Bushwalk Australia

G'day,
Still haven't got all my s... stuff together. Anyway, I'm looking at the sleeping bag that I thought would be fine. 1.7kg, and bulky as. Looking at doing a two day hike in the Alpine National Park. Would this bag do the job? Would it do it well enough to keep me warm at night? Anyone else got this bag?
http://www.anacondastores.com/camping-h ... BP90035508

Thank you!

That bag has a comfort rating of about 10C so definitely not suitable for Alpine camping.
In my opinion you need something with around a 0C comfort rating or lower even outside of winter.

from Anacondas shop site "the Denali Lite 50 Sleeping Bag is the perfect choice for overseas travellers in warm or tropical climates"

I figured it is quite warm in November and the Alpine National park, is just a name. It's not covered in snow all year round..... But..... you girls and guys are more experienced than me. So thank you! I really appreciate your knowledge and opinions.

But it can get cold and snow at any time, I've had very cold weather and heavy snow in December/January
5C is a good all round figure for a summer bag and 0C/-5C for the high Country except in winter when I recommend -18C to be on the safe side
Only experience can tell you tho and I do sleep colder than most by 5 degrees

I've encountered snow on the Cross Cut Saw in late December. Also between Warburton and Matlock in late November.

They are the instances that I remember

I have my doubts about whether or not that bag would be worth the pack space in the ANP at any time of year.

I had a look at the Denali stuff when it was on sale and for the weight/quality it was massively over priced compared to non home brand products. Most of their down bags had down coming out through the stitching and they were by no means a cheap bag.

At 115 Grams it is very light

If a mate needs one you could grab two Oz Trail Tasman bags for $62 plus post and they are 1.6kg and rated to -5deg-
http://www.harveynorman.com.au/oztrail- ... -pack.html

http://www.oztrail.com.au/product-range ... by-oztrail

Is there anything that isn't over 1.3kg and would do the job for you know... $150 bucks AUS? 1.6kg sounds too heavy for me, I want to get my pack weight down. Thanks so much. Sorry I'm such a newbie, but I'm glad that you guys and girls are here top steer me down the right path

http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/black-w ... 3853404261

There are a few other around the $150 mark that might suit

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Alittleruff wrote:Is there anything that isn't over 1.3kg and would do the job for you know... $150 bucks AUS? 1.6kg sounds too heavy for me, I want to get my pack weight down. Thanks so much. Sorry I'm such a newbie, but I'm glad that you guys and girls are here top steer me down the right path

To paraphrase an axiom that applies to most things : Light, Warm, Cheap.---- Pick two.

$150 isn't cheap! Not in my book anyhow.
Now, $29.95 Aldi sleeping bag is cheap. My budget is 5 times this! When did $150 dollars on one item be considered 'cheap'?

Since a good sleeping bag typically costs $500+...

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n5750547 wrote:http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/black-wolf-vertical-limit-200-5c-down-fill-hooded/3853404261

There are a few other around the $150 mark that might suit

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5C rating and no specification of if it's comfort or limit is not really low enough for the ANP. It needs to 0C comfort or lower to be sure.
I once had a bag that was supoposedly -8C from BW, I doubt it was +8C in reality.

Alittleruff wrote:$150 isn't cheap! Not in my book anyhow.
Now, $29.95 Aldi sleeping bag is cheap. My budget is 5 times this! When did $150 dollars on one item be considered 'cheap'?

When you life depends on your gear of course; as it does for some of us sometimes
Actually the ALDI sleeping bag is reasonable value but like most at that price it isn't warm.
You're not taking a systems approach to your sleeping, you need the lot if you rally want to walk in the High Country simply because the hills can generate their own weather, so look at the whole package but better to buy good quality and only buy once, or if budget limited, buy the best you can afford.
If you only have $150- for a sleeping bag and you really want to walk in the Alps then you will need to either carry a heavier bag or buy something second hand
However if you buy the Denali bag at the sale price of $54:95 and wear clothes inside it you won't freeze to death in Spring/Summer/Autumn but the Black Wolf bag in the second link is the same weight and 10 degrees warmer [ take the 5C rating with a pinch of salt] and packs smaller; all important considerations. Keeping warm is relatively easy these days; it is all about keeping the packed weight and bulk down to make the walking more enjoyable and less punishing on our bodies
So buy the Denali bag, wear all your cloths inside it if you get cold and save for something modern and much better while enjoying your walking Also remember the ideas we gave you in your last post, about layering; doubling up and the importance of the mattress and keeping the wind off

http://www.velogear.com.au/outdoors/cam ... g-bag.html

I had one of these, they are not great, but not terrible. It suited the budget, and lasted a couple of years.

neilmny wrote:

n5750547 wrote:http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/black-wolf-vertical-limit-200-5c-down-fill-hooded/3853404261

There are a few other around the $150 mark that might suit

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5C rating and no specification of if it's comfort or limit is not really low enough for the ANP. It needs to 0C comfort or lower to be sure.
I once had a bag that was supoposedly -8C from BW, I doubt it was +8C in reality.

Fair call. There are a few rated to below below 0 but they might be a bit more than OP wants to spend. I live in QLD so I if it really gets cold (single digits) I wear a jumper to bed

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1.2kg supposedly rated to 0degrees and it's under $100-

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/o ... eeping-bag

n5750547 wrote:

neilmny wrote:

n5750547 wrote:http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/black-wolf-vertical-limit-200-5c-down-fill-hooded/3853404261

There are a few other around the $150 mark that might suit

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

5C rating and no specification of if it's comfort or limit is not really low enough for the ANP. It needs to 0C comfort or lower to be sure.
I once had a bag that was supoposedly -8C from BW, I doubt it was +8C in reality.

Fair call. There are a few rated to below below 0 but they might be a bit more than OP wants to spend. I live in QLD so I if it really gets cold (single digits) I wear a jumper to bed

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If only the jumper would do it.
A little aside from the OP but we camped at a place called Mayford (in the ANP but in a valley) in late November a few years back.
It was a blokes weekendy sort of thing so we drove in and had all the luxuries like tables and chairs and stuff.
The thing was that one night it got so cold the Olive Oil froze in the bottle into a thick goop and the gas just wouldn't work in the morning.
My son inlaws Engel fridge was set for -3C and the stuff inside the fridge was far warmer than the stuff outside.
One of the guys tried to fish before things warmed up, the water on the line was freezing on the rod runners as he wound the line in.
Basically it was scarey cold (my description). I was just glad that I had enough insualtion to keep me warm and safe during the night.
So forget single figures, it's the regularly occuring negative figures you have to guard against.

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/o ... eeping-bag

This is where knowledge comes into it
The seller rates the bag at 0C and then says it is a summer bag, so in reality the 0C rating is the extreme/survival temperature
Think of that particular SB as the inner in a double bag tho and it would be adequate; heavy but adequately warm; but not what I personally would recommend

Moondog55 wrote:https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/outer-limits-treksmart-1-season-sleeping-bag

This is where knowledge comes into it
The seller rates the bag at 0C and then says it is a summer bag, so in reality the 0C rating is the extreme/survival temperature
Think of that particular SB as the inner in a double bag tho and it would be adequate; heavy but adequately warm; but not what I personally would recommend

Yeah I was wondering about the specs but it's not the retailers fault, the same specs are given on the Oz Trail website. It would be pretty sad if a 1kg bag had a survival rating of 0deg, I'm sure my Aldi $20 bag was lighter and had a similar rating.

Actually a friend had an Oland bag mentioned above and he was feeling the cold in Tasmania in March, however, one of them with a thermal liner could be adequate. I really like the thermal liner I bought, I don't think it added as much warmth as it said it would but it was still a good purchase.

@ alittleruff If you still have $150- to spend on a bag there is someone selling one that would be worthwhile on the Facebook gear freak page
PM me for the details if you want

The Denali bag is as neilmny pointed out - is really for warm/tropical climates. It is similar to my Snugpak Traveller bag. My Snugpak also has a similar weight and a "rating" of 7C comfort, but from experience, at 7C you will not have a good night at all. The snugpak is my tropical/warm weather synthetic bag, but I have tried it in 15C and I was cold, even with a silk liner and thermals on. I'm not sure I would take that up on mountains.

Unfortunately the trade off for cheaper price is heavier weight. When I was looking for a lighter bag than my old goose down bag, I looked at synthetics, and looked at a whole range of bags including brands you find at Disposals/BCF/Tent world etc. I found that for most of their cheaper branded synthetic bags that went down to 5C or lower, the bags were around 1.2kg to 1.6kg+ and their ratings weren't really tested.

I also thought the Denali bags were a bit expensive for what they were. There were similar bags like Caribee/Sportztrek/Blackwolf/Oztrail that were regularly discounted and cheaper than the Denali bags with similar specs and "ratings".

Alittleruff wrote:I figured it is quite warm in November and the Alpine National park, is just a name. It's not covered in snow all year round..... But..... you girls and guys are more experienced than me. So thank you! I really appreciate your knowledge and opinions.

I did a 6 day walk around Mt Jagungal last January and only carried my +7 rated bag that is too cold (I know now) for nights below +10. Even with a liner and thermals I spent time shivering. A good bag is much more comfortable than sleeping in clothes, and those polyprop 'thermal' bag liners - meh!
Get a decently warm bag. I bought a Vango Viper 750 off ebay a few years ago for about $150 and have been impressed at its warmth for a cheap price. I'd rate it a 3 season alpine bag.
Steve

Sleeping bag warmth depends on the loft of the sleeping bag and its cut. Loft is the amount of insulation above you, how much the bag fluffs up. So a 4" loft means there will be 2" of fluffed up bag above you and 2" below you (although you compress what's below you). Cut means how tight the bag is. A mummy bag closely hugs your body while a rectangular bag leaves large amounts of air that have to be heated up. Other features also affect warmth - does the zipper have insulation over it? Is the hood snug fitting? Is the insulation evenly spread or is it lumpy?

If the temperature goes down to 5 celcius, I'd say 4" of loft in a mummy bag will keep you toasty and take you down to freezing whilst wearing clothes. A 5" loft bag will take you to zero and under with clothes. In a rectangular bag with poor features you may lose 5 degrees in warmth with the same loft. If you are a cold sleeper, you may need 30% more loft for the same warmth as my wife does but my eight year old does not. The temperature rating given by manufactures, unless they cite the European standard, are merely sales hype.

A good sleeping bag has high loft at low weight. Plus the cuts are good with fully featured hoods and zippers. If money is no issue, get a Western Mountaineering Ultralight (or Alpinelight if you are wider) from Paddy Pallin (only $799!) and sleep in bliss at low weight for a long, long time.

A good friend ended up lending me her bag. Now I can see your point!!! I was fine all night even when the temperature dropped to -2 degrees above the snow line. Some other members of my group were not. My friends bag is a mountain design standhardt.... It was fairly heavy, I can't seem to find the same bag for sale or specifications on it. Now, I'm happy to spend a little more if it means that I don't have a freezing cold night. I'd say that is money well spent now.

My friend also lent me their sea to summit pillow... oh my gosh luxuary. It wasn't blow up or anything, just spongy and has a draw cord to pull it into the shape of a small dinner plate ball. Wouldn't mind one! Can't find them.

Can anyone direct me to bags & pillows that are of a similar nature?

I might start a different thread based on the question above.

moved to new thread