Half Bag/Elephant's Foot

[icemancometh]

Anyone had a go making one?

With suspenders I'm thinking...

Most commercial ones are a bit short for me

[andrewa]

Pied d'elephant ....haven't heard that since the 70's.

Back then, there would have been a signicance weight saving by leaving off the head end of the bag, but with modern fabrics and high quality down, the weight savings would be a lot less, and possibly not worth the inconvenience in my mind.


Easy to make though.

A

[icemancometh]

it's the suspenders I like, for sitting bivys
more a climbing thing

[Franco]

A modified quilt came to mind but not sure how it would work.
Thru-Hiker has a kit for a quilt and online instructions, maybe some can help ..

http://thru-hiker.com/projects/down_quilt.php
The Elephant foot was discussed at BPL sometime ago, again maybe some comments will be of some use to you :
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... d_id=19264
and maybe some of the comments on the Verber site could help too (temps/materials)
http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gea ... ystem.html
Franco
or you could copy the NaHanny "semi bag"
http://www.montangrup.ro/

[icemancometh]

the nahanny looks interesting

been checking out the Brooks Range
http://brooks-range.com/Elephant-Foot-Sleeping-Bag.html

and TNF but always good to see other ideas

[Moondog55]

Half bags are simply brilliant and I have made a couple, but by cutting the head off an old bag. Teamed with a good duvet and an overbag is how I am tackling the Adirondacks at the moment.
Unless you plan to use your boots inside them they need to be narrow to keep the weight down, my current one is too big (it was made from an old Macpac Marathon ) You need good gloves to keep the hands warm.
They also make excellent kids bags.

[Moondog55]

Also check out ebay, some American special forces half bags on sale at the moment $90- plus postage Not down, polargard.

[icemancometh]

Well I contacted Nahanny

$200 lands me their half bag, 500g down, total bag weight 950g and they wouldn't do a lighter bag, saying it would be too cold. Funny kinda custom sleeping bag service if you ask me but that is cheap!!

[Moondog55]

If sitting bivvys are the major reason get the ebay ones.

Lightweight down half bags need protection.
Also messaage Tom at nunatak

http://www.nunatakusa.com/site07/other_bags/akula.htm

[ninjapuppet]

Iceman, have you bought your elephant foot for your mountaineering adventures yet?

I was waiting to do abit more research on the nunatak range of half bags VS Brooks Range when BINGO! they're on half price at the clymb under trekking essentials so I pulled the plug. Only problem is that its an ulgy yellow because the black ran out within the first 15 minutes.
I was going to outlay $250 to get one anyway, so at half price, I picked up 2 (incase anyone else wants one). Might even suffice as a kid's sleeping bag too?

Go get some while they're still available. (2 days left)
Now this, coupled with a DAS parka + MLD's 340g eVent soul bivy = thats going to be one sweet setup!
.... and an xtherm with that on top too

[Moondog55]

Heck of a good price, all sold out now.

[icemancometh]

damn, never seen this site before and no I didn't get one.

Was highly tempted by Moondog's DIY job but was after something smaller and lighter and not so warm.

I'd still prefer a synthetic for longer missions (moisture, I sleep in all my gear) incl walking but for 1 or 2 night forays this looks mint

Did you get the Hoody too?

[Moondog55]

Get a really cheap Thinsulate sleeping bag ( I got mine from the Op-Shop for $5- ) and just cut it down to where you want it, in fact that is a project on the cards for myself.
There would be just enough room inside this cheap bag for the Patagonia Micropuff pants, but no way does it go around my shoulders unless I am sleeping nude, which I hardly ever do.
I also have a cheap sleeping bag from MD, one of the first of the Travellite series.

http://www.mountaindesigns.com/online-s ... prodID=605

Suitable for making a footsac with, I would use a drawstring in the foot for ease of construction and just stitch up in place of the zipper, second hand it was only $50-
I have to agree, my footsack is way overkill, by at least 25 degrees for this country

[icemancometh]

Would taking a cheap (heavy) sleeping bag and chopping it not mean you end up with a slightly smaller and slight less heavy BUT STILL HEAVY half bag?

If weight savings were an issue you'd need a high Quality one to start with and you'd still be stuck with a zip, ie weight

Then again you could just get something like this
http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Mtn-Spe ... lt,pd.html

[Moondog55]

Why do you associate cheap with heavy?
Mostly I find the quality of the Thinsulate equal and with the down bag I mentioned it is cheap because it was stitched through, all the extra weight is in the zippers, cut the zipper out and you save almost 150 grams.
Experiments are best done with cheaper starting points, the failures cost less.

Cheap is OK if the quality is good and often the Sallies do not know what the item is worth, my Thinsulate bag retailed for over 120 UK pounds last year

[Moondog55]

If you want an experimental bag to test the concept ( at the expense of a full kilo of mass ) a cheap kids bag from Katmandu is the correct size for a half sac.

http://www.kathmandu.com.au/Sleeping_Ge ... ag_v4.html

You would need to do something about making the foot section fit big feet, a draw-cord is the obvious solution there

[ninjapuppet]

Just got the elephants foot bag today and Ive got some mixed feelings about it so far.
Thought i'd just add a few comments here rather than start another post as I havnt used it to write up a review.


well first impressions, its seems just as high quality as any other western mountaineering bag.
- Compared to the summerlite, it lofts up so much more, but not as much as a WM antelope so i feel it's 15F rating is abit optimistic.
- material wise, it feels similar to the summerlite but more see-thru. i was abit worried at first site because i could clearly see there was no down near where the horizontal seams are, but after 10 minutes, it lofted up to fill in all the gaps.
- i'm 170cm and lying flat, the cinch is just below my neck. its designed to cinch around the armpits but if i can cinch it around the neck, it will be alot wamer that way.
- summerlite is rated to around 0 C but i'd only feel warm taking it down to +3 with a G-string on. This elephant would likely go lower if you have a good jacket since there appears to be more loft.
- doesnt really pack any smaller than the summerlite. The supplied stuff sack is nearly as high as the summerlite but 50% fatter in diameter but its alot easier to squish into its stuff sack.
- Summerlite weight: 574g, elephants foot weight: 409. So 165g isnt a huge weight saving, but for climbing you have a down jacket with you anyway so you might aswell make use of it.

just waiting for winter to come before i give it a good workout.

[Moondog55]

Nice looking bit of kit, I'm tempted to send you mine so you could do a side by side comparison and user trial before i buy a new one for myself.
Been such a long time which one did you wind up buying??

[ninjapuppet]

I bought the brooks range when it was on sale for half price at the clymb.
For $125, i think its a great deal but for full price $250, I'd just put up with the extra weight of a normal sleeping bag + down jacket.

[Moondog55]

$125- OK I remember; they were sold out when I looked, damned good value.
I would say that was perfect for my needs, just warm enough to stay comfortable. Do you want to do the side by side comparison??, I'll pay the postage of course

[ninjapuppet]

no worries at all Ted.


Personally i think postage back and forth for your sleeping bag comparsion would be a waste of money for a $120 bag, i reckon $20 can be better spent elsewhere
However, i'm happy to if you insist.

I can do any tests / comparisons / take photos of certain angles you if need without having the 2 bags side by side. Or alternatively you can check out the summerlite at paddy pallins.

[Moondog55]

I have already checked out the summerlite, it has a zipper, the one thing I think is totally redundant in a half bag

[Moondog55]

Hey Ninjapuppet. I wonder if you have used your halfbag yet and if you could give some feedback on it.
I just sent my home made unit to Iceman so he can trial it and I am looking forward to his comments.
I took a variety of bags with me on my trip to try various combinations and while close I still haven't found sleeping bag nirvana yet