The Expedition 1400 is designed to withstand the harshest weather and is protected with an outer fabric of Pertex Endurance providing good water resistance combined with excellent breathability and durability. The lining is Pertex Microlight with high wicking properties and, as the name suggests, very low weight and bulk. The hood and foot of this bag is lined with Pertex Endurance to minimise damage from wear and also reduce water take up from wet boots and clothing. To maximise comfort and cleanliness even further, a Polygiene 'stay fresh' odour control technology coating is applied to the inner, decreasing the liklihood that bad smells and other bateria can build up.
Insulation is provided by 1400g of 850 fill power superior quality European goose down, yes you read correctly, 1400g of mega down! Not only this, but a hydrophobic Nikwax coating is then added to the down to allow the down to perform better in damp conditions compared with untreated down. This amazing down is held in place with the use of longitudinal baffles which stops the down migrating to the sides of the bag. These longitudinal baffles are also trapezoid in shape resulting in a very stable structure and consistent distribution of down throughout the bag. The outer and inner walls of the baffles benefit from differential cut, which allows for specific fill weights and fill power by maximising natural loft resulting in greater performance.
Temperature ratings are used to indicate a bags performance but are subjective and can be hugely affected by many factors such as your health and metabolism, how much you have had to eat or drink, how active you have been, humidity and altitude, the type of shelter used and whether you are using a suitable insulating mat. Your sleeping bag is only as good as the mat that’s beneath it; we recommend Exped and Thermarest mats for comfort and insulation.
Unlike most standard sleeping bags, the Expedition 1400 can't be rated by the European standard to which the warmth of bags are calculated, as it's intended usage is far more specific. Rab therefore carry out their own (more accurate) tests for each bag to give you their 'Rab Sleep Limit' rating. This particular bag has a huge -40 degrees celcius rating, allowing it to be used in the harshest conditions known to man.
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Polar-region warmth
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Roomy interior to allow bulky layers
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Water and wind resistant outer fabric
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Hydrophobic down
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High quality 850FP Goose down
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Polygiene coating
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Differently shaped baffles to optimise warmth
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Stash pocket
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.