What is the Planet 140?
The Planet 140 Down is one of the lightest, most packable sleeping bags we stock for fast and light travellers in warm locations. Using 700 fill power duck down and a super lightweight ripstop polyester shell, it packs down to not much bigger than a 1 litre water bottle.
What is it made from?
Insulation: Vango use 700 fill power duck down throughout the Planet 140, ensuring a small pack size and a high warmth to weight ratio. Down often struggles when it comes into contact with moisture, therefore Vango have coated it in a Hydro-Barrier coating, ensuring the down resists moisture 4x longer than untreated down. This does not make it waterproof, however it will give you peace of mind that the down won't be ruined with a little moisture.
Outer fabric: Surrounding this luxurious down is a Polair Diamond RS Shell fabric, a polyester ripstop material which is durable, water resistant, wind resistant and breathable for hot climates. Inside you'll find a Polair Flux Lining, a soft, breathable fabric which feels great next to skin.
What are the features?
One of the most useful features on the Planet is the inbuilt mosquito net; this net is finished with an anti-bacterial coating which repels midges, mosquitos, wasps, hornets and just about every other flying insect. Another coating on the inside of the sleeping bag repels further insects and prevents odour-causing bacteria to gather. The 3D shaped hood with a multi-cord closure seals in the warmth, while an insulated zip baffle prevents heat escaping in areas typically lacking in insulation. The two way zip allows you to unzip from the bottom to stick your feet out, but with the rest of the bag done up (or visa versa); you can also unzip the bag entirely and it'll transform into a blanket. Lastly, the clever stuffsack features a fleecy lining so you can turn it inside-out, stuff it with clothes and use it as a pillow. Clever.
Summary
The perfect warm-weather travel companion for those low on space and striving to carry the least weight. The selection of brilliant fabrics and clever ideas makes this a no brainer.
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Stuffsack turns into pillow
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700 fill power duck down
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Hydrophobically treated
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Transforms into blanket
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Zip extends around foot
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Lightweight mosquito net
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Internal pocket for phone
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Two way zip to ventilate
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.