Sleeping systems - bags, pads, matts, liners

^^^ is that your " i'm in trouble with the missus " hideaway hippy ?
bottom of the garden for you tonight sonny

snugpac tiny sleeping bags pack down to no smaller than a couple of pint mugs and they are truly warm
3-4 season snugpac are great all round bags

i use sleeping bags very very much,due to my job & hobby,and my chois ehas been for years,Mammoth / Ajungilak.I bought just few weeks ago new winter bag,which has comfort zone in about twenty minus degrees and extreme is at 41 minus c.These might be way too warm in your climate but if youre chilly willy and sleep without tent in windy hills,its ok.

So Hippy, what wisdom should we be gleaning from this delightful image?

if you see that tent, run away, crazy hobo man live within..

This is me and a mate sleeping rough in a field while touring in Spain. Cheap-o mats and sleeping bags, worked just fine. They were heavy, though. I guess that unless you're going into extreme conditions, cheap bags are just fine - but heavy.

So Hippy, what wisdom should we be gleaning from this delightful image?

Ajungilak

I remember those from when i was a kid in the Scouts used to dream of a mega warm sleeping bag while freezing my nuts off in some " high tech 4 season " ( yeah right mum and dad ) sleeping bag
they always had the lowest cold rating -20 or -30 i thought that would be sufficient for easter camp in the scouts ( never got one unfortunately )

Five reservoir tips? Wow, that's a lot of sperm.

Quoted across from the 'Touring Equipment' thread:

By the way I read the sleeping bag thread mate, and I used to sell outdoors equipment for 3 years or so part time when I was younger, not just to hikers etc, but to people going on serious expeditions to seriously cold countries where sleeping bags really were a matter of life and death, these people always...and I mean always....were either recommended or told to buy RAB sleeping bags by the people that were leading these trips. They are one of the best out there, and if you're going to invest good money in one, go with a RAB you can't go wrong, plus their down ones pack down really really small, especially if you're only looking for a 2-3 season bag.

The Rab Quantum 250 down bag seems like a good deal. Miniscule 650g weight, tiny 11 x 24cm packed sized, Comfortable down to about freezing and can be had for about £150.

That kind of usage in the uk and europe typically requires a bag that is rated down to minus-something-less-than-five. E.g. alpkit pipedream 400, which is superb, and suberb value. Rab lightweight bags are superb (I think the quantum 400 is possibly more what you might need), have heard good thins about phd too. Can't really go wrong with a quality manufacturer and decent down. Except if you anticipate being wet, in which case (and this is the only case) synthetic wins.

I have a german-made down bag rated to -5, been going strong and used quite heavily for almost 8 years now, with occasional cleaning, still got life in it. It's been used for all manner of trips, including a couple of nights on glaciers in the alps over 3500m. (Fully rugged up mind!). Perfect for virtually all seasons in the uk, except cold winter nights in the hills.

Also worth putting a shout out for the Rab Survival Zone bivvy bag:

http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Mail_Order_Bivi_50.html

Superb and very lightweight, and perfect for cycling trips too, cos it's a fraction of the weight/space/cost of a tent, and much lighter and more compact that a fully covered bivvy bag, which I've used too. The rab has been with me in some quite minging weather and done the job admirably.

That kind of usage in the uk and europe...

What kind of usage are you referring to Courant?

Taun Taun sleeping bag
has nerdgasm

PS That bag has also been used in warmer climes too. The thing with warm-ish bags in hot weather is that:

• if it's really hot, you don't need a bag anyway
  
• if it's a little hot, you can just take off clothes, and or unzip the bag
  
  

In my mind, bags rated warmer than 0 degrees are either for:

• people who don't like taking their clothes off
  
• people who don't like sleeping in a bag with the zipper undone (with or without clothes, as you will!)
  
• extremely weight-conscious climbers/tourers
  
  

Also, final point, people either sleep hot or cold, and your choice of bag should reflect this.

What kind of usage are you referring to Courant?

Your OPs, e.g. "frosty camping in the lakes", "spring/summer/autumn" touring.

Right, yes, just wanted to be clear. I doubt I'd be camping if it were frosty out, I just meant temperatures approaching the lower end of things. 2 to 3 season, with the odd unseasonally chilly night... would perhaps be a better description of what I was thinking.

just get one from argos and be done with it ;)

PS That bag has also been used in warmer climes too. The thing with warm-ish bags in hot weather is that:

• if it's really hot, you don't need a bag anyway
  
• if it's a little hot, you can just take off clothes, and or unzip the bag
  
  

In my mind, bags rated warmer than 0 degrees are either for:

• people who don't like taking their clothes off
  
• people who don't like sleeping in a bag with the zipper undone (with or without clothes, as you will!)
  
• extremely weight-conscious climbers/tourers
  
  

Also, final point, people either sleep hot or cold, and your choice of bag should reflect this.

The Rab Quantum 250?

On the Rab website it's rated as comfortable down to -2 degrees which is perhaps a little ambitious.

Unfortunately I don't have enough experience to know whether I sleep hot or cold.

Thanks for the advice.

just get one from argos and be done with it ;)

Thanks LPG. I'll pick up some nice Elizabeth Duke earrings for your Mum while I'm at it.

make sure you get the biggest hoopy ones they have, those ones are her favourite.

Job's a good'un.

Cheers, Soops.

From bicycletouringpro.com:

*When you’re selecting a sleeping bag for your long distance bicycle tour, there are three main things to keep in mind.

1. How cold is it going to be?

This is an important piece of information that you need to research before you leave home. The location and time of year in which you will be traveling will determine the approximate weather conditions. If you are planning a summer bike tour, you can likely get away with a very small and lightweight sleeping bag. However, if you’re going to be riding across Sweden in the wintertime, you’ll likely need something much warmer. Do your research ahead of time and look for a sleeping bag that can support you in those weather conditions.

2. How much space do you have on your bike for your sleeping bag?

It is also very important to think about the size of the sleeping bag you select. When traveling by bike, the size and weight of every object you carry is crucial, but there is no object that can more easily eat up space on your bike than that of your sleeping bag. You want to try and get the smallest and warmest sleeping bag you can get. That’s the trick! Most of the time, the warmer the sleeping bag, the larger the bag is going to be. So this can be a little tricky. When selecting a sleeping bag, I recommend you actually go to a sporting good store and check out the bags for yourself. This way you can actually see the size of the bag determine for yourself whether or not it is going to be too large for your travels.

3. How quickly can your bag dry if it gets wet?

My last comment about selecting a sleeping bag is that you want to select a bag that, if it were to get wet, could dry very quickly. For this reason, I have never toured with a down sleeping bag. While down is warm and can be compressed to a very small sizes, down is also incredibly difficult to dry in the event that it does gets wet. The last thing you want on a bike tour is for your sleeping bag to get wet and remain that way for days or even weeks on end! For that reason, I recommend a synthetic sleeping bag that dries very quickly after coming in contact with water. While synthetic sleeping bags are typically a bit larger than down sleeping bags of comparable warmth, I believe it’s worth it to carry that extra weight, as I feel safe in knowing that if my bag does get wet, I can dry it out very quickly.*

All a bit obvious but worth a quote.

The Rab Quantum 250?

On the Rab website it's rated as comfortable down to -2 degrees which is perhaps a little ambitious.

Unfortunately I don't have enough experience to know whether I sleep hot or cold.

Thanks for the advice.

Sorry, ambiguous! "That" referred to my "german-made down bag rated to -5".

I've handled one of those lightweight Rab bags (a forerunner to the quantum 250) - a guy I was climbing with had one - and, seriously, it was pretty minimal. Fine if you know that's want you want/need, but I think it's verging on the light side for most people most of the time.

Really, if maximum versatility is what you're after, you really can't go wrong with one of the 400 fill bags. PHD Minim 400, Alpkit Pipedream 400, Rab Quantum 400. Also look at Mountain Equipment, Crux It'll be the bag you'll use 95% of the time. I'd personally save the cash and go for the alpkit - my sister has one and it's a great bag.

Again, the only issue with down is the damp, but as long as you're careful it's fine, and you get the weight/space advantages which are quite considerable.

Work transplant. Will be based in Hong Kong with 3month stints in Shanghai. Doubt l will get to ride much but good base for lots of good hill trekking. I think l will require a tarp and mozzie net more than tent and bag!

Also worth bearing in mind manufacturer weight, pack size, temp ratings. My Lamina was 247gm (if l remember correctly - yes, l weighed it on digital scale!) over the cited weight and pack size was porkier. My Xero is both warmer and lighter than rated and pack size is spot on.

PhD are very well regarded but they are basic designs (budget models l seen), cutting corners to save weight like no baffles, using half zips so sticking a leg out or using your bag as a quilt is a hassle.

sadly, you won't find a bag suitable for both hot Italy and cold UK. Suggest you try out a few and then bite the bullet!