Sleeping systems - bags, pads, matts, liners

It's OK.
750 power down is at the bottom end of ok. And it's heavy.

Look for 800+ down.

Option: https://www.phdesigns.co.uk/minimus-down-sleeping-bag?osCsid=9g8hpql8r9gjhpvqei9sst5067

Same price. It says it's not rated down as far but it will be. Plus you can sleep in your clothes if need be. Or spend a little more and get a warmer one.

But cheap buy twice. And in my experience alpkit is cheap shit. PHD is class leading.

Can't fully comment, I'll be using mine for the first time at the weekend but paired with a Small Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil compression sack, it's very small.

Oops. Sorry to bash on the product you bought :)

I know the rep, still bought it :D
That PHD is an extra £120 with zip (got the PipeDream in sale), too much for a casual 2-3 night a year camper, your use case is a bit more wearing than that!

I feel like we need a sticky post saying exactly this, and also one about whether synthetic is good.

same questions over and over again!

Different people have different use cases though. A cheap synth bag is fine if you're just going for a night out in summer once a year. A spendy down bag might be shit if you're thrashing around in places that might get wet etc.

a cheap down bag is just better every time than a cheap synthetic bag though? I get what you're saying just want people to spend wisely

someone draw a decision tree and sticky that..

I used a synth bag for the first 20 years of my outdoor life and I'm still alive. Down bag probably would've killed me from heat in Oz. :P

"what's a good cheap.." = anything the fits your budget from decathlon
"what's a really good light.." = anything with fill power of 800 or above
"should I get a synthetic one.." = probably not, but if so cumulus make some good ones

The last tour I did in the Outer Hebrides I just barely managed to keep my sleeping bag dry-ish. But my tent was permanently wet, my clothes were permanently wet, I was permanently wet, my rollmat was permanently wet... I am convinced that in that situation a down bag is worse; whilst it might weigh less initially it will accumulate water and eventually begin to approach the same weight as a synthetic bag, and obviously is much worse at insulating you when it is wet. So any advantage that down has is lost. I was glad of my years-old cheapo Mountain Warehouse synthetic bag even though it did weigh a kilo.

in that situation the problem is with your tent, it should never be letting water in.

and if it does really rain every minute for three days straight or more, just find somewhere to dry your kit off for an hour or two inside.

in that situation the problem is with your tent, it should never be letting water in.

The tent was fine, the problem was that I had to put it away wet every morning because it rained overnight every day. So the fly sheet soaked through and the wet groundsheet made the inner wet as well.

and if it does really rain every minute for three days straight or more, just find somewhere to dry your kit off for an hour or two inside.

Yeah, I could have done that... but it only would have stayed dry until the next morning!

Despite my complaining and the rain it was amazing, everyone should go (the beach is Huishnish, other photo is the Quiraing on Skye but it was the same trip)

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if the tent is wet, you can:

1) pack the outer and the inner separately
2) pack the tent on the outside of your bags so it dries in the wind
3) roll it carefully so the wet part remains on the outside, water can't get in as tent fabric is waterproof

agreed on the awesome location!

If I'd packed it on the outside it would have got rained on! Haha

I do get what you're saying but my point is a situation like that is where a synthetic bag has an edge. You just chuck it in the bag and it doesn't matter if it gets a little bit damp. Especially when it's warm enough that you can get away with a +5 degree bag or something and the weight isn't too significant for the down or synthetic bag.

haha fair enough!
I still disagree about the bags tho. a down bag has to get absolutely soaked to make it lose a noticeable amount of insulating power, a little bit wet makes no difference. and even less if you get one with treated/water-repellent down.
I'd get a synthetic bag if I was kayaking/dinghy sailing but not much else

Reading this conversation, it's worth mentioning the Wildcat drybag that has a full length second inner that let's you put wet stuff in one end and dry in the other. I've not used one, but the idea is great.

In August my girlfriend and I will be hiking along the Italian Riviera, camping as we go. Last year we did a similar trip with a Vango Banshee tent, two alpkit mats, and rather than sleeping bags we used an empty double duvet sheet, which was plenty warm enough but bulky and heavy. Just wondering if anyone has any tips or suggestions for a better alternative? I was thinking about getting some lightweight cotton sheet instead, long enough that we could have it on top of the matts and then double back over us at our feet to make a lightweight cover but am open to any tips!

2 x silk liners?

What about canoodling?

thermarest Neo Xlit

is this the one that feels like you are sleeping on a crisps bag?

?

I hope you're not suggesting castration?!

Lol, one solution... this might be less drastic:

https://rab.equipment/uk/sleeping-bag-liner-double-silk

Nice, cheers!