Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => The Knowledge => Camping It Up => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 24 February, 2018, 12:25:32 pm

Title: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Wowbagger on 24 February, 2018, 12:25:32 pm
I find it very difficult to find a sleeping bag into which I can comfortably insert my shoulders. Most seem to advertise an 80cm width, which is not much good at all. My dear wife measured ne around the shoulders just now and I am 155cm. Given that I am not two-dimensional, 80cm simply isn't enough.

Does the panel know of one which is also light enough for a backpacking trip?

I am also considering something like this as an alternative, given that the trip in question is going to be during the second half of June.

https://www.alpkit.com/products/cloud-cover-2017
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: andrewc on 24 February, 2018, 01:03:37 pm
I'm not exactly small & am usually comfortable in my Marmot bags,  these are American, so built for the larger person perhaps   ;)


A quick google shows that Snugpak make sleeping bags intended for fully clothed soldiers, which should offer plenty of internal volume. Mostly synthetic fill though, so heavier & bulkier than down.


Who is your current bag by ?  It may be possible to get a zip in expansion panel from the manufacturer. 


Quilts are an interesting idea when combined with a warm mat,  but Alpkit are usually sold out & PHD are eyewateringly expensive.



Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: rafletcher on 24 February, 2018, 01:18:48 pm
Depending on your budget, and intended frequency of use, you could get your own custom bag from a respected U.K. manufacturer.

https://www.phdesigns.co.uk/design-your-own-sleeping-bag?osCsid=m6imkjb79hvufsg0qjpj0rt9d3

Their kit is very good.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Paul H on 24 February, 2018, 02:43:40 pm
I am also considering something like this as an alternative, given that the trip in question is going to be during the second half of June.

https://www.alpkit.com/products/cloud-cover-2017
I changed from using a bag to a quilt about a decade ago and it's without doubt the best camping kit decision I've ever made.
I put an Exped mat inside a sheet sleeping bag liner which gives a nice surface to sleep on (Also quietens the Exped) and usually have the quilt on top, mine also has options to make a foot box or use as a bag. It's always been warm enough for me, I'm a bit of a fair weather camper, though I've still woken warm on a few frosty mornings.  I sleep as well as I do at home.  There's a fair bit more choice now than then, I had mine sent from the US, it was expensive unless compared to the several sleeping bags that preceded it. I have no knowledge of any other brands, but if I needed another it wouldn't be hard to make comparisons.
  http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/the-mt-rogers-large-quilt/
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Duckfoot1606 on 24 February, 2018, 02:51:15 pm
Outwell Contour XL, 105cm wide 👍

Never backpacked, so can’t comment on that aspect

A
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: andrewc on 24 February, 2018, 03:16:01 pm
The Alpkit quilt you linked to is shown as withdrawn,   but their site has a current model (looks the same  in fact) https://www.alpkit.com/products/cloud-cover


Alpkit Cloud Cover quilt ... First look. (http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.com/2015/12/alpkit-cloud-cover-quilt-first-look.html)   


Backpacking Light have some as well


http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/category-56.html
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: loadsabikes on 24 February, 2018, 05:45:06 pm
I have an under quilt and box foot over quilt which I use with my hammock. I will measure them and get back to you.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: loadsabikes on 24 February, 2018, 06:05:04 pm
Ok, the over quilt has a box foot and is then an open quilt. It is tapered and 1 metre at the shoulder.
It weighs in at 550g
Used with a down mat with a liner over it, it will give a cosy summer sleep system.
Wow, you would be more than welcome to borrow it for our trip.
You will find it on www.warbonnetoutdoors.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Whitestone on 24 February, 2018, 07:42:14 pm
I'll second the PHD recommendation and add one of my own: Cumulus quilts. Not everyone gets on with a quilt but if you do you won't feel as constricted. I've the 150 quilt which I use in summer on its own and as a wrapper to a PHD summer bag for winter usage. My wife has a Cumulus 350 quilt (an Xmas pressie ;D ) which is fine for most UK winter temps. Add 230g to each of those figures to get the overall weight. Compared to a sleeping bag you are about 80g lighter for an equivalent rating - quilts aren't covered by EN13537.

Cumulus aren't (yet*) sold directly in the UK, their sleeping bags are sold under the Criterion marque. This means that you have to order from a European store, I bought ours from here https://www.outdoorline.sk/en/ (https://www.outdoorline.sk/en/). Bizarrely, because of the Criterion deal you can't order the standard quilts directly from Cumulus themselves but you can specify and order custom quilts from them. The standard sizing is good for someone up to average size - I'm 5'11" with a 42" chest and I am probably the upper limit for the standard sizing.

* I'd heard a rumour that the quilts were now being imported to the UK, turns out it was true - https://backcountry.scot/product-category/packs-shelters-and-sleeping-bags/cumulus/ (https://backcountry.scot/product-category/packs-shelters-and-sleeping-bags/cumulus/) - you'd still need to go direct to get a custom one though.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Kim on 24 February, 2018, 07:59:14 pm
What would be good would be a variation on the late, lamented Mountain Equipment Dreamcatcher, to give you a bit more elbow room instead of, or in addition to, the extra leg-flailing space.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: rachel t on 24 February, 2018, 08:10:55 pm
I have a snugpak softie chrysalis autumn which I have had a few years, it is rated comfort at -5c to 10c, it has what they describe as a jumbo baffle which you can unzip the main zip & zip up the baffle to increase the size, label says chest 165cm plus baffle. The pack size is ok at 19cm x 21cm & weighs 1500g, so might be a bit heavy for what you want. I have never been cold with this bag, I am a very plus sized lady & I have never felt constricted in this bag, quick google suggests they don't make this anymore, but the spec of the expansion 3 is similar

edited to add rough measurement across bag at shoulders is 90cm
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Butterfly on 24 February, 2018, 09:28:06 pm
We have a mountain warehouse xxl bag (somewhere), which is probably a bit bulky for backpacking, but we also have some zip in inserts to increase it's size - they could possibly used with other bags, that are smaller and lighter.

The Alpkit quilt that I've seen was very light but very narrow.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Butterfly on 24 February, 2018, 09:49:10 pm
Investigation reveals that snugpac do bag expanders, which may be helpful with a bag you already own, if they have compatible length YKK zips.

Mountain Warehouse still do the Summit 300 XL bag which may be a cheap, if a little bulky, solution. Sadly they don't have any record of the bag expanders on their site.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Polar Bear on 24 February, 2018, 10:14:28 pm
I have a Snugpak Softie 9 iirc with an extender.  It is a winter weight bag.  I also have a  Snugpak Chrysalis, model unknown until I venture into the loft, which has the adjustable baffle that rachet t talks of.  This is big enough for me without an extender and is a summer weight bag.

Snugpak are excellent bags imo.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: JenM on 25 February, 2018, 10:12:06 am
If shoulders are the issue, perhaps go for a half bag and then wear a down jacket / fleece on the top half.

https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/sleeping-bags-c21/sleeping-bags-c88/mountain-raid-pa-1-0-1-2-sleeping-bag-p4901 (https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/sleeping-bags-c21/sleeping-bags-c88/mountain-raid-pa-1-0-1-2-sleeping-bag-p4901)
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 25 February, 2018, 10:30:38 am
A half bag. Which used to be referred to as a pied d'elephant in the many climbing adventure books I read when young. Are they still called that?

I remember reading books where the climbers going off to climb the Eiger Nordwand or the like would carefully detail that they packed a pied d elephant and a down jacket to save weight.

Thinking back to when I did hillwalking in Scotland, the equipment in those days was primitive. My mum even made a fleece jacket. You could not buy such a thing in the shops.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: mark on 25 February, 2018, 03:07:06 pm
When were you hillwalking in Scotland? Patagonia introduced pile (polyester fleece) jackets in 1975, and they credit the concept to North Atlantic fishermen. And yes, you can still buy a half bag, but they translated the name to English for all those Americans who don't do foreign talk.

http://www.patagonia.com/product/hybrid-sleeping-bag-short/889833681200.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=shopping&utm_campaign=shopping&CAWELAID=120226140000268993&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=sopping%20ad&utm_campaign=Shopping%20-%20Equipment&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2snUBRDfARIsAIGfpqGy2tT-5D7AW5jSQoK3eDyWU7C_F3E4MDnhoe9MpkYUb7BkHPf1akYaAq3vEALw_wcB
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: quixoticgeek on 25 February, 2018, 03:14:26 pm

I've found the Tundra sleeping bags to be wide and roomy. The Alpkit bags are basically designed for tiny skinny people. If you aren't a stick insect you're likely to find it tight.

If you want something cheaper, Snugpak bags are quite roomy (many are designed for squaddies). but their performance is not great and I don't trust their temp ratings.

J
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 25 February, 2018, 05:52:17 pm
When were you hillwalking in Scotland? Patagonia introduced pile (polyester fleece) jackets in 1975, and they credit the concept to North Atlantic fishermen.

1980s.  My younger brother was the one the jacket was made for.
Sorry to sound aggressive, but I doubt Patagonia had a shop in Glasgow in those days!
Seriously - people went hillwalking in nylon storm coats down to their knees, breeches and wooly sweaters.
Headgear would be an orange wooly balaclava, and hands had felted Dachstein mitts with nylon overmitts.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Paul H on 25 February, 2018, 05:54:58 pm
Patagonia introduced pile (polyester fleece) jackets in 1975, and they credit the concept to North Atlantic fishermen.
I was given a fleece for Christmas 1982, it was still enough of a novelty that it's benefits needed explaining.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: ScumOfTheRoad on 25 February, 2018, 06:04:01 pm
My brother was the enthusiastic hillwalker. We knew that fleeces existed. In those days probably more used by the SAS etc.
My mother bought a length of fleece fabric from Remnant Kings and she cut out a pattern to make the jacket.
My mother was no tailor, so as I recall the jacket was made in a front half and a back half. But with no separate arms!
The front must have been cut up the middle and a zip put in.

My brother used the jacket for years and we still talk about it.

Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: mark on 25 February, 2018, 08:38:26 pm
In 1982 anyone wearing a fleece/pile jacket in the US was pretty sure to be a climber.  No one else would wear anything that ugly. Dachstein mitts are still around, I’ve got a pair. My shells are a bit more high tech than nylon, though.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: mike on 25 February, 2018, 08:53:15 pm
What would be good would be a variation on the late, lamented Mountain Equipment Dreamcatcher, to give you a bit more elbow room instead of, or in addition to, the extra leg-flailing space.

I bought one of these on your recommendation ages ago and it's fantastic... Was about to recommend it to baggers :(

(I too use a quilt in summer, can't remember what type but it's fab compared to a normal bag)
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 25 February, 2018, 09:09:50 pm
In the late 80s, cycling magazines in the UK were full of fleece jackets as the latest wonder material. In 1996, I was backpacking in NZ (both sorts of backpacking), and the superiority or not of fleece over wool was a controversial topic. I can well believe that in the early 80s it was not possible to buy it in a shop – and ten years later, most people wouldn't have dreamed of wearing it. It's a long journey from invention to specialist use to general wear!
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: loadsabikes on 25 February, 2018, 10:19:23 pm
Forgive me..... But I thought this was about wide sleeping bags....
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Gus on 26 February, 2018, 01:01:02 pm
http://www.westernmountaineering.com/sleeping-bags/microfiber-series/ponderosa-mf/ (http://www.westernmountaineering.com/sleeping-bags/microfiber-series/ponderosa-mf/) I've used this  one the last couple of years.
My usual  sleepingbag suddenly felt to narrow when I added 15kg of bodyweight.

It's pricy but spaceous :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: andrew_s on 26 February, 2018, 05:37:09 pm
Forgive me..... But I thought this was about wide sleeping bags....
I wonder if he was replying to this topic?
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=120351
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Wowbagger on 08 March, 2018, 11:47:27 pm
I ordered on of these...

https://www.alpkit.com/products/cloud-cover


but there has been a problem, or more than one.

Royal Mail claim to have attempted to deliver it to a "safeplace" and to have put a card through my door at 11.34 Tuesday morning. We were all in and active and had our front doorbell been rung at the claimed time it would have been answered within seconds. Also no card was delivered. Royal Mail's website has a tracking number so I phoned them and cited the said tracking number.

Yesterday morning our postman called and asked if we had complained to his manager because he had been had words with. I explained to him what had happened and invited him in to see the screen showing that the item had been delivered to "safeplace" (I didn't nominate any safe place for it to be left in case we weren't in). He said categorically that it wasn't him who had registered that the item had been delivered and he phoned his colleague who does van deliveries to our road. He hadn't delivered it either.

Eventually I managed to get through to Alpkit, whose computer system had had some sort of big update and they have registered that there is a problem.

So I am still waiting or my quilt to arrive.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: loadsabikes on 09 March, 2018, 09:48:07 am
Well that is bloody annoying >:( I hope you get it sorted soon.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: andrew_s on 09 March, 2018, 02:15:01 pm
I've been mostly using a fully unzipped sleeping bag as a quilt for some years now. It's OK, but the hood gets in my face, so inspired by @Whitestone, I've just received a Cumulus L430 rectangular quilt from Backcountry.Scot, which should also allow use as a hammock underquilt.

Fibre pile was introduced by Helly Hansen in 1961, and was in pretty wide use well before Patagonia introduced fleece as a solution to the pilling that fibre pile was prone to.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: campagman on 09 March, 2018, 07:25:17 pm


Royal Mail claim to have attempted to deliver it .
I have had cards pushed through the door telling me that RM tried to deliver something and i'll have to go down the sorting office to collect. I know that's a lie because I was in when they did it.
Title: Re: Wide sleeping bags
Post by: Wowbagger on 09 March, 2018, 07:33:26 pm
Well, no one knocked at the door and both postpersons likely to have delivered it have stated that they were not in the vicinity at the stated time.

It looks to me as though someone else has put in a false entry for whatever reason. The postman has his "gun" (electronic device) which records when signatures are taken and tracks him gps-wise so he can prove that he wasn't around at the time.