Choosing right sleeping bag

[volodymyrp]

Hi,

I am currently looking for 2 sleeping bags for my wife and me. We found a few models, which would seem to be our favourites, but it's quite hard to find any reviews for them. This is going to be our first hiking trip, but we want to continue doing it later, so we want to buy good bags.
We're going to Norwegian fjords in two weeks (Jul 25-Aug8) and we're planning to stay in tents both on the mountains (up to 600m) and in the lowlands.

According to yr.no, it would be down to 13 around bergen and down to 6 on Trolltunga. Though, I'm not sure if "down to 6" is on top of it or in the bottom.
https://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Hordaland/Bergen/Bergen/
https://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Hordaland/Odda/Trolltunga/

We looked at the following sleeping bags by now:

for me, male, 30yrs, 188cm, 100kg weight:

• Fjällräven Skule 2-season Long: +7/+2/-13
• Fjällräven Abisko 2-season Long: +6/+1/-14
• Haglöfs Lupus +2 190L: +7/+2/-13
• Haglöfs Tarius +6 190L: +10/+6/-7
• Haglöfs Ursus -2 190L: +4/-2/-17

for my wife, 26yrs, 170cm, 54kg:

• Fjällräven Skule 2-season: +7/+2/-13
• Fjällräven Skule 3-season: +2/-4/-20
• Fjällräven Abisko W 2-season: +3/-2/-18
• Haglöfs Lupus +2 175L: +7/+2/-13
• Haglöfs Tarius +1 190L: +6/+1/-14
• Haglöfs Ursus -2 175L: +4/-2/-17

I am a cold sleeper, when sleeping at home I almost always use lightest cover possible and always have my feet or even feets outside of the cover.
My wife is a total opposite: she likes when it's warm, so she always uses heavier blankets.

Do you think something like +10/+6/-7 or +7/+2/-13 for me and +7/+2/-13 or +2/-4/-20 for my wife or would it be too cold in the above conditions?
We also plan to do some hiking in September around Gothenburg. Will these bags be sufficient?

We also categorized materials, which the bags are made from:
It's Polyester only or Polyester and Polyamide combination. Could anyone give an opinion on what is better? Also, there's a "denier" marking on the material, does anyone have an opinion on that?

I like the fabrics of Skule and Ursus models most, which seems to be a combination of Polyester and Polyamide. I haven't yet tried Tarius and Lupus models, but I totally disliked the feeling in Haglöfs Astrolite -1.

Also the different companies have their own proprietary fillings, which I could not find any opinions on:

• Haglöfs Tri-Fusion®
• Haglöfs FX Down™, 70% Down, 30% thermalTECH Fibre, 80/20 duck down (Ursus model, I'm afraid it could be not good to have Down in norway, where it often rains, or is it water-resistant?)
• Fjällräven Supreme Microloft: 100% Polyester

I'm a comlete newbie in hiking, so any opinions are more than welcome!

Maybe someone can recommend any other model that is not shown here?

Thanks!

 

[avslut210607]

Hi! Generally I'd say get the lightest, warmest sleeping bag your budget allows. Of course i dont mean a polar expedition bag but something rated to handle a couple of degrees below freezing and preferably weighs closer to 1 kilogram than 2.

It can get really cold at night in the mountains of norway, don't forget hats and gloves.

 

[handske]

I agree with monkeywrench. You can also buy a sleeping bag liner (cotton or silk). It adds comfort and it's easier to regulate the temperature. You can then sleep with the bag open or only in the liner if it's a warm night. If it's a cold night it functions as an extra layer inside the bag.

 

[volodymyrp]

Thanks for your answers!

If I buy the -2 to -4 model (men temp.), I'm afraid it could be too warm.

Have you tried sleeping in a bag -2 when it was +10 outside?

Also, as I read here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_13537), a "standard man" is assumed to be 25 years old, with a height of 1.73 m and a weight of 73 kg. I weight 100kg. Does this mean that I should choose a lighter sleeping bag?

 

[handske]

Thanks for your answers!

If I buy the -2 to -4 model (men temp.), I'm afraid it could be too warm.

Have you tried sleeping in a bag -2 when it was +10 outside?

A too warm bag is not a problem, because you can sleep with the zipper open, or only in a liner or underwear. I think it's more important to be protected against cold nights. One frequently has to adjust the bag during the night if the temperature changes.

If you are above the polar circle and the midnight sun is shining it can get very warm in the tent during the night. You never really know what to expect.

 

[avslut210607]

+10c in a -4c bag is not a problem, -4c in a +10c bag is.

I use a -7c down bag in plus temps all the time it is no problem, and i am not a particularly cold person. If it's really warm i just put it on top of me like a blanket and sleep directly on the pad.

A too thin bag is no fun during cold nights.

 

[volodymyrp]

Thank you, guys!

Do you think the 70/30 down/fiber ursus would be ok for Norwegian/s Swedish humidity? I heard they are quite bad in wet conditions.

 

[avslut210607]

I have been fine with down when hiking in Sweden and Norway, i keep it in a light waterproof bag when in the pack and only Open it inside the tent. Warmth to weight ratio is obviously superior.

A wet down bag is supposedly horrible but i cant imagine a soaked synthetic bag being much better. Any Case if my bag got soaked id probably start walking towards civilisation and not stop until i got there..

 

[Huml3]

A sleeping for around 0 degC should be fine. If it is colder u can alway put on extra cloths.. Buy a light down bag!

 

[seobserver]

Up in the mountains a -5 to -8 Bag fits me best, warm nights use it as a blanket. I carry my own Gear so I prefere down for many reasons.
Wet Bag is a handling wrong indication and lets you walk back to Roofs and dry Rooms.

How does your Bed look in the morning? Spun Sheets incicates you turn in Bed so you will in Sack so get a roomy one.

go tur

 

[volodymyrp]

Thanks guys.

So, we bought a ursus -2 bag today, though we're not sure yet if we should keep it. when you look through the bag from the inside, you see that the down is not spread, or maybe it just looks like that to me. I am attaching the image of it.

It's 70/30 down/synthetic bag.

Is this ok for down bags?

http://imgur.com/ZgfL05M

 

[joanna]

Don't skip down bags just for the risk of it getting soaked; even if you feel unpractised now, you'll quickly find safe routines to keep a down bag confidently dry. This is not an issue, unless you set off for more advanced winter expeditions, of course .
Choosing down will significantly reduce the weight and volume of your backpack, and I'm sure you'll appreciate that on your more mountaineous hikes.
In long term, high quality down also keeps its isolation parameters much better than synthetic fillings.
If you bother about getting too warm, you should certainly choose down. It will be comfortable within much broader temperature spans, possibly because it's more vapour permeable. Choose some model with full zip and use it as a quilt those few times it's too warm anyway.

You can get high quality down bags, well manufactured and with much better fill power than the Haglöfs ones you've picked, yet still within roughly the same price span. One example here - fill power 850 cuin, full zip, 450 g lighter and slightly warmer than Haglöfs Ursus -2.

And if you still bother about the humidity, you can order it filled with hydrophobic down (I have not tested is myself, though).