What is the Neutrino Endurance?
The Neutrino Endurance 400 is the perfect bag for lightweight Alpine bivis or general mountaineering as it offers reliable protection from the elements whilst packing down to a fraction of its original size. The high quality down, weather resistant outer fabric and years of experience from Rab combine to create a sleeping bag which accompanies you down to -6°C, yet weights just 890g.
What is it made from?
Insulation: Inside the bag is 400g of super high-quality 800 fill power hydrophobic goose down. Down is (by quite some margin) the warmest, lightest and most durable insulation available, making it perfect for the Neutrino Endurance. This brilliant bag also features a Nikwax Hydrophobic coating; this fluorocarbon-free treatment was developed in conjunction with Nikwax and allows the insulation to dry much faster, absorb less water and retains loft far better than untreated down. This by no means makes the sleeping bag waterproof, but it means condensation and general moisture from sleeping in harsh environments won't affect the performance. If all of that wasn't quite enough, the down is sourced ethically and complies to the R.D.S (responsible down standard); you can find out more about that here.
Outer fabric: Rab use a Pertex Quantum Pro fabric for the outer of the Neutrino; this fabric is highly water resistant, wind resistant and impressively lightweight, giving you peace of mind that your sleeping bag will cope with harsh conditions yet will also pack down to just 18 x 27cm. The inner of the bag uses a very similar fabric without the water resistant properties, however the real magic is the coating that is applied to this inner fabric. It's inevitable that you will end up sweating into the bag, causing odour to build up over time. Although sweat is technically odourless, it creates an environment for bacteria to grow, which creates the smell. Polygiene prevents the bacteria from growing, therefore reducing bad smells over time. It's also worth noting that this coating never wears out!
What is the construction used?
This bag has been designed purely for performance with a close fitting and tapered shape with little slack in the inner. To ensure all that high quality down stays put Rab use Trapezoidal internal baffle chambers which deliver a very stable structure resulting in a consistent distribution of down throughout the bag. a minimal differential cut gives a close technical fit; this technology was developed by Rab to ensure that the space between the lining and the outer fabric is optimised for the specific filling and fill power. This maximises the potential of the down to loft naturally resulting in greater performance.
What are the features?
This Neutrino Endurance is supplied with a dry bag compression sack for maximum protection when you are out and about and a large cotton storage sack for when the bag is not being used. We always recommend that your sleeping bag is stored in the cotton sack to avoid compressing the down unnecessarily which can reduce its performance over time. Other features include a 3/4 length zip, an internal stash pocket which can be used to store electronics on cold nights to prevent battery drainage, an internal collar and hood drawcord to seal in the warmth, an angled footbox to prevent your feet compressing the down, and lastly a tapered shape to increase warmth and decrease pack size.
How does the Neutrino Endurance fit?
The Neutrino features a slim, tapered fit which will feel snugger than some of their other models such as their Ascent range. This increases the warmth, decreases the pack size and reduces the weight.
Summary
Incredibly warm, packable, lightweight and weather resistant, the Neutrino Endurance is perfect for those requiring a durable bag which will also pack down nice and small for alpine adventures.
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Pertex Quantum Pro outer fabric
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Pertex Quantum inner fabric with Polygiene STAYFRESH odour control treatment
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Pertex Endurance inner fabric in hood and collar
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800FP European Goose Down
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Rab fluorocarbon free Hydrophobic Down developed in conjunction with Nikwax
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Close fitting neck baffle design
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Mummy taper shape
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Proportionally assigned differential cut
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Internal YKK 3 coil zipped stash pocket
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Left hand side ¾ length YKK 5 coil main zip
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Anti snag zipper webbing tape
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Internal collar and hood drawcord
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Trapezoidal baffle chamber design
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Angled foot box
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Dry bag compression stuff sack
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Cotton storage sack
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Temperature tested to new European standard EN13537: 2012
How warm a sleeping bag do you really need? We’ve tried to help you by grouping our sleeping bags by their recognised comfort ratings. These are the ratings supplied by the brands that indicate the temperature at which you will remain comfortable whilst sleeping on an insulated sleep mat. After all, comfort is what you want when it’s cold and wet outside, and you’re all tucked up in your nice warm sleeping bag.
We always recommend that you choose your bag according to the coldest conditions you will experience; you can always unzip a bag if it is too warm, but trying to sleep when you’re too cold is just miserable. Bear in mind that we are all individuals, so we all feel the cold differently and that our own resistance will fluctuate depending on a whole load of factors, including how much we have eaten, whether we have consumed alcohol, whether we need a wee or what kind of mood we are in!
Sleeping bags do not generate heat; they only trap the heat we produce, so it is vital that you get into your bag when you are giving off warmth, don’t go to bed when you are cold, have a hot meal or a hot drink or do some brisk exercise to get you nicely warmed up.
Traditionally sleeping bag manufacturers provided their own temperature ratings based on their experience, the product's intended end-use and the perceived environment. However, each brand tested their bags in different ways, and it was hard to find a fair comparison between models. So, in 2005 a European standard for sleeping bag temperature ratings, EN 13537, was introduced to give consumers a comparable guide to sleeping bag performance across a range of brands and models. The ratings have four different temperature ratings to give you an indication of the bag's performance.
Comfort Rating: This is the temperature at which an average female should experience a comfortable night’s sleep. On average, women sleep colder than men, so this rating is some degrees above the "comfort lower limit" for a man.
Comfort Limit Rating: This is the lowest temperature at which an average male should experience a comfortable night’s sleep whilst laid down in a curled up position.
Extreme: This is a survival rating where the user is likely to suffer health damage such as Hypothermia. It should be treated with the utmost caution and not be relied on for general use.
However, the EN 13537 European Standard does not apply to down-filled sleeping bags with a fill weight of more than 800g; for those bags, you will have to rely on the manufacturer's experience and technical expertise, which is often more accurate!
Most reputable brands still use their own rating system alongside EN 13537, for instance, Mountain Equipment's “Good Night’s Sleep” and Rab’s “Sleep Limit”. These ratings are often the most accurate guide to the overall performance of a sleeping bag being used by an average outdoor enthusiast because they are based on years of expedition heritage, field trials, technological experience, and constant feedback.
But please bear in mind that all ratings are only a guide and, as mentioned earlier, there are a huge range of factors that can affect your comfort; if you are just not sure, it is always wise to go for a warmer model.
The biggest difference you can make to your overall comfort is to use an efficiently insulated sleeping mat. Once you get inside your sleeping bag, you instantly compress all the filling beneath you, greatly reducing its efficiency. Therefore using a quality sleep mat will ensure you are properly insulated from the cold ground, and you will be a lot more comfortable... Basically, there is no point in buying a top-quality sleeping bag if you are just going to lie down on the floor.