Budget sleeping bag for Aussie alpine conditions

[bushydrew]

Hi all,
On a budget and looking for a good quality down bag for conditions like winter in the snowfields in a tent especially down in Tassie. Most bags I have looked at are $4-500. Anyone with some good suggestions?

Cheers!

[Dale]

Some ideas:

Kelty Cosmic Down 20 Bag for $119 - rated to -7c

Sierra Designs Nitro 15 for $239 rated to -3c (with 600g fill looks pretty good for alpine conditions)

Montbell SS Down Hugger #1 $289 rated to -9c (can't remember if these are EN tested)

Golite Adrenaline 800 $249 rated to -18c: that is obviously the extreme rating, but judging by the weight of the bag and fill quality, should do the trick for Aus Alpine.

These bags are all available from the US so incur exchange rate and postage but should still put you ahead of the prices you've mentioned. With Golite you need to call them and ship to a US address - freight forwarders such as shipito.com are good for this.

Happy hunting.

[Stew63]

like winter in the snowfields in a tent

busydew, could you please be more specific about your snowfields intentions as it makes a huge difference as to the type of bag required.

ie. There's no way I'd consider an 'elcheapo' sleeping bag with (possible) dubious temperatures ratings if I was heading out into exposed, blizzardy snow country for a few days ski touring - however
on the flip side if you are only going to be car camping or 'passive' snow camping a few times in protected areas for one night then the cheaper ones might be okay.

Last Christmas I bought my 2xdaughters BlackWolf Vertical Limits 950 goosedown sleeping bags that are 'rated' to -15C. When I see a -15C temperature rating I generally take that as an overestimate and assume it's more like 'comfort' down to -8C. They seem like goodish bags with heaps of loft (950gm of powerlift 650 fill) - we used them on Mount Magdala a couple of weeks ago and although it was -3C my daughters were roasting and had to strip down to t-shirt and shorts. They are a heavy down bag at ~2kg but we only paid ~AUD$380 from an online shop based in Melbourne - from memory most retail shops at the time were selling the same bags at ~AUD$550. Maybe outside your weight and/or budjet.

[Toohp]

Marmot Helium , I have one of these , great bag .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marmot-Helium-S ... 3cc6c2b3d5

[forest]

I was beaten to the chase.

My suggestion had already been mentioned.

Kelty Cosmic Down 20. for the cost they are great. put the $$ saved towards a good down mat or down jacket and you should be good to go.

I picked one up for my wife before our NZ trip last year. The bag seems good and they have a great review on BPL and a comparison against a WM bag.

FYI I'm 5'11'' and about 78kgs, 41'' chest. I fit in the regular just fine that my wife has.

My brother who is 6'1'' and 90+kgs tried it and it was too small so he needed a long.

[TerraMer]

I don't feel at all comfortable with this "budget" alpine sleeping bag idea. I have skimped on many things up there in all seasons but never the sleeping bag. It is the one thing where the cost of good quality could save your life. I am willing to pay more than $700 for something I can trust.
Have you considered asking a retailer if you can pay it off in a few installments?

[Moondog55]

Well to my mind budget means simply a heavier bag,
If the OP can handle carrying an extra kilo the getting a decent nights sleep in the dollar figure mentioned is no problem at all

When I first started ski-touring and winter walking the general weight of a minus 18 bag was about 2.2 kilos for down and the Thermarest was for millionaires.
Just adding one more cheap blue mat from K-Mart at $14- will help a lot.
Of course the weight and bulk of these sleeping systems was one of the reasons for 120 litre packs in the 80s.
I think winter sleeping systems have been discussed and debated at length and I would be happy in saying that the consensus is to start with the R-rating of the mattress and work up from there.
Getting a better ground insulation system and a lighter sleeping bag would offer slightly better thermal efficiency.
OR
Use a different system altogether, and wear your insulated clothing to bed

[casey79]

Macpac has a latitude 700xp that is good to around -10 and is on clearance for $399 http://www.macpac-outlet.com.au/en_au/g ... 10822.html

[Drifting]

My wife has a Mountain Hardware Lamina 20- it is simply outstanding, cheap and light as well. Here it is at $132. http://www.natureshop.com/au/Product/20 ... 20-Regular

[ninjapuppet]

I was going to suggest that lamina 20, Its not down filled as Bushyandrew wanted, but its not as bulky as some other synthetics.
Ive used it on snow and it worked very well at -5C

[christophermoore]

I'd recommend a quilt. They can be just as warm as a sleeping bag, and a LOT lighter (and cheaper too).

I'm using an Enlightened Equipment Relevation X quilt with a Jacks R Better down hood, and it's toasty!

If you look at the specs for the quilts rated to 0 degree fahrenheit (-18 celsius), the weight is 760g, and the cost is US$210. 30% down overfill adds an extra 90 grams and US$10. The hood is an extra 50 grams and US$50.

Of course, quilts should be used in conjunction with a good mat. (But so should sleeping bags! You're compressing the down underneath you anyway.) I'm loving my Exped SynMat UL.

[blacksheep]

I'd recommend a quilt. They can be just as warm as a sleeping bag, and a LOT lighter (and cheaper too).

I'm using an Enlightened Equipment Relevation X quilt with a Jacks R Better down hood, and it's toasty!

If you look at the specs for the quilts rated to 0 degree fahrenheit (-18 celsius), the weight is 760g, and the cost is US$210. 30% down overfill adds an extra 90 grams and US$10. The hood is an extra 50 grams and US$50.

Of course, quilts should be used in conjunction with a good mat. (But so should sleeping bags! You're compressing the down underneath you anyway.) I'm loving my Exped SynMat UL.

You are suggesting 300gms ( or overfilled to 390 gms) of down as an alpine rated insulation? Seems substantially under specced to me...

[Dale]

I'd recommend a quilt. They can be just as warm as a sleeping bag, and a LOT lighter (and cheaper too).

I'm using an Enlightened Equipment Relevation X quilt with a Jacks R Better down hood, and it's toasty!

If you look at the specs for the quilts rated to 0 degree fahrenheit (-18 celsius), the weight is 760g, and the cost is US$210. 30% down overfill adds an extra 90 grams and US$10. The hood is an extra 50 grams and US$50.

Of course, quilts should be used in conjunction with a good mat. (But so should sleeping bags! You're compressing the down underneath you anyway.) I'm loving my Exped SynMat UL.

You are suggesting 300gms ( or overfilled to 390 gms) of down as an alpine rated insulation? Seems substantially under specced to me...

Given less material there is less fill, but yeah I agree it sounds optimistic for -18c. I'm guessing this is the extreme rating.

Chris - interested to hear what temps you've used your quilt to ? I'd also expect you'd need to beef up your mat for alpine use ?

[Moondog55]

I've seen that quilt ( our US house guest had one ) no way warm enough for Victorian Alps in snow, at least for me and Nancy was cold in Tassie on the Overland using it; as an add-on for a light bag it would work

[forest]

I think to be fair a temp rating should be suggested.

I have a down quilt with 14oz (400ish grams) of 900 fill down - Hammock gear 20°F Burrow with 2oz overfill.
Down quility needs to be taken into consideration when looking at actual fill weight and 900 fill is as good as it gets.
This thing is very warm and I have used it down to -7°C and was toasty with just baselayers (In my hammock with a identically rated UQ)
Based on my usage I'd comfortably take it down to -10/12 and can add clothes if need be to go lower.
It's pretty puffy and layed out flat the loft is around 3" single sided (But it has 2" baffles)

If it had another 8oz 900 fill (22oz / 624 grams total, not 390g) Damn !! It would be PUFF bigtime and the baffles are higher on these 0°F quilts.
Tim Marshall makes quality gear and his fill rates are pretty high for the rating compared to others.

Quilts are a whole new ball game and I didn't suggest one as for me they don't fall under "Budget" even though they can be quite cheap compared to a similar rated bag by a high end manufacturer. Also quilts are not for all.
Yes I use this same one on the ground too and have no issues with draft's but there's a knack to it.

[forest]

I've seen that quilt ( our US house guest had one ) no way warm enough for Victorian Alps in snow, at least for me and Nancy was cold in Tassie on the Overland using it; as an add-on for a light bag it would work

Which quilt ?? The 0°F enlightend one ?? I'd find a 0°F quilt as being an "add on" a little optimistic.
These things are normally rated pretty well but if you cannot control the draft forget it.
Get the wide if your going the quilt way.
50" fine in a hammock and plenty of width.

For the ground go 56"+ so you have plenty of tuck fabric to seal the drafts.

[bushydrew]

Thanks all for your input, it has certainly given me some options and I will look into them thoroughly. I have a down expeed mat that is very comfy and warm so I will go a heavier bag seeing I have cut a lot of weight with the rest of my kit. Thanks again!

[Moondog55]

Sorry my mistake 0C // 32F. BIG difference.
No wonder Nancy was cold in Tassie, it was how-ever very light-weight and quality was excellent

[geoffmallo]

Another really good way to increase your bag's warmth without much weight or cost is by using a vapour barrier (VBL). Make yourself out of sylnylon or I personally use the Western Mountaineering Hot Sac.

You need to learn to not overheat and manage you heat a little better, but they are well worth looking into.

[bushydrew]

Hi Guys, I've decided to go with Macpac on this occasion due to their clearance sale on their Lattitude range of 4 season bags. They are a high loft goose down bag under 1.5 kg and around $300 in price with a little water resistance. This along with my Exped syn mat should keep me toasty warm in the harshest of Aussie conditions. Thanks everyone for your input!