Sleeping Bags

Riaang wrote: Hi Adrian,

I can confirm Papadragon's message above - the bag is designed in such as way that you can move the down around according to the temperatures. I've done that lots of times and it works very well. When hot you sweep the down from the top (i.e. the area on your stomac) to the bottom (behind your back). When cold you do the reverse.
However, it has also happened to me once where I also forgot that a lot of down was at the bottom and had a really cold night. Was just too cold to climb out and reposition the down in the middle of the night (ok, I was also too lazy to get up ).

I never disputed that I think you're confusing me with someone else.

I recently tried the services offered by Makoti Down Products. I sent my 15 year old IceBreaker for a "top up" and wash. Their service is fantastic and pricing reasonable.
The result is a slightly heavier and larger sleeping bag but the rating is now at least -12. Happiness!

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Hi all

This question has been asked before, but i do not find definitive answers or a review.

Does anyone have experience with the First Ascent Amplify sunthetic range? I am looking at a sleeping bag for Berg escarpment in September, but which i could also use for summer hikes and sleeping outside / festivals etc. The Amplify 1500 weighs 1.6kg and has an extreme rating of -2. Amplify 1800 weighs almost 2kg (phew), with an extreme rating of -5.

I recently bought a Klymit Static V insulated mattress, together with a mr price thin blue roll-up mat that has space blanket insulation on one side.

Plan is to take both mats (950g together), and couple it with the Amplify 1500 and a good silk liner. Total weight of sleep system almost 3kg, and the less warm bag / liner combo will suit my lifestyle better (mild temps/summer fun). Thoughts?

My other option would be to look at Ice Breaker (if i can find one on special) or Hex Valley Down (on this thread). But a synthetic bag of under R2K seems to suit my lifesyle and pocket better, as i do like sleeping outside and have woken up wet from dew in the past. The liner i can also use when traveling or on its own for sticky nights.

Lots of words for a Monday morning. Looking forward to replies in due course.

By chance I found this:
www.seagullindustries.co.za/online.asp?controller=catalogue&view=product&id=803&product=treksmart-4-season--15%C2%B0c

Very cheap price for a -15 bag and light. May be a bit optimistic though in both regards

AdrianT wrote: By chance I found this:
www.seagullindustries.co.za/online.asp?controller=catalogue&view=product&id=803&product=treksmart-4-season--15%C2%B0c

Very cheap price for a -15 bag and light. May be a bit optimistic though in both regards

Had a look at those, seems like an Australian version of Campmaster etc. Seems a bit like "goedkoop is duur koop" ...

Bit of a late reply but i use the Deuter Orbit -5 sleeping bag. Can confirm that it works very well for the weight and provides very good protection from cold conditions. Spent the night with some buddies in tarn cave last weekend in snowy conditions and it definitely lives up to its -5 rating. Regard

Hi all

So I ended up buying a sleeping bag from www.hexvalleydown.com/shop/sleeping-bags/. Paying it forward with a quick review.

From date of payment to date of delivery was 1 week, and I could choose colours, zipper length and hood / no hood. Ordered a "Standard" Pertex Mummy, filled with 550g 100% pure goose down. Estimated temperature rating is -10 to +10 for a warm sleeper. Stitching is dodgy here and there, but it comes with a lifetime warranty which should be good enough.

Tried to put the pics inside text but failed. See captions to pictures below:

1.) Basic mummy shape with horizontal baffles. The baffles are not continuous (I requested this). The stitching not sewn-through all the way, but does have some kind of internal chamber (sic). This should prevent cold air from entering via stitching (problem with old-school bags).
2.) They are still busy making a compression stuff sack, but gave me a normal stuff sack as a start. Both sleeping bag and mattress fits into into it.
3.) Neck baffle is nice and puffy, zip baffle fairly thin.
4.) Two-way zipper all the way around footbox (you can request a closed footbox if required).
5.) Very basic drawstrings to close hood and baffle. You would have to pre-tighten them to a fixed setting before getting into bag.
6.) Total weight a pinch over 1kg. This makes up for the lack of high-tec bells and whistles.

[Edit: excuse picture quality and orientation]

I finally got a chance to test out my North Face Aleutian 20/-7 this weekend at KBC...this is my attempt at a review

thenorthface.com/shop/aleutian-20-7

First stats:
Weight: slighty over 1.8kgs
Rating: -3C Comfort, -9C Limit and -28C Extreme

AdrianT wrote: 58cm when packed? Shew, quite a beast

It is a big misleading because the sack it comes in is quite a loose pack so it can compress a lot more. That being said the box Takealot used was big enough to fit my entire back pack in so that had me quite worried.

It is quite a large bag and doesn't come with a compression sack so i decided to just pack it loose and cram in into free space in my pack...this worked well and I didn't really seem to loose any space compared to the Kilimanjaro 2 I had been using.

As I said the bag is quite large, my feet had plenty of room below them and I had a lot of room inside the bag to shift around in which made for a very comfortable sleep compared to other bags I've used. I was even able to bend my legs a bit. I am a fairly 'restless' sleeper so I move around a lot and the extra room meant these position changes didn't wake me up every time.

There is a short side zip in the opposite side of the bag that allows you to treat the top of the bag just like a duvet, flapping it open or keeping it down whilst sticking your arms out which added a lot to the bags comfort.

The lowest the temperature got this weekend was about 3C so I didn't get a chance to test the limits of the how the bag copes when it is freezing out, but it defientely did keep my nice and warm, and I didn't have to get to bundled up at all so I am confident that it will serve me well when the temps drop a lot more.

Happy with my purchase




Temperature rating on the bag (different to what they advertise on there website for some reason)


Compressed (on left) campare to a K-Way Kilimanjaro 2 (right)


The box it came in - slightly overkill


The bag unpacked


The bag with the top flap folded open

gerhardsnorbaard wrote: Hi all

So I ended up buying a sleeping bag from www.hexvalleydown.com/shop/sleeping-bags/.

Hi Gerhard
Wow that bag looks really good! You should sleep outside during the next cold front and tell us how you experience the temperature rating. 1kg for -10°C bag is really light! The size of the bag is also quite small considering you didn't even compress it. You should get a compression bag and it would shrink even more!

GerritHuman wrote:

gerhardsnorbaard wrote: Hi all

So I ended up buying a sleeping bag from www.hexvalleydown.com/shop/sleeping-bags/.

Hi Gerhard
Wow that bag looks really good! You should sleep outside during the next cold front and tell us how you experience the temperature rating. 1kg for -10°C bag is really light! The size of the bag is also quite small considering you didn't even compress it. You should get a compression bag and it would shrink even more!

Thanks, i am going to sleep in it this weekend for the first time. But alas i live on the coast so even a "cold" night isnt less than 10 degrees. Will post results after our planned drakensberg escarpment trip in September! On the rating, -10 is their "extreme" rating but is very subjective. If you look at fill weight and quality it should compare to the many 20F (-7) options available. I am very happy my decision, local is lekker and supporting small businesses etc