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advise on tents and sleeping bags please

SHANESHAW

17-Dec-2007
12:42:51 AM

G'day all I am looking for some advise on what is the best tent to buy and also a sleeping bag for western australian conditions.....

The tent will be obviously for myself, however I would like to get one for my wife and son Dylan also so what is the best 3 person tent that is light and easyly carried in my new macpac Cascade.

The sleeping bags, well Dylan has one and just need an idea on what to get for myself and wife.

thanks guys. and also add any other tips you can think of.

Sabu

17-Dec-2007
10:22:34 AM

With sleeping bags, think about the temp ranges you'll be exposed to, wet or dry environments and what you will be doing. the main choice is between down and synthetic and the cost is obviously dependant on how warm you want to be.
My tip would be find a temp range that you'll be using it for then search the internet for relevent bags, check it out for real, then head back to the net to buy it online cos its always cheaper!!

qman

17-Dec-2007
11:24:40 AM

http://www.torpedo7.com/

If budget is key check out the above as they are now doing adventure gear.

dave h.

18-Dec-2007
11:55:21 AM

Also think about when you do most of your camping. If you only have one or two nights out in winter, you might be better off getting a lighter bag, and just putting on thermals + beanie during those few winter nights.

Re buying gear online. I am familiar with the temptation. But you need to be careful if there is a chance you'll be making warranty claims. As I understand it some distributors may only honour the warranties on the goods that they've imported.

Capt_mulch

18-Dec-2007
12:20:56 PM

I reckon you're going to need at least two sleeping bags if you want to camp all year round. Synthetics are fine and are much cheaper. I'd only recommend down if you were doing snow cave epics. I actually have three bags - Macpac XP900 for winter snow camping, a cheap midrange synthetic (Brumby?) for car camping in Spring/Autumn, and a cheap($99)/thin/light small synthetic bag from Mountain Designs for summer camping. The MD bag comes with a compression sack, so it packs down really small.

I highly recommend the orange range of sleeping mats from Therma-rest. The orange ones are smaller than the green ones.

dave h.

18-Dec-2007
12:25:27 PM

Go the Exped mats (SimLite range). Thermarest is hideously expensive... although their mats are slightly lighter than the equivalent Expeds. But with an Exped mat you get the stuffsack and repair kit included, with a Thermarest it's an extra $40.

Some choice...

qman

18-Dec-2007
12:40:07 PM

in my opinion there is still nothing that comes close to a therma rest for light weight hiking mats.

often imitated never duplicated. happy to be proved wrong.

Mine is still good after 14 years.

dave h.

18-Dec-2007
1:56:07 PM

Sure they'll both do the trick.

The Thermarest is lighter, the Exped a bit heavier but in my opinion better value. I guess time will tell if they're as durable as your Thermarest.

widewetandslippery

18-Dec-2007
2:08:48 PM

I use cheap synthetic bags with good iners and thermals. Light, cheap and warm when wet and not heavy to carry. And you are going to be carrying the thermal stuff anyway.

TonyB

26-Dec-2007
7:49:30 AM

For snow camping use a three quarter length thermarest plus full length blue foam ... the two are lighter than a full length thermarest and you still get to sleep if your thermarest leaks (as mine have twice) ... and if all goes well, you have extra insulation (just stuff any junk in the tent under your feet)

jay590

27-Dec-2007
7:12:37 PM

try the Pacific outdoor equipment AO lite 2/3 mat. at $100 and lighter than the thermarest its awesome. i just got one for x mas and am going on a four day hike on sunday so i will tell you how it goes. comes with stuff sack and repair kit.

Jay

There are 11 messages in this topic.