The weight slashing continues with a replacement for my PD400, a shiny, stretchy Mountain Equipment Xero 150. No hood, no collar, no pocket for my earplugs and emergency stash of peanut M&Ms. It's only got half a zip too but at almost half the weight and bulk it should be more than enough during the summer and maybe beyond if I wear a hooded synthetic insulation filled jacket.
Just waiting for a break in the weather to give it some test zzzzzzzzzzz's.
12 comments:
Very nice and pushing the limits. The way to go. The less I carry the more uncomplicated a walk seems.
Looks funky. will be watching out for the write up.
TEST TEST TEST.
Yes Joe, we need a test. A full blown review, with a video and everything. We're a demanding audience, and we want it now-ish.
Seriously, congratulations on the new sleeping bag. Looks interesting, I don't know if I could do without a hood but your review with the insulated jacket + hood will give us plenty to think about.
Martin - it is pushing it I'll admit but I'm confident that with good weather, suitable clothing and the fact that I'll be in a tent that it'll be just fine. I'm happy to sleep in my clothing to augment my bag and would happily use some puffy troos to push it further.
Dave - just waiting for a break in this incessant rain to get out.
Hendrik - I will aim to satiate my audience's thirst for feedback shortly. I'm as interested as you guys are!
I think that if you're already carrying a hood on your insulation piece or a warm hat and hooded windshirt then you may not require one on your bag too (in summer at least!). The more things I find with dual uses, the more weight I'm saving.
My good buddy Willem-Maarten (of rondane write up fame) went with a PHD down pulover and half bag combi this time out to test the water. He loaned a rather old heavyweight halfbag for the purpose. The combi worked so well he'll be buying a half bag of his own. I was jealous so slept in my down puly and prentended I have a half bagpushing my cumulus down around my waist. I sleep a bit cold so was glad to have the bag to pull up later in the night. Sure that as long as Ive got head gear a bag without a hood would be fine though.
Dave - Half-bags have interested me before. I know Alpkit used to do the PipeDream 200 which would have been worth a punt.
Another option is the Nunatak Arc A.T. half (or 3/4 according to them) bag. At 227g and $200 it is an expensive but very light alternative.
I think the Xero 150 might be a bit light for me but I'm interested to hear how you get on. The elasticated section should help cut down air movement/drafts. I have a Xero 250 and really like it, the elastic suits me as I'm skinny.
Mac E - Thanks for your comment and welcome (I've added your blog by the way and subscribed via Google Reader). No doubt this bag has a limit but I'm keen to learn the techniques required (wearing your clothing to bed, keeping well fed, etc) to enable me to use such a light bag. When I test it I'll try to remember to take my Suunto off (leaving it on your wrist plays havoc with the thermometer) and check the temperatures periodically.
Quite often when camping I find I leave my insulating jacket/vest off when I go to bed, especially in summer. My plan is to simply cut down on the duplicate insulation I carry. If it all goes wrong then you'll all hear about it on here soon enough!
Interesting, interesting! I'm looking forward to hearing the test results. I've been thinking about breaking the baffles in the bottom of my summer bag, so I can pile the down to the top half - I'm a back sleeper, so it seems a waste to carry all that insulation only to crush half of it. We'll see...
Chris - for quite a while I've been quilt/top-bag curious! I stopped short again of going down that route when I bought the Xero but it's a step in that direction. On my Hardanger trip I slept in just my merino, pulling my unzipped PD400 over my legs when I got a little chilly in the early hours. I know I had good weather but I still feel there was plenty of scope for reducing the amount of insulation I was carrying. I'm a back sleeper too and it almost seems madness to carry around insulation that you're just going to crush underneath you, hence why I can see the reasoning behind quilt/top-bags. It's only drafts that you have to worry about then...
It looks like my Mountain equipment Skyline that I own. Great for summer but a bit thin on clear nights. I always take a hat when I use this bag :)
Baz - I agree, the warm hat I always carry but never use in summer will suddenly become an important part of my sleep system.
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