UKC

Without sounding patronising, what purpose does the below sleeping bag serve:

http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN9183&product=Crux To... 700

A £550 fully waterproof down bag by crux that weighs 1460 grams and has a comfort limit of -11 degrees.

In what instance would anyone prefer this over a Down sleeping bag with a good bivvy bag for half the price?.... Kayaking? Waterfall climbing?....

I am genuinely curious!

In reply to Luk e:

some one with more money than brains, Bragging rights ie down the pub telling his chums in a load voice he has just purchased a £550.00 sleeping bag. ( usefull if he gets caught shagging the baby sitter and has to sleep in the shed.)

In reply to yamyam:

. ( usefull if he gets caught shagging the baby sitter and has to sleep in the shed.)

Tell me more about this bag

In reply to Luk e:

£629 for a -11 bag? Nope, no idea.

In reply to Luk e:

I think the traditional use for waterproofed bags is winter or greater ranges alpinism. Not many people need a bag like that, but for a few they are probably perfect. Getting into a sleeping bag AND bivvy bag while still tied in and on wee ledge is probably rather hard!

In reply to Luk e:

Maybe multi day winter backpacking in wet Scottish conditions, keeping the down dry over successive days is never easy. I suppose the event is super breathable- probably better for this sort of use than clothing. At half the price maybe, but even then probably not...

In reply to Luk e:
snowholing, or multiday touring with snowholing. A friend has a similar bag from Bergans and likes it for that

In reply to yamyam:



I don't really understand the disdain. I get the impression 550GBP is a lot for a sleeping bag in your sphere. It's a lot to me, too, but then again a lot of the population would consider the ~330GBP that I paid a crazy amount, as they get many a fine nights sleep in their 20GBP bags.

To the guy in the 20GBP bag, sleeping in his 50GBP tent, I'd also struggle to explain my 160GBP bivy sack.


Now, I've made a preference for a 330GBP sleeping bag and a 160GBP bivy sack, instead of an eVent shell sleeping bag. There's the odd trip I go on where an eVent shell sleeping bag would be the superior choice (lighter, smaller, simpler). Unfortunately those types of trip aren't frequent for me to warrant it. But that doesn't make anyone else who buys this bag an idiot.

In reply to needvert:

And it does not look much heavier than a Rab Neutrino bag with similar amount of fill. It's probably odd to have such a bag for car camping, but there are situations where similar set up might be a good idea.

I am just a little bit afraid that if it gets wet, it should dry out slower than the bag without a membrane. It's the same with gloves though - a wet waterproof glove is useless for some time. It just can't dry out that quickly as a plain fleece/wool glove.

In reply to Luk e:

I am still not convinced. £550...can easily buy a good sythetic sleeping bag if you are doing scotland multi day touring. Weight isn't as much of an issue if you aren't in the alps.

There must be a new unit.. to measure thermal efficiency per £ with an added water resistant factor. Anyone got any ideas for a formula?

The SuckerWatt Rating = (Price of bag*overall weight (kg)) / (sqrt((comfort limit in degrees celc)^2))
.

Crux torpedo 700 = ((£640*1.460)/11)

= 85 sucker watts


Mountain Equipment Xero 550 = ((230*1.010)/7) = 23 sucker watts ....... Much Better!


Maybe then add a waterproof factor. 1 for down and .75 for synthetic/waterproof down.. who knows...


Thoughts?

In reply to Luk e:

Waterproof is good if you're inclined to piss the bed...

In reply to Luk e:
What about if you're not car camping in Scotland - go out for a few days in Norway with huts and snow holes. Then the combination of a sleeping bag and separate bivi is a big faff to use. And theres a limit to the weight i like to ski with.

In reply to Luk e:

Is it really THAT difficult to pull a bivi over a sleeping bag? You could probably even stuff the two together...

In reply to Luk e:

I've always found that in a down bag inside a bivi bag too much moisture builds up inside the bivi bag...which then melts onto your bag. I can totally see the rationale behind it in Scotland. The price tag isn't for me, but for some people that price is fine.

In reply to Luk e:
Based on what every single piece of crux gear is designed around, I'd hazard a guesd It's aimed at winter/great ranges alpinists who need simple bombproof, idiotproof gear for the shittest conditions around.

550 is not over the odds for that bag either, for instance the ME Lightline and Iceline Sleeping bags have the same RRP and aren't waterproof, just niche products made from very expensive raw materials.

I would assume you've never seen the PHD gear website, because they can make Carol's gear from crux look cheap

In reply to KellyKettle:


I've slept lots of nights without a bivvy bag in the snowline and it's as good as waterproof - especially at any temperature close to what its designed for. http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=5328

Chris - not sure why you're getting bothered by this! There's lots of gear around that most of us will never need. The Crux bag doesn't sound like anything you need so don't buy one!

In reply to TobyA:


Good to know, I've always regarded "water resistant" as being marketer speak for "like pertex with a lot of DWR coating applied"... But perhaps I'm too cynical!

I've been looking at the Lightline/Snowline as possible replacements for my aging ME synth bag, which is just too damn bulky sometimes. Though western mountaineering could feasibly steal my ME brand loyalty with their frontzip offerings, by the time i've justified the price of either to myself.

In reply to Luk e:

I dunno where everyone is getting £550 from, it has an RRP of £699 on sale down to £629.