Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => Gear Questions, Information, Reviews and Competitions => Topic started by: wee gaz on November 16, 2011
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snugpac softie 3 autumn £75. is this a good enough bag for our winters for a few trips to the mournes.cant afford any more than this but maybe at a secret squeeze (shuuuush). any advice pros or cons,cheers
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It should be ok for anything other than frozen weather. I know it says comfort to -5, but it also says extreme -10 which is suspiciously close. I think they are counting on their reflectatherm lining to give some more degrees of comfort... but I have their jungle bag with this lining and comfort is not the word I would use when it is near the limit. Yes, it reflects your radiant heat back to your core, but the outside of you is still cold from conducting through the bag. I find I both sweat and shiver at the same time and would say it is overrated by about 4-5degrees.
So, in a word, it will probably be okay to about 0. If you can go a bit more, look at a Mountain Hardware Lamina 35 - it will be about the same but more consistent feel, enough room to add layers, and pack smaller and lighter.
Chuck and Dowser are both using the veritable Tesco Mummy sleeping bag, wearing extra layers or using two of them when it's cold. Much cheaper! Sometimes there are offers on Vango ultralights about too.
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Hey Wee Gaz, I have the autumn softie and it’s a great bag especially the extension baffle that gives the bag more room inside, which is great for the summer and warmer nights. I’ve used the bag bivving and hammocking during the summer with the top of the bag always loose and never felt cold even when it was really windy.
I’m going to be camping in the Mournes around the 2nd of December and this should be a good test for the bag. I’ll be in a tent and have my silk liner with me, just in case. I’ll let you know how it goes.
You can get the winter bag for an extra fiver on Amazon.