Today it arrived.
Five minutes later, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be cleaning the house, I was lying inside of it on the living room floor. At first sight it had seemed too small for my 5’5” height, even though the short size says it’s good to 5’7”. It turns out that it fits me perfectly (bonus: no carrying around an unnecessary chunk of bag!).
Then I went and dug out Husband’s Rab Quantum 250 for comparison purposes.
Then I stuffed it into the stuff sack. Then I weighed it (566g without stuff sack).
The result of all that was that it has made a very favourable impression and I will be keeping it.
Comparing it with our other sleeping bags (for the record, in the down department, I’ve got a Marmot Angel Fire and a Rab Quantum 400W; Husband has a Marmot Helium and the aforementioned Rab Quantum 250) it seems to me that it should be warmer than its rating.
Obviously the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, but I see no reason why it won’t be eminently suitable for a walk from April through July.
My only complaint (okay, maybe niggle is a better word because the solution is simple) is the stuff sack. All over PHD’s website they say: we make our stuff sacs big enough to allow fairly easy stuffing rather than reducing the bag to the tightest minimum. What air is left in the packed item will easily be compressed out of it, if you are squashing it into a small space in your rucsack. Tiny stuff sacs look impressive: but unless you are a sac-wrestling fan, fighting the gear into them day after day can be an unncecessary chore.
So, why did my sleeping bag come with the exact same size as stuff-sack as they sent me with my Minim down jacket? I did manage to squeeze the sleeping bag into it, but it was definitely a bag-wrestling experience.
Next to the Rab Quantum 250 my new PHD Minim 300 looks baby sized!
You looked of normal height in the beacons last year but you're clearly now a person of restricted growth, it seems. That's a really small sleeping bag.
ReplyDeleteI know that the camera never lies, but that photo may have turned out to be a little deceptive. The bag is admittedly small, but it's not that small!
ReplyDeleteThe important thing is that my 5 feet and 5 inches will fit into it, albeit there is no room to spare (but it's not like I'm planning on growing during our LEJOG!)
This is a great bag and I've regularly used mine at zero or below. I also own a Quantum 400.
ReplyDeleteThere is no baffle on this bag but a little tip. If you get cold - say cold feet - just make sure the hood is really tight around your head. Quickly your whole bloody will get warm. I've never understood why this works but it does!
As the saying goes, Andy: If you've got cold feet, put on a hat!
ReplyDelete