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Alpkit Pipedream 200

By Dave Roberts   

on October 30, 2011    No ratings yet.

Posted in Outdoor Gear Reviews, Sleeping Bag Reviews, Wild Camping Reviewsalpkit, sleeping bag, ultralightweight, wild camping

Alpkit Pipedream 200

This is a novel sleeping bag. At only 460g. This will be ideal for use in youth hostels and bothys, and probably camping and bivvying too. It achieves this impossible balance of weight, price and performance by only having the down in the lower half of the bag. The upper is just a pertex vest to keep everything in place. Of course, you need a half decent insulating layer for the upper part of your body.

Not easily obtained these days as it is out of stock at Alpkit, this half bag is an excellent choice for summer trips where you can couple it with a lightweight down top and still come in at under the weight of your regular summer bag. While it’s still not lighter than the lightest bags available, I’d argue that having a sleeping bag and a down top is more flexible as the top can be used for general use and sitting about camp, as well as sleeping. The down side is that you then end up wearing all your insulation, but if you expect the temperature to drop that much you should be prepared for that with further warm layers. Going light is good, but it’s inevitable that your pack gets heavier with the dropping temperatures.

With an opening at the foot, you even have the flexibility of wearing it and hitching it up when you want to go walkabout. Even if that looks comical, it means you don’t get cold when going for a pee. This makes it an ideal ‘extra’ layer for winter when you can use it to improve the warmth of your current bag. You’re also good for a laugh, and that alone can help keep you warm.

The cheapest way to get your sleeping bag weight to a minimum, if only you can get hold of one! Visit the site below in order to register for the Alpkit newsletter and recieve an update when back in stock.

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Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts founded Walk Eryri in 2004, with the aim of providing routes that are off the beaten track. Walk Eryri is now part of Mud and Routes which continues to provide more off beat routes and walks in Snowdonia and beyond. Dave has been exploring the hills of Eryri for over thirty years, and is a qualified Mountain Leader. Dave also established Walk up Snowdon, Walk up Scafell Pike and Walk up Ben Nevis just to mention a few.

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