the polycotton lining feels a weirdly ‘clammy’ next to the skin.
So, how did it perform? I used it at an altitude of about 400m, in a tent, in Scotland, on a wet and windy night (12/13th June 2010). I had a Rab silk liner and used a thin OMM sleeping mat. I would estimate the temperature to be around 8-10 degrees C. I woke up a couple of times in the night, feeling a bit of a chill but not ‘cold’ and I went straight back to sleep again – I didn’t lie awake shivering. I think this was mostly because of the fact that there was no neck baffle and my silk liner had bunched below my shoulder level. I wore Ron Hill tracksters, socks and a HH top inside the bag. If I’d had a better sleeping mat, I don’t think I’d have felt that cold at all but that was a weight/comfort compromise I was prepared for.
I think for camping rather than MMs, I’d use a Thermarest and an Alpkit Hunka as an outer layer. I think then that the bag would be OK down to about 5 degrees.
As a late-spring/summer/early-autumn sleeping bag, it is adequate. I won’t be changing it for future adventure races or MMs. As a down bag, for £37, it’s a good deal: be aware of its limitations (keep it dry!) and you have a very lightweight and compact sleeping bag for the price. Good for lightweight trips and warm nights, cycle camping, or any other expedition where weight/size is critical.
If you want to use it at -10 degrees, though, you’re a nob.
However, there are times when the budget just won’t stretch as far as it used to and, as a full-time student (when I’m not project managing satellite components in the summer!) I have to be careful with the money.
I do a bit of adventure racing and also entered my first Mountain Marathon, the LAMM (http://www.lamm.co.uk) which was held a couple of weekends ago. If you’re interested in the LAMM (which isn’t really that bushcrafty, I’ll admit) then I wrote an article at: http://www.mightcontainnuts.com/wordpress/?p=1722
Anyway, the LAMM requires you to carry and run with your kit (tent, food, stove, etc) for 2 days and so size and weight become critical. Much of my bushcraft kit is designed for reliability and comfort and so is relatively heavy. Before anyone says it, you can’t just enter with a knife and a pot!
I had pretty much everything I needed except for a sleeping bag. It needed to be warm (enough) and it had to be lightweight and pack down small. There are plenty of down quilts/bags made for ultralight camping but, the price is inversely-proportional to packsize and weight. I then happened to spy the Tesco bag (pictures and description at http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-7415.aspx) for a much more reasonable £37 and this is what they have to say about it:
“The Explorer single sleeping bag is ultra lightweight and in a compact mummy style. It has a 290 tog micro polyester ripstop shell with a 290 tog polycotton lining and a 225g/m2 single layer goose down filling. This sleeping bag features a 4-way compression sack and a 2-way reversible zip. It has a comfort rating of +3.8 - +8.3, an extreme rating of -10.6º and is suitable for use from late spring to autumn.”
The first thing I’d like to say is that you’d lose fingers and toes if you used this bag at -10.6 degrees :togo:. God only knows where they got that from! It does pack down small and it is light in weight, however (that's 'light' in weight, Tesco, not 'lite', ***). I’ve heard that the amount of down in the bags can vary so you may want to get it out of the stuff sac in the shop and have a look. It comes with a 2-way zip with a Velcro tab at the top end and you could use it as a quilt (hammock kit?). It has a mummy-style hood with a draw cord. The build quality is OK – nothing special. In terms of what other people think, pretty much all of my thoughts on this bag have been reflected in comments about this bag on other forums.
It has no neck baffle and so, it is good to have a silk liner to use with this bag to keep the draft off your shoulders. It is quite a close fitting bag – I’m 5’10”, slimmish build and I felt pretty snug inside it. That’s great for reducing pockets of cold air but it means you don’t have a lot of room to move around if you’re an active sleeper. The silk liner is a ‘must’, not only for the extra insulation but also because the polycotton lining feels a weirdly ‘clammy’ next to the skin.
So, how did it perform? I used it at an altitude of about 400m, in a tent, in Scotland, on a wet and windy night (12/13th June 2010). I had a Rab silk liner and used a thin OMM sleeping mat. I would estimate the temperature to be around 8-10 degrees C. I woke up a couple of times in the night, feeling a bit of a chill but not ‘cold’ and I went straight back to sleep again – I didn’t lie awake shivering. I think this was mostly because of the fact that there was no neck baffle and my silk liner had bunched below my shoulder level. I wore Ron Hill tracksters, socks and a HH top inside the bag. If I’d had a better sleeping mat, I don’t think I’d have felt that cold at all but that was a weight/comfort compromise I was prepared for.
I think for camping rather than MMs, I’d use a Thermarest and an Alpkit Hunka as an outer layer. I think then that the bag would be OK down to about 5 degrees.
As a late-spring/summer/early-autumn sleeping bag, it is adequate. I won’t be changing it for future adventure races or MMs. As a down bag, for £37, it’s a good deal: be aware of its limitations (keep it dry!) and you have a very lightweight and compact sleeping bag for the price. Good for lightweight trips and warm nights, cycle camping, or any other expedition where weight/size is critical.
If you want to use it at -10 degrees, though, you’re a nob.
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So number one skinny son has got to use.
Now I just need to find one that fits the bill!
