UKC

Well it's getting near the time when the ice axes come out to play!

Though with all this ice climbing/mountaineering talk I am in a bit of a conundrum. I need a sleeping bag for overnighting these bitter Scottish winters, high up (900m +) in January.

Was getting all exited about the Rab Neutrino Endurance 600 but I am not sure if it will be warm enough if doing for instance the Cuillin Ridge or spending days camping up high in the Cairngorms. Now I know I am probably throwing a bit of a paddy by saying that as I’m sure it’s warm enough, but could do with some friendly advice?

In reply to David Staples:

The best bit of advice I ever got when I asked this same question from a guide.

"Buy the most expensive down bag you can afford"

So I did. I think it's a rab with 800gram of down in it. Cost me a bomb but it's toasty and once you've paid for it you forget how much it cost.

In reply to David Staples:
For one night or a bivi then I might pack my 600g bag (and wear everything I have with me) but for multiple nights it's 1100g for me.

In reply to Dave Perry:




+1

In reply to David Staples:

I've reviewed three bags now that all use the EN 13537 rating system, so I'm now pretty trusting that I can sleep comfortably in them at the comfort limit rating. My 'testing environment' has been sleeping out in them, without tent, tarp or bivvy bag but on still nights where I know blowing snow won't bother me. I generally use a foam mat and a light thermarest in such conditions and wear merino base layer, a hat and a couple of pairs of warm loose socks. So my suggestion is figure out how cold its likely to be in Scotland (of course it can be -20 but that's really rare) and pick a good bag with a comfort limit at about that. I would have thought you'd be fine with a -14 rated bag. If it really gets colder than that, then you wear a fleece in bed as well, put your belay jacket over your bag, etc. etc. and you'll eek out some more performance.

This is the closest to the warmth of the RAB bag you linked:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3747 a fantastic bag with a really clever design but might be worth reading these reviews as well, of one slightly less warm bag:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3605
And one warmer one:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=5328

In reply to David Staples:

I'd agree with the above. My ME Snowline is twenty years old now and still going strong!
The arm and a leg it cost have long since grown back

In reply to David Staples:
i asked the same question last year when i was looking for a new bag for scottish winter bivvying.

I ended up buying the rab andes 800, an absolute beast of a bag!
yes its heavier that your usual scottish winer bag and it carrys a harsh price tag but being filled with quality down means that it packs down tiny, and inflates to be massive! i've used it from freezing nights in storms in scotland, all the way to sleeping at 4000m in the alps and never once have i regretted spending the money an not once have i been cold. theyalso use a pertex outershell which is meant to only be for fighting of a slight wind or accidental spills from your flask before you need a bivvy bag. ive found that this is alot tougher than its made out to be and youll get away without a bivvy bag against almost anything but heavy rain.

when it comes to sleeping bags, rab is the way to go. when it comes to warmth, the only thing better than the andes bag, is your bed at home with the thermostat up!

In reply to Dave Perry:

> "Buy the most expensive down bag you can afford"

> So I did. I think it's a rab with 800gram of down in it. Cost me a bomb but it's toasty and once you've paid for it you forget how much it cost.

Me to so an' all... I went for a Rab Ascent 900 http://rab.uk.com/products/sleeping-bags/ascent/ascent-900.html , done me fine camped up in the 'Gorms in the snow. Worth every penny, and I expect my arm and leg to grow back in time for the skiing season...

In reply to David Staples:

I'm currently trying to make a similar decision, stuck between Rab Ascent 700/900 or ME Glacier 750.
What are people's opinions on water resistant outer layers, and the extra cost of 100 pound they usually come with. worth it?

In reply to David Staples: Forget Down... Go Synthetic

In reply to Euge:



No, I'd get a down bag. We have, if you remember, had some properly cold spells these last few years. When camping outside the Bridge of Orchy hotel on ground that was sheet ice, car thermometer reading minus 14, I was glad of my Rab summit 1100 bag!
Also, it's a great long term investment and should see me out.

In reply to Siward:


Are you female or very small/skinny? In a tent I expect most blokes would be fine with 7-800 gram (filling) down bags at -14. The S2S one I reviewed is 710 grams of down and that's good to -15 and that was sleeping out.

In reply to David Staples:
Do you know you will be camping when winter climbing?

I did it for the first year and never again since (ok once in april when it was warm in the valleys!), bunk houses are the way forward. It's much easier to get going in a warm environment after your kit has dried out in a drying room.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

+1, though if you are going to camp (for example Cuilin Ridge), I have a PhD Hispar 500 which I would highly recommend.

In reply to David Staples:

Did you know the coldest temperatures recorded are always in the Glens, up high in the caringorms it almost never get's much lower than -10 (and that would be unusually cold) cold air sinks at night, whilst -20 in the Glens happens fairly regularly (maybe one winter in 4 or something like that)

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Seem to remember freezing my tits off in my old man’s very old bag last time I slept out in winter! Though not in the glens. I like the bunkhouse idea and that is what we will do when not being mad men fumbling about on ridges at night

In reply to Dave Perry:

I will second that! Considering the price tag of the neutrino. Good job I just got a council tax rebate Happy days

In reply to Moritz L:


All this talk and it looks like the neutrino 600 or the ascent is the way to go. Knowing Rab's PHD level attention to details i'm sure the water proof layer will stand up to some pretty downright ugly weather.

The debate for me is the ascent 900 is warmer but heavier, the neutrino cooler but lighter... umm decisions decisions...

In reply to TobyA:
I've never been TOO warm in the bag. Mind you, it might have been colder at ground level and it was sheet ice under my karrimat.

I bought it because it was the extra long version, which I need, and was available nearly new from this site. Hence a bargain and XL bags don't often turn up as used buys. Don't regret the purchase for a minute though.

In reply to David Staples:

give me an example of these night ridge expeditions you have planned where you won't be using a bunk house (or bothy)

I honestly think you could well be better off saving your money to spend on actual winter climbing trips rather than a sleeping bag!

In reply to CurlyStevo:

There speaks one who perhaps shuns the delights of winter camping high in a freezing glen

In reply to Siward:

As long as the OP defo has there heart set on doing this regularly then buying the bag makes sense, if its a speculative buy from a newbie winter climber then I would question the sense in buying the bag at this stage! (I had a look at his profile and I couldn't tell....)

In reply to David Staples:

check out PHDesigns.co.uk design your own bag or buy an "off the shelf"
one.