UKH

My winter sleeping bag (4 season now?) will be going to sleeping bags heaven and I need a replacement, but I have no idea what to buy. I'm lost, everything is moving too fast. (And music nowadays! It's noise.)

I plan to go to the Lakes and possibly Snowdonia end of March. Mainly camping in the valleys with the odd wild camping in higher places if it's not -20C. So that's my immediate need, but on the longer term it shouldn't be much different. I would use it about 10-15 nights a year I guess, probably in colder conditions on camp site but not for wild camping in full winter conditions. So what's on the market, for generic winter use?

In reply to drolex:

I got may last bag here http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/

There not cheap but you can tweak the design to get exactly what you want.

Davey

In reply to drolex:

I've had a Rab Ascent 900 for about 8 years, used it over 100 nights a year, winter and summer, in anything from -12 winter Scotland to +30 in the Alps, camping, bivvying, bunkhouses and friends floors. Brilliant piece of kit, recommend it highly. Had a Rab Ladakh 600 before that, lived out of it for 12 years, one of the best things I've ever bought.

In reply to drolex:

I had one of the ME Lamina series for a while which I thought was a great bag. These days I rate PhD's bags, I have a superlight PhD minimus which is good to about -5 and weighs about the same as a hankerchief.

In reply to drolex:
Depends on budget and so on. It doesn't sound as if a super light weight to warmth ratio is required but you could do a lot worse than a mountain equipment light line. Warmer bags in the range are snowline, then iceline. It's also worth checking ebay where nice down bags often come up which have had little use.

In reply to drolex:

I use a Snowline. A brief review of the older version here:

https://ruinapartum.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/gear-review-mountain-equipment...

In reply to planetmarshall:

-5 - your having a giraffe ! i've got a minimus and it's great, but below 0 would not be fun for me.
phd rate it at +5 but ive found it ok down to about 1 or 2 degrees c on mountain marathons.

In reply to drolex:

Thanks all for the answers. 500£ is a bit too much for me for a lightline. Might go for a minim (rather than a minimus) and my belay jacket...

In reply to drolex:

Take a good look at your sleep mat. Some upgrades here may help offset any bag compromises you make. I'd argue mat choice just as important as bag choice. I routinely use my minimus below zero with an exped ul7 short downmat, it's stunning. Minimus only falls over when wet of course, so stick it in a hunka. Wear your belay jacket if feel the cold.

In reply to drolex:

Check out the Rab Neutrino 800 rated down to -20 or the Neutrino Endurance 600 rated down to -3 (Limit comfort -10). Both are lightweight at just over 1kg. I have the Neutrino Endurance 600 teamed with a z lite which kept me warm and toasty on the Vallee Blanche at -15. If you factor in wearing your winter clothes in the bag it will keep you warm at much colder temps than rated plus it saves weight!

Happy Hunting
Dave.

In reply to David Staples:

I've a Mint Rab Alpine 600 used about 5/6 Times now called the Neutrino End 600 going for £150 posted 1150g good to -10

In reply to Bluebird:

Good points, I need to check my mat too.

Out of curiosity are you saying you are using a bivi bag inside a tent?

In reply to drolex:

£500! You can get it far cheaper. E-outdoor (I confess I don't know them) are selling for 226.95.

In reply to drolex:

I was previously using a Rab -18 rated exped bag in the UK (because thats what I owned other than a light summer bag) and last year switched to a much more sensible -9 Western Mountaineering one. So happy with it - it really is such a nice piece of kit. Not cheap though, but probably cheaper than PHD.

I really think top quality down is necessary in bags for cold temperatures, otherwise you end up carrying huge stuff sacks and weight for the same temperature rated bag. Fit/cut is also important - you don't want all the heat escaping, or warming up superfluous bag around your legs etc, but bearing that in mind, any of the top producers filling bags will 850+ down and a high quality light weight fabric should do the trick - Rab, ME, PDH, WM, MHW, etc.

If your car camping, you could always consider a synthetic bag? Better suited to cope with the damp British winter (and summer) climate. It will be heavier and bulkier for the same temperature rating, but that might not be an issue for you. I saw recently that the latest Mountain Hardware bag won some awards.

In reply to drolex:

I splashed out on one of these: http://katabaticgear.com/shop/alsek-sleeping-bag/ (or see here for review of similar bag: http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Ultralight-Sleeping-Bag-Reviews/Katabatic-Gea... ) A 630g bag which, combined with e.g. an Exped SynMat UL 7, will do you down to -5 or -10 C - or lower if you wear some clothes too.