Climber September/October 2017

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gear review Sea to Summit Spark SPIII In use, the bag did everything it needed to, offering a comfortable sleeping experience with a medium sized fit, although it does get a little narrower around the legs and has a well-designed foot box area. The weight and pack size was good, not the lightest on test but it had additional features to the lighter bags plus the Endurance fabric shell. Warmth wise it was used down to 4C where it was felt to be okay, however, using it towards the comfort limit of 0C wearing a base layer would be recommended. Furthermore the Polygiene odour treatment works; a great touch to an already good sleeping bag. If you bivvy a lot in temperate climates i.e. summer Alpine route, it should be a bag you take a good look at. Sea to Summit Spark SpIII Weight: 642g Comfort limit: -4C RRP £450 To keep the weight to a minimum and still give a warm bag, the filling is top quality high loft 850+ 90/10 premium goose down with an Ultra-Dry down moisture protection that keeps the down resistant from the wet, thus making it a good bag in damp conditions. The generous 400g of down, held in place with a box-wall baffle construction, is sourced and certified by the Responsible Down Standard; a standard driving the down and feather industry towards humane animal rearing and handling practices. It is constructed using box wall baffles to help fill any gaps and hence no cold spots. Add to this a micro-weight 10D Pertex quantum shell and 15D lining that feels nice on the skin and you have a bag that oozes quality. The drawback of a thin shell material (you can see the down through it) is durability and it can be easier to snag and tear so you need to take care using it – not a problem in a tent but you should consider a bivvy bag when bivvying – this and the MSR E-bivy bag made a great combo. Available in regular and long sizes, it’s a slim mummy-shaped bag that allows a good loft and leaves less air space needed to be warmed up. It comes complete with a compression bag and storage bag for when the bag isn’t in use. It features a one third length zip backed by a baffle, a full and spacious hood, and a nicely sized foot box area. At the opening of the bag there is a generous neck baffle and similar around the edge of the hood to trap heat in. In use, the bag was well-liked given the pack size, weight and warmth but the larger testers found the narrow fit a little restrictive around the torso, plus you can’t vent from the lower torso down due to the short zip. It was used down to around 2C and at no time was it felt cold, in fact, one advantage of the close fitting design was that you felt cocooned in warm down loveliness. Used in a damp environment the Ultra-Dry down moisture protection worked well and crucially the bag maintained its loft and warmth. A true minimalist bag, the Spark SpIII uses the lightest materials and finest down available to create an astonishing sleeping bag in terms of weight to warmth ratio. A favourite amongst the testers and one that is highly recommended – especially for a fast and light approach – if you don’t mind the price, fit and shorter zip. Terra Nova Elite 350 Weight: 920g Comfort limit: 0C RRP £180 Sitting below their more expensive and higher performance Laser range, the Elite offers performance at an affordable price. The 350 uses 600 fill duck down rather than the 900 fill goose Terra Nova Elite 350 Therm-a-Rest Antares HD down used in the Laser range and has a lower comfort rating down to 0C making it suitable for spring, summer and autumn use. They also do a lighter Elite 250 and heavier Elite 550 model. To save weight it has a half-length zip with zip sliders that prevent it from sliding down in the night. Draw cords are employed on both the mummy-shaped hood and the neck baffles to trap in more heat. It’s supplied with a handy mesh sack which helps the bag maintain its loft during storage and also a sturdy compression sack which enables it to be easily packed down. First impressions are this is a roomy bag. One of the reviewers is over six foot and was able to fit in with extra clothes and not feel restricted. The box-shaped toe area creates more space too. When inside the bag it’s easy to close the hood round your head with the toggle and also operate the neck baffle. The outer material seems pretty tough and it appears to even be water resistant, which will be a real bonus when used inside a bivvy bag. Very noticeable was that the zip did not snag when opening – a definite advantage. Interestingly the packed down size and length of the sleeping bag is not available on the website yet it is printed on the compression sack. Although the bag was only tested down to 4C, it was found that you didn’t need the baffles firmly closed so they were sure this would be fairly comfortable down to 0C inside a tent with maybe some thermals on. To sum up, this is a good bag for the money – one of the cheapest on test – but comes with a compromise and that is weight at 920g. If you can justify twice the amount of money and need a much lighter weight bag for the same rating then consider the Laser 600 which weighs in at just 660g. Therm-a-rest Antares HD Weight: 950g Comfort limit: -9C RRP £420 The warmest on test and a good all-round bag, particularly if you are a cold sleeper, which you could use from early spring through to late autumn. It uses 440 g 750+ fill power Nikwax hydrophobic down and adds a reflective ThermaCapture lining. This is effectively a reflective layer that minimises heat loss and helps make the bag feel warmer quicker. It is all wrapped in a DWR-treated 20D Ripstop Nylon shell that repels water to an extent and a lovely soft Nylon inner. Constructed using their new Zoned Insulation, it uses box baffles on top of the bag with most of the down going there and a lighter layer of sewn-through down to the bottom of the bag. 6 www.climber.co.uk Sep–Oct <strong>2017</strong> 71
This is because when you sleep on down it’s crushed and becomes less effective so more of it is located in other areas of the bag where it works better. This means a sleeping mat is important and the extra insulation it gives so it’s got a neat trick; there’s two soft wide(ish) elasticated straps on the base of the bag that you feed your sleeping mat into to keep it in place whilst you sleep – contrary to some testers’ initial derision it worked well with no one finding themselves rolling off the mat. We found it worked beautifully with the Thermarest XTherm. On the sample we had, the straps were permanently in place but with the newer versions the straps are detachable. There’s a generous neck baffle and a full length two-way zip with a baffle to keep out the cold. The zip moves well with hardly any snagging. The fit of the bag was found to be roomy, especially around the body and hip area with plenty of space to move around and the well-shaped hood is generous too. Finally, there’s a small external zipped storage pocket near the bag entrance. There’s a long version for taller people and it comes with a stuff sack and storage bag. It is the heaviest on test (just) and the pack size wasn’t as small but for that you do get the warmest sleeping bag, and combined with the Thermarest XTherm sleeping bag it makes an excellent sleeping system. Western Mountaineering Highlite Weight: 455g Comfort limit: 2C RRP £365 Not a name familiar with many UK buyers, Western Mountaineering have built a strong reputation in the US, due in no small part to the quality of construction and materials they use. There are three sizes: short, regular and long – it packs down extremely small, the smallest on test and also the lightest at 455g. It’s constructed with a stitch-through baffled box construction and to avoid cold spots they use baffled vertical seams with a 4cm netting to separate the inner and outer fabric thus allowing the down to fill the gaps and hey presto, no cold spots. In terms of features, to get it down to such a light weight it’s very stripped down with a half-length non-baffled zip and no neck baffle. Creating such a light bag is about compromise and they’ve covered the main features needed in a good bag. This is evident in the use of 225g of high quality 850+ fill power down with high loft coupled with a light, but reasonably durable, ‘Extremelite’ shell fabric. The bag was used down to around 4C at the lowest and no one complained of being cold but it would have been nice to try it at a lower temperature. A criticism though was the zip, it comes undone at its base and was a fiddle to put back together plus it was a bit slick and could slowly creep down if you didn’t fasten it all way up and use the Velcro fastening at its top to secure it. The toggle on the zip was also a bit small and fiddly. Perhaps Western Mountaineering should look at the choice of zip. The hood looked like an area that had been trimmed down and was a little shallow with headspace feeling cramped and the hood closing system didn’t close up as well as others. The cut of the bag is fairly narrow; some found it snug, particularly around the hips and feet, whilst for others it wasn’t an issue and there was sufficient space. It’s always difficult for a manufacturer to size a bag to fit all shapes and Western Mountaineering HighLite sizes, so follow the simple rule; try before you buy. In summary, there are compromises but if you want an ultra-light, well-made bag with first-rate down filling that takes up hardly any space in your pack then look no further that the HighLite. Sleeping Mats There are loads of different mats on the market but given the parameters of this review we focused, in the main, on lightweight air inflated mats. Each mat is given an R-value; basically the higher the figure the warmer the mat is. Thermal resistance is the measurement that indicates a material’s ability to insulate and there are two versions of the R-value, the US Method that basically gives a higher reading due to a difference on how the reading is made using imperial units, and the SI version that is used in most other parts of the world. So to help you, and acknowledge that most of the mats here use the US method, we adopted both systems for this review. With an air-filled mat most of the body heat is lost through radiation which in turn establishes convection currents within the mat. One way of combating this is by incorporating reflective layers to reflect the radiant heat back to the user. Sometimes it’s combined with a light insulation layer to help break down the convection currents resulting in a warmer mat for use in colder weather. Given the two to three season use we are looking at all the mats are suitable, however, using a warmer mat means you can often get away with a lighter weight sleeping bag and thus less weight to carry. A point worth highlighting is inflating the mat. For years people have used their own breath to inflate, the down side of this is your breath contains moisture and you can transfer some of that into the mat. This eventually leads to a build up of fungus on the inside of the mat and a breakdown of the material. To combat this some manufacturers either coat the inside to prevent the fungus growing and/or provide another means of inflation – often in the shape of a pump or a bag/ air capture inflation device. The beauty of this is that the mat lasts longer and you don’t get light headed from blowing. Of course, this adds extra weight so most people stick to good old breaths. Brand/Model Price (RRP) Weight (grams) Exped AirMat HyperLite M Weight: 310g RRP £110 The lightest on test and with a tiny pack size, it’s pretty amazing that it inflates to a thickness of 7cm and offers a small degree of warmth. Inflated to its fullest it offers a firm platform and you can make it a little softer to your taste by letting a little air out – something which most testers did. The tapered mummy shape helps reduce weight further and that gives width at the shoulder and less at the feet (common with most mats on test). The vertical centre air cells/baffles are smaller on the inside of the mat and wider on each edge of the mat help prevent you rolling off. R-value (SI) R-value (us) Dimensions (regular size) Exped AirMat HyperLite M £110 310 0.33 1.9 183 x 52 x 7cm Klymit Static V2 £72 463 0.23 1.3 183 x 59 x 6.5cm Sea to Summit UltraLight £90 395 0.12 0.7 183 x 55 x 5cm Sea to Summit Insulated UltraLight £105 488 0.58 3.3 183 x 55 x 5cm Therm-a-rest Evolite £105 528 0.37 2.1 183 x 51 x 5cm Therm-a-rest NeoAir XTherm £165 430 1.00 5.7 183 x 51 x 6.3cm 72 Sep–Oct <strong>2017</strong> www.climber.co.uk
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EDITOR’S THOUGHTS A UK First Whil
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contents News 6: News UK’s first
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headlines McClure climbs UK’s fir
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SIROCCO ® At 170 grams, a featherw
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Billy Ridal, Will Bosi and Orrin Co
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Page 21 and 22: WIN 1 of 3 Sea to Summit InSULATEd
Page 23 and 24: Tenzing Norgay proved to be a talen
Page 25 and 26: DESTINATION Dinas Mot Welsh trad ni
Page 27 and 28: DEStination It was originally climb
Page 29 and 30: DEStination The easiest route on th
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Page 33 and 34: Firstly, it’s actually quite hard
Page 35 and 36: the climber interview Not afraid of
Page 37 and 38: the climber interview aerobic) so I
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Page 41 and 42: DEStination www.climber.co.uk Sep-O
Page 43 and 44: DEStination Harder Une Jeune Fille
Page 45 and 46: Torridon Blocs Words and Photograph
Page 47 and 48: Around the bloc There is, however,
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Page 51 and 52: Clockwise from below: Caroline enjo
Page 53 and 54: James Pearson & Caroline Ciavaldini
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Page 59 and 60: DEStination Sniffer Clark and the l
Page 61 and 62: DEStination pocketed wall that keep
Page 63: BEGINNER OR ENTRY-LEVEL HARNESSES D
Page 66 and 67: Exercise 1 - Redpointing • You sh
Page 68 and 69: training & skills Glen Chapman is c
Page 70 and 71: Rab Alpine Bivi Weight: 470g RRP £
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Page 76 and 77: gear review Tents With tents there
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Climber September/October 2017

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