What is the Alpine Pro 600?
If you're familiar with Rab's current range of sleeping bags, you may have heard of the Ascent and the Neutrino Endurance; well the Alpine Pro is a mix of the two, combining the brilliant value of the Ascent with the packability and technical fit of the Neutrino. It uses a high quality 650FP hydrophobic duck down and a Pertex Quantum outer fabric to ensure weather resistance in severe conditions.
What is the Alpine Pro made of?
Insulation: Starting with the most vital part of the bag, the insulation. Rab use a high quality 650 fill power, R.D.S certified, hydrophobic, European duck down; we know there's a lot of info there so let's break it down.
Fill power: refers to the 'fluffiness' of the down, therefore 1 ounce of this high quality down will fill 650 cubic inches of space when lofted fully.
R.D.S: stands for Responsible Down Standard, ensuring the down comes from happy birds who haven't been live plucked and have been well cared for.
Hydrophobic: refers to the coating that is applied to the down to allow it to perform better in damp conditions than untreated down. This coating will also ensure the down is warmer when wet, lofts faster and dries faster than untreated down.
Outer fabric: Surrounding this high quality insulation is a Pertex Quantum Pro fabric; this fabric is water resistant, breathable, wind resistant and lightweight enough to allow the bag to pack down to a small size when not in use. Although you should never aim to allow a down sleeping bag to get wet, we know condensation and light drizzle are unavoidable, therefore this fabric prevents the down getting wet.
What is the construction used?
If that wasn't enough of an information overload, Rab store the down in optimised trapezoidal chambers to increase warmth and decrease the likelihood of cold spots. These special shaped chambers allow the down to loft fully after being compressed for extended periods of time. As well as optimised chambers, Rab use “proportionally designed differential cut” which is basically the difference in size between the inner and the outer shell of the sleeping bag. Most inner shells will usually be the same size but the outer shell may need to increase to accommodate a higher weight of down or down of a higher fill power as you progress through a range of bags, for instance, a bag with an 800 fill power will have a roomier outer shell than a bag with a 600 fill power.
What are the features of the Alpine Pro?
A 3/4 length zip with a baffle behind prevents heat escaping through the zip, while an internal stash pocket stores items such as a phone or headtorch when the batteries need to stay warm. Included with the sleeping bag is a loft bag to store the sleeping bag when not in use, and a compression bag to (you guessed it) compress the bag in your pack when on the move. A 3D internal collar and hood drawcord ensure that all the lovely warm air inside the bag doesn’t escape. The fully insulated collar sits snugly around your shoulders to add an extra layer of protection and insulation in exceptionally cold conditions. The foot section features an angled which provides plenty of space without compressing the down and reducing warmth; no one likes cold feet!
How does the Alpine Pro fit?
The Alpine Pro features Rab's Mummy Taper fit; this is a slim, body-hugging fit to maximise warmth and pack size. The more space inside a bag that you aren't filling, the colder the bag will be. If you tend to move around a lot in your sleep, you may want to have a look at Rab's Ascent range which features a roomier fit.
Summary
The Alpine Pro is the perfect bag for those not wanting to spend a fortune on a cold weather bag, yet require the performance, pack size and weight to be effective in mountainous environments. The high quality hydrophobic insulation and weather resistant outer fabric ensure protection in the worst conditions, while a re-design in baffle shapes increases warmth even further.
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Right zip
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Pertex Quantum Pro outer fabric
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High quality down insulation
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Hydrophobically treated
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Mummy taper shape
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Technical baffle design
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Internal stash pocket
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Included stuff and loft bags
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Angled footbox
How to wash your down products
Having spent years talking to people about down products, whether that’s a jacket, sleeping bag or even a pair of slippers, very few have had the confidence to go ahead and wash the product on their own, especially when they have just spent an arm and a leg on it. This small guide is here to explain that it’s not as daunting and utterly terrifying as it first appears.
Step one: Before you even get near that washing machine, wipe off any excess mud or dirt that may be lingering on the surface of the jacket, as this will clog up the washing machine, eventually rendering it useless.
We recommend the use of Nikwax Down Wash Direct for down products as it’s one hundred percent environmentally friendly and will wash and re-proof the garment without the use of bleach or any other nasty chemicals. What household washing agents can (and often do) is remove the water repellent coating on the fabric of the jacket, whilst also damaging the delicate array of feathers inside.
Step two: We’ll assume in this instance that you’ve been washing other products prior to your down jacket and have used a bleach based detergent. Therefore it’s a good idea to run the washing machine for half an hour or so without anything inside to rinse it clean before adding the Nikwax or putting the jacket in. Also, don’t forget to remove the detergent drawer to give it a wash inside, outside and behind, as detergent can clog up and still enter the washing machine if not cleaned out thoroughly. This ensures that any remnants of detergent are removed and that the Nikwax products will work effectively.
Step three: Set the washing machine to a cold wash (check the garments care label, most tend to be around 30°C) and as delicate as possible. Most washing machines have a “wool” cycle which is ideal.
Step four: If using Nikwax Down Wash Direct, place 100ml in either the tray or directly into the washing machine inside a small pot/ball. If you choose to use another washing product, place the appropriate amount in the machine in the same way.
Step five: Set the washing machine to run on a slow cycle, allowing plenty of time for the jacket to soak up the cleaning/re-proofing product. Most washing machines will have a pre-set time for different washing cycles.
When the cycle has finished be prepared for a shock, your precious bit of kit will come out looking like a soggy ball of material. But don’t worry, you haven’t ruined it, it’s just that all that fluffy down insulation has become water logged and has clumped together. The trick is to now get all that down nice and dry to reinstate its superb insulating properties. Simply hanging it up in a warm place will not work that well. It will take days to properly dry and you will have to constantly break up the clumps to get it thoroughly dry. The best way is to use a tumble dryer; either a domestic one for smaller items or a commercial drier for sleeping bags.
Step six: Pop the garment into the dryer and make sure to select a low heat; a high heat runs the risk of melting seams and fabrics within the garment. It sounds weird, but shove a few tennis balls into the drier with the garment; the tennis balls will bounce around and help to break up the clumps of down. Every 20 minutes, pull the jacket out of the dryer and lie the jacket down on a table. Run your hands over the jacket until you find a 'clump' or ball of down; tease apart this down clump and spread it evenly into the baffle. Once you're confident you've pulled apart every clump to the best of your ability, stick it back in for another 20 minutes. Keep repeating this until there are no more clumps left.
Step seven: When the cycle has finished and you are sure that you have got the garment as dry as possible, hang it up in a warm dry place, an airing cupboard is ideal, for 24 hours. This drives out the last of any dampness and allows the down to loft fully. Take it out and give it a good shake and, hey presto, it’ll be as good as new.