Bushwalk Australia

Hope to get away for a night in the snow at Mt Stirling this weekend (wind is forecast to drop sunday) and wondering if my circa year 2000 J&H Dandelion is up to it. Not had a ton of use & always stored correctly. Serviced' by OnePlanet a few weeks back with +110g of new down + plus clean & new DWR treatment, so kinda back to original spec. Weighing in at 1.4 kg. Will be in a WE Second Arrow 4 season tent with S2S Ether 10 cm mat & 3/4 thermarest underneath and S2S thermolite reactor extreme liner for a few extra degrees

I cannot remember so what was the original rating?
If it has been serviced and topped up then it should equal the original rating.
Wasn't the Dandelion one of the lighter weight bags tho?
Guessing 700 grams of down originally?

https://www.trailspace.com/gear/one-planet/dandelion/
Seems to have been 750 grams and the old factory rating of -20C extreme probably means -5C female comfort

Moondog55 wrote:I cannot remember so what was the original rating?
If it has been serviced and topped up then it should equal the original rating.
Wasn't the Dandelion one of the lighter weight bags tho?
Guessing 700 grams of down originally?

I have a newer OP sales blurb (post J&H days) that says 1.40 kg total 700 g fill. and yes it was on the lightweight end as was replacing a fairydown lightweight that some bugger stole

Moondog55 wrote:https://www.trailspace.com/gear/one-planet/dandelion/
Seems to have been 750 grams and the old factory rating of -20C extreme probably means -5C female comfort

-5 comfort seems to be on the money, both from the snippets I can find about the bag itself (or its OP successor) and the rating for other similar vintage mummy shaped bags at that weight run to. Lets hope so - as I'm not as young as I was when I got the bag.

Is there room to layer up inside it for you? If so a LW down jacket or parka will give a boost as does layering the jacket over the top; strategically placed buttons and loops needed

Moondog55 wrote:Is there room to layer up inside it for you? If so a LW down jacket or parka will give a boost as does layering the jacket over the top; strategically placed buttons and loops needed

Nah …. It’s a snug bag (and maybe I’m a bit bigger) so a set of thermals, beanie, down booties and liner on the inside and if needed I can zip my down jacket up and pull it up over my feet / legs

Bag looks OK if a bit tight reduces options - and that may compress the down. The Ether has R=3.2 which may be a bit low. Probably don't need a 10cm mattress in snow as you can sculpt the snow to a gentle hammock shape. Consider taking some 3mm CCF rather than the bulky 3/4 thermarest. I haven't found those reactor liners add much heat.

I've had a Dandelion for a long time and even when I was younger, -5c would have been a push for me. Definitely not as warm as my WM Apache, although the OP footbox is better than the WM footbox.

I always felt that a little extra fill would have been a big improvement, so yours with the extra 110g of new down plus the clean should be significantly warmer, particularly if you have the option of adding suitable clothing if needed.

R3.2 for a mat to be used on snow sounds like not enough. Second the suggestions to add some CCF under the mat.

By the time you see this, you will probably have found the answer via experience.

Overbags rule.
But try and find one here, otherwise an ultralite overquilt works almost as well, is a little cheaper and a tad lighter

Thanks for all the comments. Now back from Mt Stirling - two bluebird days The old Dandelion did very well. Actually over heated to start with and had to take a layer off. Min temp over night at the Mt Stirling weather station was -3.5 (-9 apparent) and that's a probably 150-200m lower than where we camped so may have been a bit colder, so I am very happy with the way it performed.... might help that I'm a hot sleeper but still happy. The old thermarest deflated but the S2S did me fine. all in all a successful trip and good shake down for Feathertop sometime down the track.