The single most expensive thing I’ve bought for this trip by far is the Western Summerlite 6’6″ sleeping bag. I thought a lot about which sleeping bag to buy. There was a discussion on Facebook here. At first I thought I’d be okay with something cooler and cheaper, because normally I don’t mind the cold and I have a lot of trouble sleeping when I’m too hot. But I feel like my ongoing happiness on this walk is going to depend on how dry I am and how well I sleep. So I wanted a good sleeping bag, and this one seemed to be consistently rated highly. If I’m too hot I can always unzip it, or on really hot days just sleep with the liner that I also bought.
However one problem… it’s not available in New Zealand. Luckily, it was available at Paddy Pallin in Melbourne and I just happened to be going to Melbourne on holiday a while ago, so I made sure to pick this up while I was there. The added bonus there was that things are generally much cheaper in Australia, and not only that, tourists to Australia get their GST refunded (10%) if they spend over $300 at any retailer. So I saved a bit of money!
Specs:
- 645 grams (including the bag it comes in)
- $643.09 (after getting the 10% GST refunded)
- Rated to 0°C
I sleep in this bag with a pure silk sleeping bag liner. It makes the setup quite constricting but since I smell quite bad after a few days without a shower, the liner does a good job of protecting the sleeping bag from getting too stinky.
I can remember a few nights where the temperature must have been zero degrees, or close to it, and those nights I wore my thermal clothes and also pulled the sleeping bag right up over myself. I slept just fine those nights. It was just fine for me. However, it became clear to me on the trail that I felt the cold a lot less than some people. I think people who get cold easily might need something warmer.
I can’t think of any reason that I would deduct any points and I’d definitely buy it again.