I changed my down bag for a made up sleep system just this last month with a down duvet from Thermarest. The Big Agnes bags look great but they are expensive outside the US as everyone has found out. I bought a cheap cot ( the ones with plastic oval feet) which is really excellent. Cost £35 ( compared to the thermarest £100+ for the same thing). On it I place my exped down mat and then a lightweight fleece bag liner /sleeping bag with full zip, so it can be opened out into a blanket. I use it as a liner ( unzipped) and then the thermarest down duvet on the top. It has a foot box like the other one mentioned in this thread, and the duvet can be attached to the down mat or the cot with the side straps. For me it works really well. I got fed up with waking up in the middle of the night in a mummy bag dying for a P and not being able to find the zip where i had zipped it up, and the more I struggled to find it, the more desperate I got to get out of the bag! With the duvet it's like stepping out of bed!

Hi Ted, it may well be too late and you've got a solution.

If not, I also hate being claustraphobic in a too tight sleeping bag. As I'm lanky as well as FAT I use one of these and it's plenty big enough for me.
https://www.exploreoutdoors.co.uk/th...e5&fo_s=gplauk

A bit cheaper if you don't have the extra long model

It also packs down pretty small with use of the compression sack

Cheers for that. No, not bought one yet !! Still in the research stage lol.

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Ted,
I actually wrote a book about backpacking equipment, including plans and instructions on how to build your own simple and sophisticated down sleeping bags.
The Budget Backpacker, Winchester Press.

You might visit your local thrift store and look at bed sized DOWN DUVETS, which can be quickly midified with a bit of sewing and a zipper into EXACTLY what you want. I bought a King size DOWN duvet for $30 Can, clean, with very good quality down.. To confirm the quality of the down, read the label, or just feel the fill for too many big thick quills. Getting any used duvet professionally cleaned is a good idea, but any good camping store will have the special down detergent. Washing a down bag in a bathtub can be fun.

In a previous lifetime, before I wised up and moved to warmer climates, I had way too much experience with down insulated cold weather gear. CANADIAN ARMY WINTER SURVIVAL, recreational Winter camping, etc in SUB-zero temperatures, in SASKATCHEWAN. 30 below zero was not unknown. These are the conditions where down does best.

For all around use, in mixed conditions where temperatures will usually be above zero, and especially where activies involve WET, down may not be your best choice. When I moved to the WET Coast, and got involved in ocean kayaking, boating, and mountain biking, as well as the usual long distance motircycle adventure touring, I got rid of all my down gear. Some of the modern high end synthetic fill materials now come close to down in weight, expansion and compression, and the synthetics are much better if wet.

Sleeping in a wet down bag ( aka thick Chicken Soup in ) may be hazardous to your health, where a synthetic bag may be wrung out and still provide decent insulation.
Hope this helps,
LAZ 1

Bit late to the party, but this might be interesting:

super small down bag on amazon (584g 200CM×80CM).
You can also find them on aliexpress for less.

The brand is called 'aegismax' I've been seeing allot of good reviews on youtube and the like by thru-hikers. The quality is supposed to be pretty legit, and it packs down to the size of a can of peaches or so.

I'm looking for a bag myself and have spent hours looking over the UK websites. Aiming for wide and long so I can have wriggle room as a side sleeper. theres a bewildering choice out there, I've spotted some of them advertising their down as being responsibly sourced/not live plucked etc and its reminded me of those horror stories we have probably all heard of from China where animals are treated pretty awfully( not surprising if the people aren't getting too good a deal either). Anyway, its led me to just not want to buy a chinese manufactured bag, I'm not a vegetarian but I don't see any reason to support ducks and other fowl being live plucked or battery farmed when theres an alternative available. Sea to Summit and Western Mountaineering ( california) seem to be quite responsible and I think vaude may well be too as their web site speaks of green values. Not sure how high such things are on travellers agendas but thats my tuppence worth. Just got email back from Kathmandu and it seems they too take care of source of down, http://www.kathmandu.com.au/corporat...s-traceability

After trying a few bags in various shops I ended up going with reviews and ordered one from snowleader.com. I got the Nemo salsa 30 in the long size. Its got loads of room and packs down very small, looking forward to trying it for real ( as opposed to indoors) soon. Its a bit over the £200 budget but very well made and the down hasn't been plucked from some poor creature that was still alive. Nemo Salsa 30 Review | OutdoorGearLab

Its hard to find in stock , I presume thats due to the glowing reviews creating demand for it.

Once I bought an Exped sleeping mat I realised I didn't need the thickness of a sleeping bag beneath me. So I now sleep in a silk inner liner. My down sleeping bag unzips completely down one side so I open it up and use it as a duvet. There's so much spare width there's no problems with draughts.

Nemo Bags
 

Bought this bag when visiting the states and use it with the mattress to provide a perfect solution. 100% comfy, just like sleeping in a bed at home which as we all know is invaluable when travelling more than a week or two:

https://www.rei.com/product/896023/n...n-sleeping-bag

https://www.rei.com/product/112194/n...-pad-with-pump

Downside, as always, way above 200GBP :offtopic:

Try enlighten equipment
 

Hi, also a bit late to this thread but I use a duvet from enlighten equipment. Its under £200 packs down tiny and depending on the ratting you get can be good for summer of winter use. I've had mine out in +15 to -6

I revisited this thread as I still buy the bag...

I've been looking at sleeping quilts and they really seem the way to go.

This looks fantastic

https://enlightenedequipment.com/rev...roduct-reviews

And just on budget.

Ted,

I have recently bought this but in the 900dt (900 is goose)
I must say that the quality is excellent and when I am travelling with it it packs down very small in a compression sack and is extremely light.

Would definitely recommend and will be buying a 2nd one for my partner.

(First post :mchappy:)