An all Nunatak Sleep suit commentary

[Oms]

I've got a Skaha Plus and an Arc Alpinist quilt. The material used, Pertex Quantum, is so light that along with the down it compresses easily. You would certainly need a good underquilt winter camping. I have thought about using them together, but never had the need (quilt is very warm). I think the Akula Half Bag would be a great idea used with a down coat and underquilt. Don't think the pants would be as versatile as the Akula because it's hard to vent unless you had zippers put on. Kind of limits usable temperatures. Then it also leaves your feet out in the cold. Now you've got to by the booties $$$. I saved for a year for each piece, but I do think it's worth it. Great stuff. There's also the Raku.http://www.nunatakusa.com/site07/other_bags/raku.htm That's a pretty funky bag

[turk]

I am a huge fan of my rock wren bag by feathered friends. So I am looking to further explore wearable sleep systems. But instead of trying to refine the concept of a bag that is more wearable. I am looking to approach the problem inside out and do regular clothing that is more sleepable!

I would think that down compression would be about the same as any full bag would it not. I would definitely treat my under insulation as a completely separate entity from the sleep suit.

So from that angle, functioning solely as top insulation, does a suit stack up against a full bag of equal weight, or quilt of equal weight, surpass both, or fall short of both ?

I plan to devote this winter to testing this concept that has been itching at my brain since the end of past winter.

[turk]

a speculative list of pros and cons.


Pros:

- completely eliminate camp clothing / become
multi-use gear by wearing your sleep system.
I am looking to axe out 1/3rd of my clothing
dependancy, currently being hiking clothes, warm
camp clothes, and sleep clothes.

- more functional than a wearable bag or quilt when
paired with a windbreaker or conventional rain jacket.

- retain core body heat while packing up in the morning
and breaking camp routines.

- less total packed volume than equivalent top quilts + warm
camp clothes = smaller pack


Cons:

- insanely expensive. One quality commercially available suit
could get you three times its weight in quality bags or quilts.

- ventilation and heat regulation especially in the legs.

- still need to address the footsies

- maybe not as efficient as bags/quilts. Could be a costly
experiment to prove other systems work better.

[Take-a-knee]

Sounds like the Rock Wren you already own oughta work fine to me. Marta over at WB used a borrowed (IIRC) Nunatak Raku during the winter portion of her SOBO thru. She said she basically wore that thing from the time she got to camp until she packed up in the morning. It was her camp/sleep combo. Just add JRB sleeves to your Wren. You could use the sleeves as a draft blocker at the neck or as footwear while sleeping.

[Coldspring]

Well, if you're wanting a Raku and you're under 5'6" there is one on the auction site for $250. You'll have to search for "20 Degree Ultralite Down Sleeping Bag"

[Coldspring]

I'd be leery of this seller. He doesn't have actual pics of his product and I asked him. He says he has them, but didn't put them in the listing. He didn't list the item as a Nunatak Raku, just a generic listing. And, he didn't even spell Nunatac right. If I had spend $574 on a sleep suit from Nunatak, I would know how to spell it!

[Fiddleback]

a speculative list of pros and cons.


Pros:

- completely eliminate camp clothing / become
multi-use gear by wearing your sleep system.
I am looking to axe out 1/3rd of my clothing
dependancy, currently being hiking clothes, warm
camp clothes, and sleep clothes.

- more functional than a wearable bag or quilt when
paired with a windbreaker or conventional rain jacket.

- retain core body heat while packing up in the morning
and breaking camp routines.

- less total packed volume than equivalent top quilts + warm
camp clothes = smaller pack


Cons:

- insanely expensive. One quality commercially available suit
could get you three times its weight in quality bags or quilts.

- ventilation and heat regulation especially in the legs.

- still need to address the footsies

- maybe not as efficient as bags/quilts. Could be a costly
experiment to prove other systems work better.

An unanticipated benefit of my system using cold-weather clothing as the major component of the sleep system are the nighttime Nature calls. The sleep system includes booties which means I'm virtually fully dressed. If and when I need to get up, I just drop out of the hammock and find a suitable tree. No need to fuss around putting on boots, no need to get dressed, no delay of any sort...which can be a good thing.

FB

[ikemouser]

An unanticipated benefit of my system using cold-weather clothing as the major component of the sleep system are the nighttime Nature calls. The sleep system includes booties which means I'm virtually fully dressed. If and when I need to get up, I just drop out of the hammock and find a suitable tree. No need to fuss around putting on boots, no need to get dressed, no delay of any sort...which can be a good thing.

FB

But also, how do you vent such a setup? And what about compressing the loft, you could sleep on your side, then you would have cold shoulders and elbows, hips and one leg. see what i mean? seems like that weight is wasted.

[Take-a-knee]

But also, how do you vent such a setup? And what about compressing the loft, you could sleep on your side, then you would have cold shoulders and elbows, hips and one leg. see what i mean? seems like that weight is wasted.

It isn't that much weight. A Rock Wren weighs 27oz., a No Sniveler and JRB Hood weighs 23 oz. They both have 2in baffles. I think the overstuff may be a bit more on the JRB so they are arguably equally warm. The NS is usable in the low fifties, the Rock Wren is starting to get uncomfortable above that (you need to order a longer zipper to prevent this). The Rock Wren enables relatively comfortable "nature calls". You can still wrap the NS around yourself an do the same thing, just a tad more effort involved. If you have to go to ground the Wren has the edge, IMO. For a hammocker, the NS, JRB Hood/Sleeves and a down vest (to which the hood can attatch) is as light and versatile as it gets.