sleeping bag for cycle tour

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sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby bob_summers » Tue Jun 08, 2010 2:05 pm

wasn't sure where to put this, i'll start here...

i'm doing the camino de santiago in sept, which will take about a week (MTB). i was planning on doing it light ... can you recommend a sleeping bag, 1-2 seasons? something that packs small and less than 1000gr?

temps will be mild, not below 10 degrees, and i would expect to be staying either in pilgrim hostels or roughing it (one-man tent or bivvy, not decided yet)
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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Herbsman » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:48 pm

Gelert thingy
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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Gelert » Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:05 pm

The brand of kit or me?

If this were one night, I'd suggest a blizzard bag, but as it's a week the sleep deprivation from trying to kip in a tube of bacofoil would be counterproductive.

http://www.snugpak.com/index.php?MenuID ... ItemID=142

Snugpak Micro Chrysalis.

Was the bag of choice for adventure racers and such for yonks until the advent of ultralight down half-bags - so still is the bag of choice for the discerning vegan. Weighs under a kilo, packs tiny (for synthetic), and I've used it in freezing temperatures with additional clothing. Uses tiny foil filaments to reflect your heat. Costs about £50.

Most important thing about s/bag is not which one, but how to use one and what you put underneath it.

How to use them: Think of them like thermos flasks - best if you pre-heat it. Feed yourself up at bedtime and get in nekkid. Shiver for a bit (10-15 minutes), and then dress to sleep and put in a drinks bottle containing hot water. If you're hardcore enough to be using a pyss bottle, there is value in having that in as well. If you wake because of the cold, nibble some food - the coldest period of the night tend to coincide with the lowest metabolic point of the day, which means you're not heating your bag and you lose its effects at the time you need it most.

What to put underneath them: This is vital as conduction to cold earth will cost you. If you have space or room, use a mat. Thermarests or Exped SynMats are probably the warmest and gucci-est, but there's not a lot wrong about a closed cell foam karrimat. My preference is for neither, but Pacific Outdoors Ether thermo 6 as it weighs nowt, packs up tiny and only marginally more expensive than the best karrimat. But, seeing as space, weight and probably cost are issues, you can always do what the mtn marathoners often do: bubblewrap! Cheap, lightweight, compact, can be binned at the end of your trip. Best of all is the kind you use for household insulation as it's also foil covered to reflect heat.

Given the likely conditions and your solo-ness, I'd recommend bivvying - you can get cheap bivvy bags (e.g. Rab survival zone as opposed a £200 goretex jobby - although a synthetic bag is more resilient to damp) and a basha sheet is a good addition as it is lighter and smaller than the lightest tent and a lot more flexible as to where and how you pitch it while providing good protection from rain and wind.
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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Big Good Wolf » Wed Jun 09, 2010 12:52 am

Regarding the bivvy idea, I saw a picture recently of a basha stretched over an upturned bike, with the front wheel removed and used as a "pole" at the other end. Looked like a neat bit of improvisation.
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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Gelert » Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:22 am

Pics or it didn't happen! I'm intrigued :D

It seems like a good idea but I suspect it would be too high to provide shelter and perhaps prone to be up-ended, particularly as a result of catching wind. Badly erected bashas are a constant source of amusement to me, especially ones that amount to little more than wind tunnels. My favourite one is the cleopatra basha - picture a hypothermic casualty sat under one and four bored and soaked serfs holding it in place until two in the morning, oblivious to the options afforded by an entire firkin' forestry plantation six feet away...

My rule of thumb is that unless you're using one as top cover for a hammock in an A frame jobby in the ulu it should be low enough to be able to shag a dachsund but not a springer spaniel under it. Not exactly a DS answer that, but it should give an idea of the height. (There are also obvious tactical reasons for having it pitched low in the forces, such as being in a harbour area, which don't apply to the non-aggressive camper, at least when pitched up somewhere legal). If you're really Joe Pro, what you can do is pre-attach four bungee cords to the corners and the flexibility and speed of erection it affords is top, at the cost of some added packed bulk and weight.
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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby bob_summers » Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:26 pm

cheers for the tips, some valuable advice there G.

as it turned out, i needed the sleeping bag sooner than i expected, in time to camp this weekend. neither of the camping suppliers in town had a great choice. i went with a millet baikal: 750g, small, 1-2 season.

i've also borrowed a terra nova jupiterto see how that goes, but i don't think i'd use it often enough to justify the cost. we'll see.

re. bikes and tents, topeak do something that to me just looks infuriating complicated and prone to just falling over...

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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Gelert » Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:54 pm

Sounds good :)

I'm always curious about hooped bivis - I'm repeatedly tempted to spend uberbucks on getting one as they do have their advantages, admittedly. But I always stop myself as I think you end up falling between two stools with them. I mean, for only 20 grams and £30 more you could have a laser competition tent from Terra Nova -admittedly only a "1 plus" tent, but is roomier and has the option of keeping your kit in the porch etc - and of course there are cheaper tents going for a weight & bulk penalty.
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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Mr. Cleetus » Wed Jun 09, 2010 8:08 pm

That looks interesting, let us know how it all goes! It certainly looks more comfy than my bivvy set up from the brevet I did.
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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Big Good Wolf » Thu Jun 10, 2010 12:40 am

This is what someone posted as his set up on a mountain bike forum.

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Re: sleeping bag for cycle tour

Postby Gelert » Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:03 am

That's not too bad. A bit spaniel compliant. I once used a similar sort of set up with walking poles on an overnight bivvi on Cader Idris in the depths of winter.

I was glad of my -50 *C rated sleeping bag.
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