Sleeping systems - bags, pads, matts, liners

as posted many times before no need for a synthetic bag unless you are doing watersports.
get a down bag, or a secondhand one if you have ethical objections

@hippy I was talking about their quilts.

Though I'm currently getting a full bag from Hyke and Byke (US company) in the 15° F /-10C option. Not the most ultralight option out there, but I've used their 0° F bags and for the price they are a great deal ($200 for the 0).

those are no-effort rebranded versions of the aegismax sleeping bags on aliexpress, sold with their ugly logo on at a 50% markup.
this down comes from live plucking which is absolutely abhorrent.
also the baffles are vertical which is a stupid design.

@platypus What are your recommends for bags brands that are ethical?

anyone who doesn't do live-plucking, that's most brands, e.g. decathlon.
or you could buy anything second hand, which saves on embodied carbon.

Yeah, thought so after I re-read it. Thanks.

It was too expensive anyway.

US has so many cool options for outdoor gear. UK market is very limited. Lots of chunky hobbyist crap for people that just get out of a car, walk up and down one hill and drive home.

We bought Cumulus bag (mostly because the missus was in Poland)

"We only use down from certified Polish producers. Thanks to their geographical proximity, we can monitor the production. We are absolutely sure down used by Cumulus has been ethically sourced. It is from free-range geese that have access to water. The excellent breeding conditions are also reflected in the down’s high quality."

"no life (sic) plucking"

https://cumulus.equipment/uk_en/guide

A USA friend wants a new bag, is there a PHD equivalent there?

First couple listed here are USA, although Katabatic looks to be mostly quilts rather than bags: https://www.lfgss.com/comments/15907220/

Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, Enlightened Equipment and ZPacks might be worth a look too.

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Duh, thanks!

FF seem like the only brand just about comparable. The others, while good, don't seem world class.

Review + brief comparison with the other brands listed here: https://maxneale.blogspot.com/2020/01/feathered-friends-tanager-ultralight-sleeping-bag-review.html

Nunatak make the best bags in the world, if they have the $$$ nothing else compares

they just seem to have a couple options, and only 900f

I just bought a cumulus quilt and had it shipped to the UK. They don't charge you any VAT. Obviously, you pay import tax and shipping but I would still say it's worth it. It seemed to be the best price / quality / ethics ratio I could get.
The whole shipping process was very transparent and straightforward.
Pannier.cc has some of the cumulus stuff in stock from time to time.

they used to offer lots of options, now they just sell the most popular ones and the prices are a bit more reasonable. never heard a bad word spoken about them.

I'm sure. Just probebrly not a suitable option. And yes prices very reasonable. I can't own phd any more. Their recent rises have put it well beyond.

Agree. I would've bought another PHD bag but their prices are mental.

I'm after a new bag/quilt if any one sees anything. Around 300g max and 8C comfort.

Or thoughts on a good sleep system. I am thinking about just carrying a half bag, perhaps even with insulation just on the top and using my insulated jacket.

I've also considered cutting the down out my old sleeping bag on the bottom half and cutting the hood off.

Depends how cold you sleep and where you're gonna use it. I quite like my half bag + jacket setup for racing but it was too cold for me in Scotland in October (~0degC) so I bought myself a new full size bag for that kind of thing (shouldn't have sold my PHD bag but I didn't know I'd start using sleeping bags again).

Yeah, I'd use it around 8c ;)

Ah, you actually pay attention to those ratings. I'm cold in anything with a positive number on them so I find them basically pointless. I think my gloopy blood just refuses to circulate once I stop moving so I get cold pretty quick even though I have plenty of built in 'insulation'.

Want to buy my Phd rated to -9C? 600g