Down has a higher warmth to weight ratio and is much more packable than synthetic. The downside is that it loses its insulating properties when wet. The rule of thumb is that down is warmer, lighter, and smaller... but unforgiving in wet environments and is more expensive generally, which is where the tradeoffs lie. My zero degree down bag is 3/4 to 1/2 the size of this bag packed and weighs next to nothing, but its about as warm as a trashbag if it gets wet.
I've had down and synthetic bags, down bags are definitely lighter for the same warmth than synthetic. However these days I prefer synthetic, they're far easier to wash and maintain, just throw them in a washing machine rather than hand washing them or taking them to a specialist cleaner (expensive). Down moves around and clumps together especially after washing, it's a pain in the ass! If I was climbing Everest, I'd go down, for everything else synthetic. Some synthetic bags are very lightweight. I currently have a Mountain Hardware Ultralamina 45, great warmer weather bag. Put inside a SOL Escape bivy it's a good lightweight sleep system down to around 32F or zero C. Would like to get a couple of Snugpaks as well though, the Jungle and probably the Kestrel Softie 6. Thanks for the review, looks like a nice bag!
Just a quick tip, unless you are very small, you should always have it expanded. Because the dead air space warms up and then keeps you warm in the long run! And I am definitely subscribed!
This is not exactly true. The more air to heat up, the harder your body has to work to keep you warm. You want just enough space to keep you warm but not be restrictive. The colder it is the more you need less space to heat up.
I had no idea this expanded, i'm petite, but always feel claustaphobic in a sleeping bag, right now i'm curled up in this snugpack, on my sofa and nice and cosy in chilly UK
www.nightgearstore.com I just bought a Softie 9 Hawk from there and they ship to Canada. Be warned...It's COD for shipping and handling and it's about an extra $50. But worth it!
Wiggy’s makes superb but bulky cold weather bags that won’t break the bank and mine does outstanding down to -20 with nothing but long johns on. Otherwise try western mountaineering, tab, thermarest.
I have the Elite 3 but I can make it into a sub-Zero “System” because I also have Snugpak’s Jungle Bag, Special Forces Bivy and several liners, the lightest (if not warmest) is the silk liner. I’ve snow camped in Utah’s deer season and it dropped to right at freezing. My “system” handled that easily but I have no idea how low the temp rating may be on this combo. I was in a small dome tent with a Mylar casualty blanket, a Thermorest pad and an R4.4 Klymit Insulated Pad.
Down insulation is the most efficient insulation material ( along with wool ). Down is extremely compressible and light, more so than any insulation. The only synthetic insulation that comes close to the great heat retention values of down and is almost as compressible as down is Primaloft One. It is a patented synthetic down insulation which actually retains some of it's heating values when wet, unlike down. The Primaloft One is the most expensive quality in the family of Primaloft Insulations and you really will not see it used because of its cost in comparison to less expensive synthetic insulations in the market. Primaloft has lower performing synthetic insulations that are primarily used in outerwear markets. Just so you know!
I have the Elite 2 and I added the Snugpac Paratex liner The liner wicks sweat and is wind resistant So it pulls damp away from my body and stops air circulation in the bag This system adds quite a few degrees to the rating of the bag And the liner launders easily which keeps the main bag clean and sweet smelling And a clean bag is an efficient bag But the collar on the Elite 3 will add warmth
The D ring and attachement at The foot remind me of The modular system of my canadian military sleep system where you can join 2 sleeping bag together to acheived better isolation factor. Don't know if they are Made for that purposed but that would have to be investigated. Nice review. Atb Louis
I just ask a friend who was knowledgable of the line and he says that it can't be fitted together. They are stand alone. Only the SF line has multi bag.
Living Survival I think its so that you can clip the bag onto itself making it shorter for the smaller person. it prevents too much additional space where heat can be lost inside the bag.
Right now this moment I'm laying and a goose down sleeping bag made by Kelty the cosmic and I have the snugpak jungle blanket over top of me to keep the ice off of me because it's 32 degrees and it's doing its job quite well I just bought the snugpak jungle blanket and it may fail at 41° to keep you warm but with the goosetown underneath it it works quite well
Yes goose down is warmer and lighter but it suffers from the damp conditions unless it has hydrophobic solution and also needs to be lofted regularly to get the most from the feather down, once you have compressed the feathers for too long you have broken the structure and the integrity and warmth is lost.
You seem to have missed that the 2 “D” rings, towards the foot of the bag, are used to shorten the bag by pulling the foot end up and snapping it to the “D” rings. Handy (and warmer) for a youth, female or generally shorter person!
I'm ordering the LL been Ultralitr Mummy 20° it's synthetic with a new technology. 1 lb. 14oz I'll let you know what I think. I have a down quilt 1.5 lb of 950 down but I could bring that out if I get caught in a blizzard. I just ordered the neoair extherm. cuz I remember once getting the heat sucked out of me in a French winter.
Love the Elite 3 with the neck Baffle and expansion panel so you can wear an insulation layer. Let's me use this bag below it's low rating. Together with the other items of my sleep system, I have been in Temps as low as 10 degrees and stayed warm. The clips and the D rings on the sides go together so shorten the bag. Snugpak thinks everyone is 6' or more tall.
Dude down is lighter and warmer than synthetic Also it is really compressible. Problem is getting it wet is the worst. Down is great for tents and hammocking but bivvying where condensation is an issue, synthetic for sure. That said the snugpak elite is bombproof
Good vid to see how it looks in use chum. I have the exped mat and it's the best product I've ever used. Really comfortable and warm as well as packing small. Gonna get the sleeping bag after this vid.
great bag, I have the elite 4 and it is fantastic, it dries out quickly as well, I have got a very similar set up to you, I use an Exped UL7 LW with a cheap closed foam mat for protection and I have just pulled the trigger on a snugpak scorpion 3, can't wait to get out and try them all together, thanks for the review
Why would you want to choose the Elite 3 vs say the Special Forces 1 or 2? I live in central florida, and its hot yea, but it does get down to 50s and 40s sometimes, not to mention I do go up to north georgia and south carolina where last year it was 18* 1 night. I was considering the SF1, along with possibly folding my USMC woobie inside on that random extra cold night and pairing it with either a USGI MSS bivy or the snugpak bivy. Ideas?
did you field tested it few times ? i had a snugpak which was stated to be 2c comfort but actually you had to sleep with few layers thermo clothing and thick socks for it to be at least somewhat comfortable. so the elite 3 bag says its comfy at -5c which i think would be comfy at 0c if you sleep with only underwear. it also tore up on me when i tried to use it in a hammock, the nylon or whatever the fabric they use isnt ripstop. the last problem i had with that snugpak travelpack 2 was its zipper, you had to use your flashlight, 2 arms and carefully zip it because the fabric was getting into a zipper all the time. i didnt have the same problem with zipper though on my summer sleeping bag which was snugpak traveller. at the end of the day i threw away that snugpak travelpack-2 into a trash. they make quite light synthetic sleeping bags if not the lightest ones, that's why i am interested but thats probably the reason they are not warm enough for what they say.
Great review. Better than the shill vids as you've paid for the bag yourself. What's the coldest you've been out in the bag? I was considering buying the 4 ...but the 3 maybe enough for here in the UK with -10 max. Any tips appreciated 😁
Acquired Targett You could probably find just the bivy portion of the MSS or go with the Snugpak Bivy. Really any decent one that will fit a mummy style bag will work.
I have the Autumn softie 3 season which is identical but in grey and black. The lower d rings are for the clips on the bottom if you are short you fold it up and clip to the rings great for ladies or kids. in the winter rather than buy yet another bag I use my summer snugpak jungle bag as a liner and boy do you cook even in cold weather but obviously increases overall pack size but my wallet stays healthier than buying a 4 season which are useless in the summer. no one bag does it all imho
Down has a higher warmth to weight ratio and is much more packable than synthetic. The downside is that it loses its insulating properties when wet. The rule of thumb is that down is warmer, lighter, and smaller... but unforgiving in wet environments and is more expensive generally, which is where the tradeoffs lie. My zero degree down bag is 3/4 to 1/2 the size of this bag packed and weighs next to nothing, but its about as warm as a trashbag if it gets wet.
+casweet8 yeah i goofed in this video a little bit. thanks for the comment.
Down bags are lighter and more packable. In this video you state the opposite.. Not sure if it's a mistake or you're misinformed.
Yeah I noticed that....and this guy flatly ignored you. I've disliked the video for that reason
@@2icelollys1goat must have been a mistake
LS, I'm learning lots about the tents and sleep gear from you. Keep up the great work.
SurvivalTechNord Thanks. Just showing what works best for me after trial and error and lots of research!
***** That is a great pad!
I've had down and synthetic bags, down bags are definitely lighter for the same warmth than synthetic. However these days I prefer synthetic, they're far easier to wash and maintain, just throw them in a washing machine rather than hand washing them or taking them to a specialist cleaner (expensive).
Down moves around and clumps together especially after washing, it's a pain in the ass! If I was climbing Everest, I'd go down, for everything else synthetic.
Some synthetic bags are very lightweight. I currently have a Mountain Hardware Ultralamina 45, great warmer weather bag. Put inside a SOL Escape bivy it's a good lightweight sleep system down to around 32F or zero C.
Would like to get a couple of Snugpaks as well though, the Jungle and probably the Kestrel Softie 6. Thanks for the review, looks like a nice bag!
Just a quick tip, unless you are very small, you should always have it expanded. Because the dead air space warms up and then keeps you warm in the long run! And I am definitely subscribed!
This is not exactly true. The more air to heat up, the harder your body has to work to keep you warm. You want just enough space to keep you warm but not be restrictive. The colder it is the more you need less space to heat up.
I had no idea this expanded, i'm petite, but always feel claustaphobic in a sleeping bag, right now i'm curled up in this snugpack, on my sofa and nice and cosy in chilly UK
Wish they made more sleeping bags for Canadian campers
I have to buy bags meant for expeditions if I want to go winter camping
You can try a lighter bag with a thermal liner for really cold nights.
This is the problem we have in Finland. Must be Expedition gear (no fly first).
www.nightgearstore.com I just bought a Softie 9 Hawk from there and they ship to Canada. Be warned...It's COD for shipping and handling and it's about an extra $50. But worth it!
Wiggy’s makes superb but bulky cold weather bags that won’t break the bank and mine does outstanding down to -20 with nothing but long johns on. Otherwise try western mountaineering, tab, thermarest.
I have the Elite 3 but I can make it into a sub-Zero “System” because I also have Snugpak’s Jungle Bag, Special Forces Bivy and several liners, the lightest (if not warmest) is the silk liner. I’ve snow camped in Utah’s deer season and it dropped to right at freezing. My “system” handled that easily but I have no idea how low the temp rating may be on this combo. I was in a small dome tent with a Mylar casualty blanket, a Thermorest pad and an R4.4 Klymit Insulated Pad.
NICE
Down insulation is the most efficient insulation material ( along with wool ). Down is extremely compressible and light, more so than any insulation. The only synthetic insulation that comes close to the great heat retention values of down and is almost as compressible as down is Primaloft One. It is a patented synthetic down insulation which actually retains some of it's heating values when wet, unlike down. The Primaloft One is the most expensive quality in the family of Primaloft Insulations and you really will not see it used because of its cost in comparison to less expensive synthetic insulations in the market. Primaloft has lower performing synthetic insulations that are primarily used in outerwear markets. Just so you know!
I have the Elite 2 and I added the Snugpac Paratex liner
The liner wicks sweat and is wind resistant
So it pulls damp away from my body and stops air circulation in the bag
This system adds quite a few degrees to the rating of the bag
And the liner launders easily which keeps the main bag clean and sweet smelling
And a clean bag is an efficient bag
But the collar on the Elite 3 will add warmth
The clips and D rings are for those of us who are small, vertically challenged and for folding the bag over to shorten it.
Very nice set up. Covers so many scenarios. Look forward to in field testing.
Will have several overnighters coming up ;) Thanks for watching.
Man you find some of the best gear thats why I love this channel and will always be a sub.Thankx for showing this off.
Michael Daury Thanks for watching and the comment!
The D ring and attachement at The foot remind me of The modular system of my canadian military sleep system where you can join 2 sleeping bag together to acheived better isolation factor. Don't know if they are Made for that purposed but that would have to be investigated. Nice review. Atb Louis
Lt Survival Thanks Louis. I am not exactly sure either what they are for. I'll ask Snugpak.
Lt Survival Just realized they may be for attaching to the bivy.
I just ask a friend who was knowledgable of the line and he says that it can't be fitted together. They are stand alone. Only the SF line has multi bag.
Right, I bet it is to keep the bivy in place. Should hear back soon.
Living Survival I think its so that you can clip the bag onto itself making it shorter for the smaller person. it prevents too much additional space where heat can be lost inside the bag.
Right now this moment I'm laying and a goose down sleeping bag made by Kelty the cosmic and I have the snugpak jungle blanket over top of me to keep the ice off of me because it's 32 degrees and it's doing its job quite well I just bought the snugpak jungle blanket and it may fail at 41° to keep you warm but with the goosetown underneath it it works quite well
Yes goose down is warmer and lighter but it suffers from the damp conditions unless it has hydrophobic solution and also needs to be lofted regularly to get the most from the feather down, once you have compressed the feathers for too long you have broken the structure and the integrity and warmth is lost.
Not a mention that there is a facility to make the bag shorter, that’s what the d rings you mentioned are for.
The clips and d rings at the bottom are to fold it up to remove dead space to keep it warm
Danielmerlin13 Ahh, ok.
You seem to have missed that the 2 “D” rings, towards the foot of the bag, are used to shorten the bag by pulling the foot end up and snapping it to the “D” rings. Handy (and warmer) for a youth, female or generally shorter person!
Thanks.
I'm ordering the LL been Ultralitr Mummy 20° it's synthetic with a new technology. 1 lb. 14oz
I'll let you know what I think.
I have a down quilt 1.5 lb of 950 down but I could bring that out if I get caught in a blizzard. I just ordered the neoair extherm. cuz I remember once getting the heat sucked out of me in a French winter.
I went with the woodland camo MSS Sleep System but if i hadn't, i would have gotten a softie elite 4
Thank you for this awesome video I just purchased my elite 3 because of you keep up the good work
+noblexgear enjoy. i still use it to this day :)
Nice sleeping bag! I like the mummy style sleeping bags they keep you warm from head to toe.
Jason McDaniel Yep, I especially like the extender panel so you can give yourself more room and not feel so cramped.
Love the Elite 3 with the neck Baffle and expansion panel so you can wear an insulation layer. Let's me use this bag below it's low rating. Together with the other items of my sleep system, I have been in Temps as low as 10 degrees and stayed warm. The clips and the D rings on the sides go together so shorten the bag. Snugpak thinks everyone is 6' or more tall.
Would you suggest getting a bivy sack for this if you live in a very rainy climate?
Dude down is lighter and warmer than synthetic
Also it is really compressible. Problem is getting it wet is the worst. Down is great for tents and hammocking but bivvying where condensation is an issue, synthetic for sure. That said the snugpak elite is bombproof
Is that compressed ? because it looks big.
I second Hoah’s point. You can’t beat down for lack ability! Which exped model have you got there?
Downmat 7
Good vid to see how it looks in use chum. I have the exped mat and it's the best product I've ever used. Really comfortable and warm as well as packing small. Gonna get the sleeping bag after this vid.
I think for my locale the snugpak jungle bag is all i need but I really like the quality of their gear. Thanks for the review.
kbbjedi Must be nice, lol. Thanks for the comment.
great bag, I have the elite 4 and it is fantastic, it dries out quickly as well, I have got a very similar set up to you, I use an Exped UL7 LW with a cheap closed foam mat for protection and I have just pulled the trigger on a snugpak scorpion 3, can't wait to get out and try them all together, thanks for the review
Awesome setup for sure. Thanks for the comment!
Why would you want to choose the Elite 3 vs say the Special Forces 1 or 2? I live in central florida, and its hot yea, but it does get down to 50s and 40s sometimes, not to mention I do go up to north georgia and south carolina where last year it was 18* 1 night. I was considering the SF1, along with possibly folding my USMC woobie inside on that random extra cold night and pairing it with either a USGI MSS bivy or the snugpak bivy. Ideas?
that would work too. just go with the temp rating and color you are after.
did you field tested it few times ? i had a snugpak which was stated to be 2c comfort but actually you had to sleep with few layers thermo clothing and thick socks for it to be at least somewhat comfortable. so the elite 3 bag says its comfy at -5c which i think would be comfy at 0c if you sleep with only underwear. it also tore up on me when i tried to use it in a hammock, the nylon or whatever the fabric they use isnt ripstop. the last problem i had with that snugpak travelpack 2 was its zipper, you had to use your flashlight, 2 arms and carefully zip it because the fabric was getting into a zipper all the time. i didnt have the same problem with zipper though on my summer sleeping bag which was snugpak traveller. at the end of the day i threw away that snugpak travelpack-2 into a trash. they make quite light synthetic sleeping bags if not the lightest ones, that's why i am interested but thats probably the reason they are not warm enough for what they say.
with any sleeping bag I add 10 or even 20 degrees to their ratings.
If you ever get the chance, please review the Wiggy's sleeping bags. Hardly any reviews.
hd250driver Will take a look. I like their Light Horse pack.
I the compression bag waterproof?
Great review. Better than the shill vids as you've paid for the bag yourself. What's the coldest you've been out in the bag? I was considering buying the 4 ...but the 3 maybe enough for here in the UK with -10 max. Any tips appreciated 😁
A 3 season is good for me too .
I want everything in the backpack.
tnz
PREPFORIT Thanks for the comment!
I'm Italian...this is my best buy ever...till 10 years
Great to know! I love it as well. Thanks for watching and the comment.
Great video Thanks!. Which bivvy would you recommend to get with this bag?
Acquired Targett You could probably find just the bivy portion of the MSS or go with the Snugpak Bivy. Really any decent one that will fit a mummy style bag will work.
What would you say about the temp rating, accurate ??
I typically add ten degrees to sleeping bags.
great bag, how much?
Great review , thanks 👍
Maybe..climb into the bag...show us how it does zip up etc.. show the room it has.
nice how much is that?
great review ! nice looking sleeping bag ! much lighter than my mmss !
atb john
the mi woodsman Thanks John.
I have the Autumn softie 3 season which is identical but in grey and black.
The lower d rings are for the clips on the bottom if you are short you fold it up and clip to the rings great for ladies or kids.
in the winter rather than buy yet another bag I use my summer snugpak jungle bag as a liner and boy do you cook even in cold weather but obviously increases overall pack size but my wallet stays healthier than buying a 4 season which are useless in the summer.
no one bag does it all imho
Well put together sleeper, nother good review
***** Thanks a lot.
Great review thank you
Snugpack makes great kit
UrbanSuburban Agreed
Great review... 🇬🇧
I need one of those
Any man that has hair gel and ear lobes as you do,sir deserves...better hair gel.