Sleeping bags.

[CLEM]

I am going to buy meself a new bag soon and as as comfy as my old issue G10 is its a little on the large side and warm for summer use.Anyone own a Snugpak Merlin,what are your opinions on them.I know they pack down small which is good but how warm are they,how much room to them ect(iam a big-fat lad see) and need a bit of space otherwise i cannot sleep.Ive read that the Merlin is rated as a three season bag,but others say its more of a two.Do you think that a Merlin and one of Snugpaks own fleese liners would make a good 2plus-three season bag,its mostly going to be used in spring n summer both at home and in Norway.Thanks gents.

[Tex]

I have bougt a sleeping bag on ebay. It was a jungle issue. I use this instead of my G10, in all but the coldest conditions. It packs up smaller, weights less, it has the bonus of being larger than any of the snug pack bags and it only cost me £48.00 ):

[C_Claycomb]

I reckon that saying the Merlin is a 3 season bag is REALLY stretching things! I have the Softie 6 Kestrel and have found it a bit warm in the middle of summer (not this past summer! 2003 was warmer, and it had been the hottest day ) but I have been a bit chilly in it in mid April and September, even with it in a bivi-bag.

I used the No6 in a Hennessy in early October, along with the Snugpak fleece liner, and a bivi. I wasn't really cosy, the liner certainly makes it warmer, but is extremely bulky in a pack for the amount of warmth it offers. The fleece liner takes about as much space as a Softie 6, it also takes up space in the bag making it harder to move around.

If you want a bag for say late May through early September, and sleep on the ground, either in a tent or under a basha in warmer weather, the Merlin will probably work great. Stretch the season a bit or use a hammock and it may be a bit cool. The temp ratings seem optimistic if you aren't in a tent.

On a side note, I read that one company's temp rating was calculated on comfort in a tent that you are shareing with another person!! So, beware, most bags aren't rated for open air temps.

[CLEM]

Thanks for the replys Gents,how roomy are the snugpak bags as iam not a small lad.Which ever bag i get its going to be used spring to summer with an Brit issue bivi bag and a thermarest.Any ideas/opinions would be most welcome.Thanks.

[Paganwolf]

Thanks for the replys Gents,how roomy are the snugpak bags as iam not a small lad.Which ever bag i get its going to be used spring to summer with an Brit issue bivi bag and a thermarest.Any ideas/opinions would be most welcome.Thanks.

Nip in to your local camping shop if you can and try one for size to be sure of a good fit, some have them hanging up for such purpose, but you can buy zip in inserts for the snugpak bags which make them a tad bigger, probably best get them directly from snugpak.

[CLEM]

Nip in to your local camping shop if you can and try one for size to be sure of a good fit, some have them hanging up for such purpose, but you can buy zip in inserts for the snugpak bags which make them a tad bigger, probably best get them directly from snugpak.

Thanks Paganwolf,those insert sound interesting,i wonder how much bigger they make the bag.

[CLEM]

Nip in to your local camping shop if you can and try one for size to be sure of a good fit, some have them hanging up for such purpose, but you can buy zip in inserts for the snugpak bags which make them a tad bigger, probably best get them directly from snugpak.

Anyone used these inserts Paganwolf mentioned??? :-)

[wentworth]

I realise Wiggy's is obviously trying to sell units, but this article on their site really sheds some light on Snugpak. I've seen a merlin 3 and it doesn't look like it has much loft at all...

http://www.wiggys.com/legacy/news.cfm

[Paganwolf]

Looks like a political handbags at dawn job that one :roll:

[leon-1]

Softie 3's are summer weight bags, they have virtually no loft. I have been using a softie10 for at least 10 years, year round and in some pretty awfull conditions, this is supposed to be a 3+ season bag, I have had no problems with it.
I also have a sleeping bag made by Mountain Equipment, which is also 3+ season, this is marginally warmer, but the construction is not as robust and this has been overlocked.

I have a down bag which is rated as a spring summer bag, this I have used all year round as well, this on the other hand got a little nippy in January on the side of Pen-Y-Fan with a gale blowing and the snow coming down, but seeing that it is not rated down to that level it was not expected to be brilliant. Using the layer system as a guide I got the bag to a temperature that I could sleep quite happily.

In conclusion all sleeping bags are different, despite what they claim on the tin they do not work for everyone down to the temperatures that they say.

My 2 season down bag has better loft, compresses smaller and pound for pound is a far better bag than either of the other two, its rating should be 3 season and with a bivvi bag could possibly get away with 3+.

I may well be getting a Wiggy's bag soon that is rated at the same level as my down bag, I would be highly surprised if it could match the size, weight and comfort factor of the little down bag. :wink:

[CLEM]

Anyone used these inserts Paganwolf mentioned??? :-)

I will take that as a NO then :rolmao:

[Adi007]

I take it you mean the Expanda panels - http://www.snugpak.com/accessories.php4

Nope, not used em!

[CLEM]

I take it you mean the Expanda panels - http://www.snugpak.com/accessories.php4

Nope, not used em!

:rolmao: yep i am refering to those very same expander panels that you havent used :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

[mercury]

Best bag by far ( that I have used ) was the old army one with the waterproof base , the new(er) ones are nice and warm but too damn heavy and big. The wife caught me looking at a £9 Gelert bag the other day in Halfords , I'm looking at the label that says its extreme down to -5 and thinking that maybe for a tenner it may be worth a try , she wants the £30 one because "its bigger so it will be warmer" ...may have a point there ):

[Neo_ad]

Hello all

As most of you know i work for Snugpak, i would like to clear up on the wiggy topic.

Thanks for posting the link, and this should help explain

Basically this guy seems to hate our company. We are a small concern in the UK that has been in business for 28yr. He seems to feel he is the authority on sleeping bags and he has made it his business to attack us ever since we started to sell in large number products in the USA. He has already filed a lawsuit 2 or 3 yr ago and that went nowhere lately he has taken it upon himself to really criticise our bags, our customers and anything else associated with us.

He mentions things in his outbursts that we could take to court and challenge legally but to be quite honest he is bringing us far more attention in the States than we could ever do by advertising, and at the same time is alienating himself to his old and potential new customers with his continuous outbursts.

For the record we are and have been the number 1 choice of the British Armed forces for sleeping bags for nearly 15 years. The soldiers in the UK are issued sleeping bags as part of there kit and then they go out and buy 1 of ours. We have supplied recently issued kit to Canada, Ireland Australia, Oman and the UK. We have at the moment sleeping bags and jackets that are being tried and tested for future contracts. Surely if our bags were that bad we would have been found out within these 28yrs

Our pack size sleeping bags do work the fibre we use does not break up like he says it does. He says that the Australian army products we supplied failed? This is not so we have supplied since and there has never been any documentation or contact between Snugpak and anyone in Australia to say that there has been any problem

For the record Wiggys bags are very well made. My company would never slate another competitor in the way that they have and I can only assume that maybe sales are not what they were and they blame us for this.

Anyways i hope this helps, and if any of you have further questions please post them here or contact me direct on stewart@snugpak.com