Author Topic: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?  (Read 2004 times)

stuartpb

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I'm starting to gear up for some winter camps at the Peak District this year. I've bought a winter mat, the Exped Downmat Lite 5, I'll be using either my Vaude Taurus 2P tent or the Robens Fortress 3 tent, depending on whether I'm backpacking or using the campsite I go to as base. Got all the clothes and other equipment I need too. The only thing I don't have is a winter sleeping bag, apart from an army issue arctic bag, but that is way too heavy and bulky, even when compressed. So I'm on the lookout for a down bag. Which leads me to this question. I've seen some Chinese import sleeping bags that on paper look like they are up for the job. Anyone bought one of them? If so what do you think to them? Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

MudMagnet

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #1 on: 15:06:41, 16/08/17 »
I have one and really like it.  I don't like hoods on sleeping bags and they do away with them so double bargain for me.  It's very small and lightweight and I really didn't think it would be up to much but have been really surprised.  I have used it on Dartmoor for almost a year now in all seasons and have been pleased with it.  Lowest temperature I've had it to was -4, although I did also put a down gillet on that night.  Whilst I wasn't roasting I was still warm enough to get sleep.  I have to say though that I'm a very warm sleeper and everyone is different. 
I have also bought the square bag that can unzip and be used as a quilt, which I have bought to accompany the sleeping bag for the winter.  Both together still takes up less room and weighs less than my previous Mountain Equipment bag. 
I've been really pleased but I also know that some people really don't like them.  Like most hiking equipment it's personal preference.  Good luck if you do get one. 
They also provide another storage bag which is a nice touch.


Mel

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #3 on: 18:00:13, 16/08/17 »
Neither would I, for the same reason as above.

NeilC

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #4 on: 08:24:49, 17/08/17 »
Ive got one. I mentioned it here: http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=33184.330


Good for what I wanted it for - a summer quilt/bag. It's not the same standard as better makes but surprisingly good all the same.


I cant comment on chinese winter bags other than I suspect temp ratings are likely to be optimistic. But then that's true if some other brands too.


Generally they're gonna be a bit heavier, with more basic fabrics than European or US counterparts. But the price is good. I bet they'll become a big thing over the next few years once they're stolen all the  best designs!


My winter bag is a Cumulus one from Poland which is very nice. But with the £ against the Euro now not so cheap. Looks like Alpkit are about the cheapest now. Don't they use Chinese down though?


My advice is to spend what it takes to get a good bag. They last for years and years and can make or break a trip.

stuartpb

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #5 on: 09:44:56, 17/08/17 »
I've pretty much given up the idea of getting a Chinese winter bag. I was starting to feel they were too much of a gamble and as you said a decent bag can make or break a trip.


I've narrowed it down to a couple of choices now. I'm looking at the RAB Ascent 900 or the new Alpkit Pipedream 600, which is on pre-order at the mo. According to Alpkit their down is RDS certified so no worries about live plucked geese. I never knew about the problem with some sources of down. I've used Alpkit gear before, their Alpkit Foundation donated some equipment to the voluntary family camping and outdoor activity experience project I run and I've found their kit to be decent stuff. I've seen a couple of other bags too that are within the tight budget I have but the two I mentioned are looking like front runners. As much as I love trying new gear out in the field, I hate choosing!! :)

stubill

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #6 on: 14:50:11, 17/08/17 »
I'm with Glyno and Mel on this.


Given their cruelty to animals, I wouldn't touch anything involving animals, their treatment of their fellow human beings is awful, so God only knows what horrors are inflicted on other species, what I've seen is bad enough, and I'm sure there's a lot worse that I don't know.

stuartpb

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #7 on: 15:11:44, 17/08/17 »
To play devils advocate here though, a hell of a lot of equipment we all use and buy is manufactured in the far east, so how far would you go morally? I guess down that isn't RDS certified is easy to avoid, but how many products are you guys using that has animal by products either in them or used in the manufacturing process and was manufactured in China? Most of the big brands have their manufacturing bases in the far east where animal and human rights aren't something held in high regard.


I don't agree with mauling an animal whilst it's still alive, that's something I'd never even heard about. If the animal is killed humanely and all the animal is used, not just a small percentage, and not wasted then I don't have a problem.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #8 on: 18:00:14, 17/08/17 »
They may be decent quality, as the last item  i received from Hong Kong, was a very high quality silk tie.


We all know about the terrible animal suffering in China and the Far East, but not ordering one of these sleeping bags, will not change that situation, and not every Chinese manufacturer use such practices.


Animal suffering fills me with great sadness, but not buying a particular item, will not change the situation much.


Its down to you, and how you feel about the purchase of a down slleping bag, if it worries you, go synthetic.



As for the tie, it features the map of the London Underground printed on it, and cost a ridiculous £6 which included the p&P.
I won it on ebay, and thought, if it does not show up, then i have not blown a fortune, but show up it did, and the quality is quite remarkable.

As for purchasing a down sleeping bag from the Far East, you may be extremely lucky and receive something that is very high quality.

I know a silk tie and a sleeping bag are entirely  different items, but it will all come down to price.

If the asking price is tempting, then i suggest you give it a go.

Read the description of the item carefully, and if you can, send the dealer a message, regarding how long it would take to arrive.

If the dealer responds to your enquiry, and his asking price is considerably less than a similar item here in the Uk, then i suggest go for it.

If you can pay with Pay Pal, more the better, for the added insurance that will bring.

The Internet has opened up the World, and if you like the look of the sleeping bag, and its well priced, go for it.

I was more than happy with my silk tie, and the sleeping bag, may indeed be a quality item.

It will come down to the price, as buying from China no longer means buying cheap rubbish, as was the case years ago.
« Last Edit: 18:13:34, 17/08/17 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

Mel

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #9 on: 18:11:23, 17/08/17 »
I think the concerns aired on this topic are more around the ethical values of how the down is gathered for these cheap Chinese imports rather than on price  :(

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #10 on: 18:22:23, 17/08/17 »
It all depends on price.
A down sleeping bag, here in the Uk, usually costs a pretty penny, and foreign imports can cost considerably less.
If the sleeping bag was not being sold in China, would there be an issue about was it ethically produced.

The Spanish still continue with their equally barbaric bullfighting, does that stop us buying Spanish products.

There are many foreign countries, some of them European whose ethical treatment of animals, send shivers down our spines here in the Uk, and rightly so, but i am sure the list of products we should avoid, could be very extensive.

I suggest Stuart starts saving his money, and buy British, but thats no guarantee the sleeping bag has not come from the same source.

Mel

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #11 on: 18:37:42, 17/08/17 »
UK products are more likely to have traceability for any claims to ethically sourced materials.  It's not about buying from a particular country, it's about buying a particular item.  If I buy a fridge magnet on my holidays in Spain I doubt any animal would have been abused in its creation. 


Foreign imports often cost considerably less because they do not have to adhere to the same quality/moral/ethical codes of practice so can source their "raw" products much cheaper - yet at a potential cost to the suffering of a live animal and exploitation of their workers.  If you don't care about that then you'll go ahead and buy that product simply because it is cheap.

NeilC

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #12 on: 22:05:25, 17/08/17 »
I notice Berghaus only started using RDS certified last year. And given about 80% of the world's down comes from China, apparently, I'm guessing a lot of us have been buying potentially unethically produced down for many years. Not that that is a reason to continue doing it of course. I'll be honest and say it never even occurred to me when I bought my Aegismax bag. I'd always assumed they just plucked dead geese.
« Last Edit: 22:11:54, 17/08/17 by NeilC »

stuartpb

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #13 on: 12:34:13, 18/08/17 »
It didn't me either. I've not purchased down products before as I remember the days when down/feather meant getting stabbed by the quills every time one decided to stick through the material. I've always bought synthetic filled products. Even with quilts and pillow at home I've always bought synthetic. So the problem of live plucking is a new one on me.  :-\

stuartpb

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Re: Chinese Import Down Sleeping Bags..Anyone used them?
« Reply #14 on: 12:44:52, 19/08/17 »
I've ordered a new winter sleeping bag and it isn't a Chinese import. I ended up ordering an Alpkit SkyeHigh 900. I would have got a Chinese import though, if there wasn't doubt about the temperature limits they give, it felt like too much of a gamble for an essential piece of kit. If I had planned on 3 season usage I might have risked it but the new bag is for winter use only. I have lots of bags for summer use and also some hammock top quilts. The plucking of live ducks/ geese for their down is pretty damned grim though so if I had I don't think I'd have felt comfortable knowing that the down could be obtained like that. Thanks everyone for your opinions and advice, much appreciated.

 

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