Saunders Mountain Marathon
The Saunders Mountain Marathon is a wonderful two-day Lakeland event, which is deservedly popular. Expect early summer mountain conditions, but, as always, you can encounter tough-going mountain weather. A good night's sleep can make all the difference to your performance.
Sleeping Bag Choice
The two PHD sleeping bags most suitable for the Saunders Mountain Marathon are The Ultra and the Minimus. Both are very light weight. The Ultra excels at saving weight and bulk in your pack, while the Minimus provides extra warmth.
For mountain competitions, particularly where only one or two night's camping are involved, there is a strong incentive to travel as light as possible. Combining the Ultra sleeping bag with the ultra vest is another potential option to secure a good night's sleep.
The basic figures for the standard models:
| S-bag | TOT (Min Temp) | Weight | Packed size Hght x Diam (cm) |
Price £ |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | F | gm | oz | |||
| Minimus | 5 | 41 | 465 | 16 | 21 x 13 | 212 |
| Ultra | 8 | 46 | 345 | 12 | 21 x 13 | 215 |
Additional points:
- TEMPERATURE RATING: Put simply these are the temperatures at which you should be able to get a night's sleep in normal circumstances. For fuller details about the TOT rating see this Technical Briefing.
- LINERS: A liner will add to the insulation if you choose the Minimus or the Ultra, but want more warmth. As always it is a trade-off between the extra weight & bulk and the warmth you gain (maybe 2C). Silk liners at 140gm probably give the best value.
- CLOTHING: Thermals (if you are taking them) and/or other clothing obviously help to keep you warm. If choosing the Minimus or the Ultra, an Ultra Down Vest at 150gm is an optional addition for minimal weight.
- FABRIC OPTIONS: The Minimus comes as standard with M1 outer fabric. MX and Drishell are the other optional outers. MX is our lightest fabric and reduces the total weight by about 25gm. Drishell is highly wind/water resistant and adds about 25gm to the total weight.
- DOWN OPTIONS: You can opt for 900 quality down in the Minimus bag, which will provide the same insulation as the standard 800 while reducing the total weight by 40gm.
- ZIPS: None of these bags has a zip. Zips are an option, but most competitors don't ask for one. A short zip with draft tube adds about 55gm (2oz): a full zip & tube adds about 120gm (4oz). Zips also add to the packed size.
- PACKED SIZE: PHD stuff sacs tend to be on the loose side. All these bags can be compressed further in your sac, particularly the Ultra.
Figures for Fabric/Down options:
| S-bag | Materials | TOT (Min Temp) | Weight | Packed size Hght x Diam (cm) |
Price (£) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | F | gm | oz | ||||
| Minimus | MX outer | 5 | 41 | 440 | 15.5 | 21 x 13 | 227 |
| Minimus | MX & 900 down | 5 | 41 | 400 | 14 | 21 x 13 | 256 |
Down Clothing Selection
The Saunders Mountain Marathon weekend commits the racer to a quite considerable time at the evening campsite after the first day's racing. Temperatures in the mountains can drop more considerably than expected making warm, compressible and lightweight down clothing a good choice.
The use of down clothing as a layering system while in your sleeping bag and for wearing around camp is worth considering for ultimate weight saving and provision of warmth. The ultralight range of clothing was designed with this need in mind. The Ultra vest weighs only 150grms, which is lighter than most T shirts, yet it will provide real warmth down to approximately –5C. The Ultra Pullover is, for the same reasons, another good option. At 230grms it's about half the weight and bulk of a conventional fleece jacket and 100% windproof as well. Along with these our new Minimus down trousers and Minimus down socks will add considerably to the performance of your sleeping bag.
The Saunders Mountain Marathon starts on 7th July 2012.
Photo: alancleaver_2000
