Down Sleeping Bags Which one?

[scouse]

Which bag... the one that fits you ! I would never buy a bag from any shop that didn't let me get "down and dirty" on the floor with one before I paid any dosh.

They're like helmets, get in it and wait a few moments , bit of tossing and turning and you will know if it fits.:laugh:

[CRAIGREVO]

Which bag... the one that fits you ! I would never buy a bag from any shop that didn't let me get "down and dirty" on the floor with one before I paid any dosh.

They're like helmets, get in it and wait a few moments , bit of tossing and turning and you will know if it fits.:laugh:

+1 to that, and never buy from sports direct without trying as you wont get your cash back if it doesn't fit.

[Alun]

Returning to Rab - they make extra large/long sizes, I ordered one about 10 years ago and it's still going strong after many expeditions. I don't think you'll find the large/long models in any stores but they should be able to order for you.

[backofbeyond]

Which bag... the one that fits you ! I would never buy a bag from any shop that didn't let me get "down and dirty" on the floor with one before I paid any dosh.

They're like helmets, get in it and wait a few moments , bit of tossing and turning and you will know if it fits.:laugh:

Absolutely essential to try before you buy even if it's only on the shop floor. Some of the ideas that have made it through to production - like narrowing the leg area to keep your feet warm sound good in the brochure but that made me feel like I'd been tied up. I could never sleep in it.

Like others I bought a Rab. One with a heavyweight spec (down to -15C) but with a full length zip. I use it zipped up when it's cold and unzip it to use as a kind of throwover blanket when it's warm.

I've never had much faith in the manufacturer's published temperature range and recon that they're about 10C optimistic. Buy a better one than the brochures would suggest you need.

[Alun]

I've never had much faith in the manufacturer's published temperature range and recon that they're about 10C optimistic. Buy a better one than the brochures would suggest you need.

This has been a big issue in outdoor gear since I've been involved in testing the stuff. Up until recently there was no 'standard measurement' for testing a warmth of a sleeping bag and the swing tags were, in some cases, works of fiction.

Even today judging a sleeping bag on the manufacturers temp figs are no guarantee of performance. What I can tell you is, a -5 rating by a company like Rab will almost always be warmer than a -5 rating by most of the others.

[Mark Manley]

I have seen two figures for my Rab Atlas, -10 and -15, I have slept at -5 in it with just my undies on and was toasty warm. It is rated at 3 season and is much warmer than the 4 season hollow fibre one it replaced which would suggest that Rab's figures are better than others.

[CRAIGREVO]

If its toasty at -5, is it too hot at say +5?

[Alun]

If its toasty at -5, is it too hot at say +5?

Not if you use it as a throw over rather than a sleeping bag.

In Nepal I'd start off sleeping on my Rab in the hot humid lowlands, use it as a throw as we hit the hills, slip inside it wearing my undies when the hills became mountains and then batten down the hatches fully clothed when the mountains became summits.

[Mark Manley]

If its toasty at -5, is it too hot at say +5?

Not if you use it as a throw over rather than a sleeping bag.

In Nepal I'd start off sleeping on my Rab in the hot humid lowlands, use it as a throw as we hit the hills, slip inside it wearing my undies when the hills became mountains and then batten down the hatches fully clothed when the mountains became summits.

You took the words out of my mouth Alun, having the right bag is a bit of a compromise.
I took a 1-2 season with a fleece liner to Africa, either were fine in the warm bit, both together were ok in the cool and I froze at night in the desert, a lesson learnt.

[ipswichbiker]

They're like helmets, get in it and wait a few moments , bit of tossing and turning and you will know if it fits.

You could get banned from certain shops for that sort of behaviour. Just imagine I know nothing about buy sleeping bags apart from going into a shop and saying I want that one or the same process online. That kind of sets the scene. Alun did you contact http://www.rab.uk.com/ when you wanted an extra large/long?