Sleeping bag for touring Europe?

[halfmoonman]

Hi,

Myself and girlfriend are planning a cycling trip round mainland Europe next year starting May/June,
Slowly buying gear just picked up an MSR Hubba Hubba tent, also thinking of Trangia 27-7 stove and exped synmat sleeping mats.

The thing I'm most unsure of is what sleeping bag would be the right choice?
Been looking at The North Face Gold Kazoo and the Deuter Treklite 300.
Both are down sleeping bags that I've heard good things about, but would they be over kill
would a light synthetic bag suffice?

Plan on cycling all over so we might get a mixture of weather!
Any ideas would be welcome and maybe gear or pointers you use yourself.

Thanks in advance
Andrew

 

[Stonepark]

I have a Snugpac Softie Elite 3 synthetic for 3 season camping and it is good but 1600 grams but quite warm they do do a Elite 2 (similar rating to your down bags but 1300g).

They have two advantages, 1 a reflectatherm silvered liner (similar to emergency blankets) and can change width of bag, allowing quite a variance in operating temperatures.

With regards to fillings, down is undoubtedly the warmest for any given weight but suffers drastically if damp, synthetic will keep you warm even when damp.

 

[halfmoonman]

Cheers for quick reply stone park, I'll have a look at the snugpak range.

 

[Jmenorton]

interested in this myself. Want something around the 1kg mark, for about £70. Any chance of this in the sales? For touring france and spain in spring/summer

 

[BrazingSaddles]

Husband and I have completed a few cycle tours now, with a total mix of weather. Some of our kit list includes: Alpkit sleeping bags - 400 for husband, 600 for me as I feel the cold. For warmer nights also take a (silk) sleeping bag liner as they can be used alone or as additional warmth (& also keep s'bag clean!). Do not be fooled by warm weather, buy lightweight s'bag, post 600 s'bag home then freeze when temperature drops - oops, yes, we did this on our three month tour!! Can not praise Exped 'synnmat & pump' mattresses enough- these are a must and totally crap on thermarests for comfort & insulation. If you don't think you need one, def get one for your girlfriend - check for 2nd hand ones if pushes budget. We also used Outwell pillows. Good choice on stove - we found meths easy to find (easier than small gas canisters during our first tour) - just check the translations for each country (we bought the wrong stuff once in Denmark but thankfully the bushbuddy saved the day - especially as we were wild camping in the woods - fab!). I would recommend getting a little fold up wind shield as the flame can be less controllable without one. I would suggest an additional, taller, pan (we kept the bushbuddy in ours) as great for risotto etc (Trangia pan for coffee brewing, slightly larger pan for general & washing up storage and risotto/chili pan!). Sorry for information overload - got back from latest tour last week! Hope this helps.
Oooh yes - get yourself a bladder so you can stock up on water if you decide to wild camp. I think we have a 5ltr one which is enough for cooking & washing (pots & filthy bodies, separately of course - I love an al fresco wash!!!).