Sleeping bag

[stu1979uk]

Hi all, I was thinking of buying an ex army bag then i came across a Khyam Micro 800 [ultralight800] at http://www.outdoorworld.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=7 98 i was intending to buy the Kyam bivi bag with it also.
I was wondering if anyone has any info on the bag/brand or other recommendations?
I intend to use in Scotland throughout the summer/autum so shouldn't need anything sub zero. The bags has a 2/3 season rating with extreme temp -5 and +10 and comfort at 0 and +5. The bag itself only weighs 1.0Kg and seems ideal for my intended use.
Any comments welcome thanks in advance, Stuart

[Bushcraft4life]

For £20 it seems very farfetched about the ratings. Have you had a look at the Nanoks or the snugpack range. Don't trust temp ratings mate because they can be a real let down. On genuine army surplus they have the Nanok endurance summer bag for £37.

[Backyard Bushcraft]

ive just bought the very same bag and it seems fine, i foned the supopliers and said the temp ratings are accurate, however minus 5 would be extreme and with the bivi bag nocks up the ratings quite a bit, plus its only £20 so i wont have lost too much if its s**t :lmao: :lmao: plus i did reas an article about an expedition team using the whole vss system in some really cold place (cant remember exactly where) so they cant be all that bad (i hope)

[Glen]

For £20 it seems very farfetched about the ratings. Have you had a look at the Nanoks or the snugpack range. Don't trust temp ratings mate because they can be a real let down. On genuine army surplus they have the Nanok endurance summer bag for £37.

I agree with the don't trust temperature ratings, I regard manufacturers temperature ratings to be inside a tent and on one of the better sleeping mats, to vary between naked and in several layers of clothing. I'd generally add at least 5 degrees to the stated ratings for sleeping under just a basha, even if well insulated from the ground. I held off buying one of the Khyam 800s till I thought I could afford to possibly waste £20.


Having received mine this morning I'll give a first impression review compared to 2 other bags I have, a Snugpak Softie 3 ( Merlin ) and another £20 bag a Voyager 200 unfortunately I don't know the make of this second bag I think it might be a Highlander from what I was told when given it.

The VSS800 came in it's own compresion sack, a definite bonus over most sleeping bags at this price range. Picking up the SS3 I've no reason to doubt the manufacturers claim of 1kg, about 100g more than the SS3. In it's uncompressed state, which is how it arrived, it's certainly bigger than the SS3 but already smaller than the V200 which came with only a flimsy stuffsack.

Uncompressed it fits neatly in my Snugpak Rocketpak side pouch with a little room to spare, enough room to fit the Kyham bivvi (about 1lt ) in too ( along with and a set of thermals and a silk liner it starts to get compressed) Compressed it takes up just over half the side pouch.

I laid it opened out flat and placed the SS3 ontop, it's a couple of inches wider than the SS3 and a little taller, a fraction wider and taller than the V200.

It seems well constructed, got some nice touches ticking many more boxes than I'd expected at this price level.

Materials apparently:
Outer:3 x 3 190T Nylon Ripstop
Inner:P4 Silk
Filling:1 x 100gsm Silk Hollowfibre

The insulation seem to be sewn to the inner crosswise every 25cm and not attached to the outer. It's quite a nice feel inner,not as nice as the snugpak but I really like the feel of snugpaks material and in most cases I'd use a silk linner as they're so much easier to wash and dry.

There's a couple of hanging/drying tags on the bottom, a small zipped inner pocket, a drawcord shoulder baffle which has velcro to attach to the together at the zipped side. A nice touch here is that the rough velcro side has a dedicated soft side next to it to keep the scratchy bit out the way when not in use. There's also a velcro outer flap to seal over the top of the zips, yes 2 zips, one behind the other running, about 3/4 length with zips at both ends which have the zip handles that can be used from inside and out plus a healthy zip baffle behind them. The hood has a drawcord closure and small pieces of velcor ( soft inside rough ouside ) which would be used to attach to the other VSS bags or VSS bivi

I did a quick water test by flicking some on using my finger, it beads on the VSS800 and the SS3, unlike the V200 where in sinks into the fabric, left for 15 minutes the water is still beaded ontop and shakes off easily.

So for constuction and design features it's well ahead of any other £20 bag I've come across.

Can't give it a proper test outside for a couple of weeks but for now I opened my window, heating off to let the room cool down and tried a comparsion.

About 12 degrees C with a slight breeze and placed ontop of my matress.
Stripping to just my undies seemed the best way to compare, Thinking about an hour would be a reasonable timescale to judge by.

VSS800 not initially as warm to the touch as the SS3 but soon warmed up, although not as fast as the SS3 did. It's a good few cm wider than the SS3 probably accounts for that, I err fell asleep for a couple of hours in the VSS800 and woke feeling reasonably warm still, so reasonably comfortable then ;) I'd guess at 10degrees with little wind would still seem to be reasonable as a comfort zone. From that I'd put it ( at least for me as we all differ) as about 5 to 15 depending on clothing and wind conditions, maybe 0 at a push, with clothes and preferably a liner, roughly the same range I'd rate the SS3 for myself. The V200 I'd rate only as a summer or indoor sleepover bag like 15-25, 10 as a low.

If your expecting a do everything bag for £20 the you'll possibly be dissapointed, however if you've only got £20 to spend on a bag then the Khyam Ultralight 800 seems very good value for money. If your Bushcrafting on a budget it's certainly one to seriously consider, especially as the others in the range are around the same price so could be expanded cheaply over time.

Interestingly I did put the SS3 inside the VSS800, it fitted nicley and was toasty warm under the same conditions as above. I'd also say worth considering the VSS800 as an add on if you've already got a SS3 and want to extend it's temperature range for a lot less than it would cost for a new snugpak, infact about the same as they'd want just for the exstension baffle to zip one Softie inside the other, and the pair, VSS800 and SS3, will squeeze when compressed, into a Snugpak Rocketpak.

Something to keep in mind though is I didn't use it for a full night outside so can't comment on how it's performance might be affected by condensation, internal or external.

OK over to someone else to give another review ( hint )

Oh it's also a fetching shade of green, whereas the bivi I got,was called green but to my eyes appears more blue.

[stu1979uk]

Thanks for the good advice,
I think i'll order one up and give it a go for £20 its worth a shot and with the bivi bag should be ok for me as i have some natural insulation anyway :) I'll let you know how i get on thanks again, Stu
:You_Rock_