What is the Snowline?
The Snowline sits quite proudly in Mountain Equipments 'extreme' range, for a simple reason, they're designed to go where most bags can't even dream of visiting. Although this is the lightest bag in M.E's extreme range, it'll still happily go to temperatures around -23°C and can't actually be tested by the European regulated temperature guide, therefore Mountain Equipment go through their most extensive and more accurate tests to give you their "good nights sleep" rating.
What is the Snowline made of?
Insulation: Using 831g of super high quality 800 fill power duck down, the Snowline will pack up smaller than a similar bag with an inferior quality down and will be warmer for the weight too. What makes Mountain Equipments down different to others however is that they became one of the first outdoor brands to introduce independent auditing of their down supply. This provides the ability for M.E to trace 100% of their down, allowing them to only use responsibly sourced down. This is not only better for the birds and the environment, but also means the down inside the product is a higher quality. This premium duck down is from the very cold North East of China and is collected from ducks that live a truly free-range existence. The birds are sold when they no longer produce eggs or when the market price for eggs drops below the break-even point. The birds are normally around 700 days old when slaughtered, they are then plucked and the down is shipped to the processing plant for cleaning and grading. Because these ducks are older and have lived in a free-range environment and a cold climate the down they produce is of an exceptionally high quality. All Mountain Equipment bags adhere to the Down Codex, a scheme that was developed to ensure that both animal welfare and down quality were put firmly at the heart of each and every one of M.E's down products. The Down Codex is a completely transparent and auditable system to ensure that:
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The down used does not come from birds which have been live plucked or live harvested
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The down used does not come from birds which have been force-fed
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The down used should be from birds which have raised in good conditions and to high standards of animal welfare
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The down used should be a by-product of the meat industry and come from birds which have been humanely slaughtered.
Each down product is marked with a 12 digit code that can be entered at the Down Codex website to gain access to the specific information relating to the down source of that product, go to http://www.thedownproject.me.uk/index.php to find out more about how M.E have become the only brand to go beyond accepting written guarantees from down suppliers and to make their audit results and independent quality reports publicly available.
Fabric: All this ethically produced and high quality down is encapsulated in Gore Thermium, a fabric designed to protect the precious down (and obviously the user) from moisture and wind. Although other less wind and water resistant fabrics offer greater compressibility and breathability, at high altitude the threat of moisture is increased that much more, and if the down were to get soaked it would lose almost all of it's thermal capabilities. That won't be comfortable at -23°C. Gore Thermium is an extremely breathable, water and wind resistant membrane which sits between the down and the outer fabric. With an incredibly light 10 denier outer fabric and a DWR (durable water repellant) coating, the Snowline will still compress impressively while protecting you and the insulation.
What is the construction used in the Snowline?
Mountain Equipment's bag's are very unique in a number of ways. One is the way they optimise their heat efficiency by changing the layout of the baffles. Vertically aligned V baffles on the chest and foot piece offer the most warmth where greater heat is lost, while trapezoid baffles are used throughout the rest of the bag to minimise dead space, filling every inch of available space to avoid cold air building up inside. 6 baffles inside the foot piece shape the bottom of the bag to an ideal place for your feet to sit at their most natural position (facing upwards), and a 7 piece baffled hood creates a truly anatomical shape to surround your head with luxurious warmth. To further optimise insulation M.E have developed the Gemini System that has two overlapping anti-snag draft tubes and a fully integrated neck collar.
What are the features?
To further optimise insulation M.E have developed the Gemini zip baffle that has two overlapping anti-snag draft tubes and a fully integrated neck collar. This sleeping bag also has an inner pocket for keeping essentials warm.
How does the Snowline fit?
Mountain Equipment give the Snowline their Expedition fit; a design with a little more room to allow extra clothing to be worn, kit to be stored inside or even footwear to live inside to avoid freezing in the coldest of conditions.
Summary
The Snowline is super light, jam packed with the highest quality down and features a highly water resistant outer fabric. It's the ideal bag for high alpine routes, projects at altitude and the most gnarly mountaineering imaginable.
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Gore Thermium 10D outer shell
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Highly water resistant and breathable
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831g of 800FP Goose Down
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Expedition fit
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V chest and foot baffles, trapezoid everywhere else
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Ground level side seams
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7 baffle hood
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6 baffle foot piece
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Inner pocket for keeping essentials warm and dry
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Supplied with waterproof roll-top stuff sack and storage cube