Sleeping Bags

I have taken the plunge and ordered a bag from a Company in the States – ZPacks

WOW elinda! Please please make us all jealous by posting lots of photos and reviews

Great elinda!!
Which size and rating did you get?

The weight sounds amazing, Elinda. The only place you might get cold is around the head as this sleeping bag has no cowl. I find a cowl amazing, in that one can snuggle right in and only have enough space for the nose to stick out.

I also have an ultralight sleeping bag, but I bought mine years ago before the Rand plummeted. Its a Western Mountaineering ultralight, weighs 900g and has not let me down in the coldest Drakensberg winters.

I love it so much, three of my friends have been convinced to buy one, but they got the -12 one and a medium for the same weight as mine. They are available in Germany too.

www.backcountry.com/western-mountaineering-ultralite-sleeping-bag-20-degree-down-wes0031

Elinda, this bag and design makes so much sense to me.

My next bag will be a combination of yours, and the bottom one on this page:
bushwalkingnsw.org.au/clubsites/FAQ/DIY_RNCSB.htm

Thanks everyone for your input.

I have gone for the minus 7 degrees and 'long' and wider option, purely because I am a little claustrophobic in a bag and like a little space around me. (conventional thinking is of course to have as little space as possible around you as too much affects the warmth) The extra length is to make up for the lack of a cowl - I have tried out the bag at home and the extra material snuggles nicely around my head, so hopefully this will work on a cold night! I decided against the minus 12 degrees as I thought it may be overkill for Berg conditions - I have never been cold in my current minus 7 bag, even in very cold conditions on top of the escarpment.

Your bag looks good Papa Dragon - are you getting it any time soon? It will be interesting to share our views once we try them out!

Awesome Elinda, sure you'll enjoy it.

I have ordered the down for mine, hopefully be here next week sometime.
Reminds me, I better start getting stuff together for the shell

Just a technical question on sleeping bags and fillings. It has been discussed before but I think I still might not understand some technical ratings regarding the dawn quality or something. Those Z-packs have really good reviews on the internet so I believe are as warm as their ratings stake. But the math doesn't add up. When you compare their dawn 5°C bag with a similar First Ascent one their specs are more or less the same.

5°C

FA Adventure Light: Goose (190g), total 550g

Z-packs: Goose (185g), total 349g

I assume Z-packs uses a lighter material but the goose insulating weighs more or less the same. So the math adds up regarding the temperature ratings.

-7°C

FA (Ice breaker): Goose (800g), total 1600g

Z-packs: Goose (312g), total 473g

Again I assume the Z-packs material is much lighter. But how does the 312g insulation compare to the 800g for the same temperature rating?

There are many forums confirming the performance and quality of the Z-packs so I think their claims are realistic.

I know there are forum members that know much more than I do, some are even attempting to make their own bags...
Any thoughts?

PS. Elinda Congratulations on the bag, I think it's a really good product. I am not trying to "insult" or "de-rate" your sleeping bag I just want an honest debate.

I will leave the technical stuff to you guys and will just let the bag do the talking........
Watch this space!

elinda wrote: I will leave the technical stuff to you guys and will just let the bag do the talking........
Watch this space!

Are you intending to use a liner with the bag, elinda?

GerritHuman wrote:

Any thoughts?

Without claiming any expertise other than my own investigations I'll attempt to throw some light on your question; first have a read of the attached background info.

Then we need to revise your figures to compare similar size and temp rated bags: (all info from the firstAscent & Z-Packs websites):

+5°C
fA Amplify Down Light (Regular)(think this is the latest version of the Adventure Light): 5°C fA comfort rating; filling: 190g Goose down (92:8 ratio), unspecified fill power; total mass 710g (shell mass 520g); length: 210cm, width top 78cm bottom 50cm
Z-Packs (Wide, Long): 5°C Z-packs comfort rating; filling 203g Goose down, 900 fill power; total mass 389g (shell mass 181g); length: suit 185cm max, girth top 155cm (width 77cm?)

-7°C
fA (Ice Breaker Regular): -8°C fA comfort rating; filling: 800g Goose down (92:8 ratio), unspecified fill power; total mass 1600g (shell mass 800g); length: 210cm, width top 82cm bottom 58cm
Z-Packs (X-Wide, Long): -7°C Z-packs comfort rating; filling 405g Goose down, 900 fill power; total mass 612g (shell mass 207g); length: suit 182cm max, girth top 167cm (width 83cm?)

So, assuming the temperature rating systems are similar (big assumption), when comparing similar sized bags it is clear that the weight savings of the Z-Packs bags are achieved primarily in the shell (lighter fabrics, shorter zip), and also in the filling which is probably from using a lesser amount of higher fill-power (=warmer) down. I suspect that the fA down bags are made with a 650-700 fill power down to save costs, while the Z-Packs bags are 900 fill power.

In the end it seems you get what you pay for.

Hope this helps.