I attempted to sleep in the Nano M2 Sat night and found it wasn't warm enough alone for the sub zero temps we had, but I could have got by if I'd have worked at it.
It's a tiny bag, great loft for the weight and very smooth and shiny. Overall, a nice bag.
Gear:
- Tent: Bob Saunders Jetpacker plus (Rocking it old-school)
- Mat 1: Thermarest pro-lite full size
- Mat 2: Klymit Inertia X Lite (Under thermarest)
- Pillow: Dacathlon helium without cover
- Bag 1 : Aegis max nano M2
- Bag 2 : Mountain Equipment *something* 750. 25+ years old, still great but not quite the loft it once had.
- Bag liner: Didn't take it out of my bag
Aim: To test some new gear and see how it faired in *easy* conditions before I used it when it was cold. Plan changed when he temp dropped below zero before 10pm.
I turned at 11pm when it was already brassic and nobody wanted to leave the fire circle. I deemed it too cold to try sleeping on the initia alone but used it under my thermarest for a bit of shoulder/hip padding so I don't back sleep and snore like a chainsaw.
Clothes - a lightweight config so I could test the bag alone and not the bag with me wrapped up in down inside it.
- a pair of thinnish *something* leggings from decathlon. Can't remember if they are merino but if they are it was a very skinny variety. - - - Top was a running t-shirt.
- Hat, fleece balaclava
Slept until 1am, but woke up a tad cold. Dozed on and off until 4am - main reason I couldn't sleep was I was waiting for my Scouts to start waking up from the cold. I could stay warm but the nano wasn't as forgiving to movement as a warmer sack. Believed I would have been okay had I layered up and grabbed my thin down jacket. Not having a hood or shoulder baffle meant I was more prone to cold drafts - I'll need to work on that. Will need to cinch down around my neck and make more effective use of head insulation.
After being repeatedly woken by crowing cockerels and having to get out at 3am and 4am to deal with cold coughing Scouts I decided I would get as much sleep as I could and go straight to *warm and toasty* and abandon my test of the nano alone.
When back in the tent, I kept my super sized down jacket on and grabbed my other sleeping bag to use as a duvet - I also retrieved my earplugs to dull down the noise of the cockerels, the geese and the Scouts. I was then perfectly warm, even when shuffling around.
Slept like a baby - as I should have done as I was surrounded by about 3 kilo of down.
I didn't get a low temp of the night, but it was certainly several below and nothing thawed until the sun rose over the trees at 9am. I'm guessing -3 to -4 at least. The frozen condensation in my tent was the worst it's ever been - made great fluffy snowballs though. Another Scout leader, an ML with plenty of mountain time, took his £350+ 0 degree bag, wore all his gear and said it was the coldest night in a tent he's EVER had.
Conclusion:
- It's tiny and light
- It's an awesome summer bag, I've been use a 1.5kg 4 season bag for everything for ever, so it'll be nice to have something a third of the weight
- I'll use it as a top-up for deep winter to stretch some more life out of my old bag
- The standard version allows me to just tuck my head inside (5' 3")
- It's super slippy, I'm fine with that.
- I could have got enough sleep using it, but I would have had to work on it.
- A bag somewhere between the nano and my ME would be better for those *almost 4 season* events.
- I still need to do a test of using the nano + clothing to keep me warm on another cold night. I'll do that on a night when I'm not being woken up by wildlife and 15+ kids.
Would I recommend? As a bag for use in February? Yeah, if you're willing to stretch it (and yourself) a little outside the comfort zone. For nicer weather it's a no-brainer for me. I wanted a new bag so I'm not shlepping kilos of down around with me and taking up a third of my pack - this one was a safe bet. Cheap enough to take a punt on.
Jen
