Sleeping Bags

@AdrianT, I can confirm that the zipper is YKK.

@GriffBaker

I also purched a bag from them last year for my Everest trip. Mine weighs quite a bit heavier though as it is an extra length bag and they used a lot more down filling to get to a minus 24 or so rating. Funnily enough I also had a problem with the zipper initially - they might have to have a chat to their sewing lady as she sewed the ends in wrongly so the slider came off and I couldn't get it back on again. Otherwise a very nice bag and really toasty - but a bit warm for me in the Berg most of the time. Put it on the for sale webpage but nobody was interested, so I'm keeping it for Kalahari winter nights and the one week in the year when it is really cold in the Berg

Sounds like the exact issue I had.

Riaang wrote: and the one week in the year when it is really cold in the Berg

Riaan, you are going to need it this weekend...

GriffBaker wrote: www.hexvalleydown.com/shop/sleeping-bags/

they give it a min rating of -9 and extreme of -10.

I tried to visit their website, but it's "temporarily unavailable". I am looking for sleeping bag like this. I recently bought a smaller hiking bag, and now my FA Ice Breaker doesn't fit that well inside with all the other stuff, and if I can shed 500g that would be great. But sleeping cold is not an option!

I tried making a bag like PapaG, but finding time to finish it is a problem at this moment.

GriffBaker, do you know what type of down they use Goose/duck? Fill power? Feather/down ratio? I think you should go the berg this weekend, if you don't sleep cold I might buy one...

Gerrit,

They don't actually rate their down but I had them send me a picture of it and it is decent quality. Locally sourced from mature birds, down feathers/filaments was about 4cm long on average. I would say, compared to some of my 650 fill down jackets definitely better quality down so higher fill rating.

Used the bag last year on Giants when it was -8 degrees by the time I climbed into bed (temp on my watch, not chill factor) and it definitely got colder during the night. Next morning when I woke up it was 27 degrees inside the bag so very toasty .

Doesn't look like it's going to be that cold this weekend, wil take my Blue Kazoo. I'm still waiting for that one properly cold week, with 1m deep snowdrifts

Gerrit, it may be worth looking at Makoti bags as well. No idea how their bags handle, but I've been very happy with 3 different lots of down that they have sent me.
I used my 920g bag this weekend, when we went to bed it was about 3*C if I remember rightly. I had a Sea to summit liner, Chinese tights and a merino vest. Soon overheated and had to open the quilt out, slept very warm for the rest of the night. It reached -0.5*c in the morning....

@Gerrit

They make the bags in summer, standard and expedition.

Mine is the 'standard' and Riaan must have the 'expedition'

I used mine on sat night in a tent in the lower berg. It was cold enough(outside) to freeze my shoes and socks solid overnight.
I was toasty enough that I slept until after sunrise.

The rating I gave was from a .pdf document they had on the website.

As Riaan said the fill is 100% local goose down. I'm sure it must be better quality than your 'made in....' variety.

Haha. I don't mean your bag is 'made in...'

Strange, as their website (www.hexvalleydown.com/shop/sleeping-bags/ ) was working last week. I enjoyed reading their story too. Nothing better than locally made quality.

For my next bag I'm going to make my own like PapaD