Hi All,
Autumn is here and after some sweltering summer camps, I for one cannot wait to get out for some Autumnal camping. I guess many of us also have half an eye on Winter camping. I have been doing a bit of thinking about this lately and would welcome your thoughts on a conundrum I have regarding my winter sleep system.
I have been using a 2/3 season Alpkit Mountain Ghost sleeping bag since I was gifted it by my family last christmas. I'm really pleased with it, it's an odd feeling bag as the filling is a synthetic fibre that's meant to feel like down but doesn't quite loft up as much (not that it's a problem). The comfort limit rating is listed as -0.8 and I'd say that was pretty fair as I slept in it last winter when temperatures were breaching that limit and I had to put my down jacket on to keep warm. Suffice to say that the sleeping bag, from my perspective, seems perfectly suitable for the majority of the year (keep in mind that I camp down in the south east of the country).
So, I'm concious that I need to up my game this winter and ensure I'm suitably prepared for when/if the temperatures plummet. The options that I've been considering are thus:
1) Save up some pennies for a good quality down sleeping bag. This is my preferred option but unlikely to happen before this winter as I have some maintenance to do at home and unfortunately that must always take precedent over camping!
2) Buy a more affordable (£50ish!) 4 season synthetic sleeping bag. I've been looking at the basecamp series of sleeping bags by Snugpak (The Sleeping Bag and Sleeper Extreme). Although they're quite bulky, they seem to get favourable reviews. I've also considered getting an army surplus arctic bag but am less than enthusiastic about buying a second hand sleeping bag.
3) Perhaps my favoured option is to buy a liner/blanket to use in conjunction with my alpkit bag. I have a wool blanket that I have used in the past but am not always keen on lugging it about as I rarely have room in my rucksack (my largest rucksack is a 38ltr NI Patrol Pack). I currently have my eyes on a Snugpak Jungle Blanket which has recently received a good review from Mr Fenna on the front pages of this glorious forum. This appeals as it seems quite versatile and is considerably lighter than a wool blanket.
Let me know what you think.
Autumn is here and after some sweltering summer camps, I for one cannot wait to get out for some Autumnal camping. I guess many of us also have half an eye on Winter camping. I have been doing a bit of thinking about this lately and would welcome your thoughts on a conundrum I have regarding my winter sleep system.
I have been using a 2/3 season Alpkit Mountain Ghost sleeping bag since I was gifted it by my family last christmas. I'm really pleased with it, it's an odd feeling bag as the filling is a synthetic fibre that's meant to feel like down but doesn't quite loft up as much (not that it's a problem). The comfort limit rating is listed as -0.8 and I'd say that was pretty fair as I slept in it last winter when temperatures were breaching that limit and I had to put my down jacket on to keep warm. Suffice to say that the sleeping bag, from my perspective, seems perfectly suitable for the majority of the year (keep in mind that I camp down in the south east of the country).
So, I'm concious that I need to up my game this winter and ensure I'm suitably prepared for when/if the temperatures plummet. The options that I've been considering are thus:
1) Save up some pennies for a good quality down sleeping bag. This is my preferred option but unlikely to happen before this winter as I have some maintenance to do at home and unfortunately that must always take precedent over camping!
2) Buy a more affordable (£50ish!) 4 season synthetic sleeping bag. I've been looking at the basecamp series of sleeping bags by Snugpak (The Sleeping Bag and Sleeper Extreme). Although they're quite bulky, they seem to get favourable reviews. I've also considered getting an army surplus arctic bag but am less than enthusiastic about buying a second hand sleeping bag.
3) Perhaps my favoured option is to buy a liner/blanket to use in conjunction with my alpkit bag. I have a wool blanket that I have used in the past but am not always keen on lugging it about as I rarely have room in my rucksack (my largest rucksack is a 38ltr NI Patrol Pack). I currently have my eyes on a Snugpak Jungle Blanket which has recently received a good review from Mr Fenna on the front pages of this glorious forum. This appeals as it seems quite versatile and is considerably lighter than a wool blanket.
Let me know what you think.
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