SOFTIE 3 MERLIN
by SNUGPAK
(A Brett Harris Ltd. Brand)
TWO SEASON LIGHTWEIGHT SLEEPING
BAG
Initial Test Report - November 22, 2003
Here's a model known as the
Mummy. It is inspired from a sarcophagus. I hope that doesn't frighten
you. This sleeping bag is Egypt's most enduring symbol. The Egyptians
commissioned the first known expedition. They went to discover the
Land of Punt. Nobody knows where that is now, but when the Egyptians
found it in 1400 B.C., they had sleeping bags.
-- From I Do Not Sell Sleeping Bags by
Nathan Hill
| |
| TESTER
INFORMATION |
| Name: |
Shane Steinkamp |
| Age: |
34 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
5' 10" (1.8
m) |
| Weight: |
240 lbs (108 kg) |
| Email Address: |
shane@theplacewithnoname.com |
| Location: |
New Orleans (Harahan), Louisiana |
| Date: |
November 22, 2003 |
|
|
| Background: |
Bit by the wandering bum disease at an early
age, I enjoyed a promising career as a long distance hiker for
several years. Now I don't care to count the miles, or to do
so many of them, and prefer to walk until I don't want to walk
anymore and then stop. I am more interested in the
destination, rather than the journey. I have been hiking,
backpacking, and camping since age seven or eight, which is
about 26 years. I have ranged from the southern tip of Baja to
Barrow, Alaska and from coast to coast - among other places on
the planet - although most of my wandering has been done west
of the Mississippi River, with frequent trips in Florida. I
have experienced all extremes of weather and terrain, with the
exception of Antarctic terrain. I don't fit any particular
backpacking style, although I might be primarily described as
a medium-weight backpacker leaning towards light. I will
adjust my gear based on expected conditions, and on some trips
I would be considered an ultra-lighter. I always carry
too many toys, especially photography equipment, to ever
actually make it to the lightweight stage on a permanent
basis. |
|
|
|
In the beginning, I didn't use a sleeping
bag. For many years I used wool blankets in the manner
of the early pioneers. The system is very
functional. Eventually, though, I did get a
second hand sleeping bag. I felt so confined in it that
I went back to wool blankets. Wool blankets, though, are
very heavy, and not always practicable. It was often
hard, though to find a sleeping bag that I fit
into.
Once synthetic
sleeping bags of proper size came into their own, I started using them, and
now I have used sleeping bags of all kinds. My favorite,
believe it or not, being military surplus bags from the U.S.
Army - despite the fact that they are often heavy. I am very keen to test a modern, state of the art
sleeping bag that is billed as having a military
application. I am very easy on my gear, but hard on
sleeping bags. I have destroyed a number of down bags
because of the wet conditions down here in the swamp.
Yes, Virginia, down does rot. Synthetic bags work much better and last much longer for me,
and I am looking forward to warm, dry, and comfortable nights
in the Merlin - if it passes the test.
|
SPECIFICATIONS
The Softie 3 Merlin, two season lightweight sleeping
bag, is manufactured in the UK by:
Brett Harris, Ltd. under the Snugpak
brand.
Year of Manufacture: 2003
Web: http://www.snugpakusa.com
International: http://www.snugpak.com
LISTED WEIGHT: 26.46 oz (750 g)
TESTED WEIGHT: 29.5 oz (835 g)
LISTED RATING: Comfort 41 F (5 C), Low 32 F (0 C)
OVERVIEW OF MATERIALS, CONSTRUCTION, AND FEATURES
Note: The following overview of features, materials, and
construction, is detailed and technical. If you are not interested
in the technical details, you may wish to skip this section and go
directly to "Trying it Out".
According to the Snugpak
website and included product documentation, the Softie 3 Merlin has the following
features; measurements made by this tester are
noted in red.
| SPECIFICATION |
ENGLISH |
METRIC |
ENGLISH |
METRIC |
| Weight (w/Stuffsack) |
|
|
32.4 oz |
918 g |
| Weight (w/o Stuffsack) |
26.46 oz |
750 g |
29.5 oz |
835 g |
| Weight - Stuffsack |
|
|
2.9 oz |
83 g |
| Length |
86" |
220 cm |
87 in |
221 cm |
| Chest |
65" (website)
59" (hangtag)
|
165 cm (website)
150 cm (hangtag) |
59 in |
150 cm |
| Pack Size (Uncompressed) |
11 by 6 in |
28 by 14 cm |
11 by 6 in |
28 by 15.25 cm |
| Pack Size (Compressed) |
|
18 by 14 cm |
8 by 6 in |
20.3 by 15.25 cm |
| Pack Size - Compressed Volume |
|
|
226 cubic in |
3703 cubic cm |
| Temp Rating (Comfort) |
|
5 C |
To be tested. |
To be tested. |
| Temp Rating (Low) |
|
0 C |
To be tested. |
To be tested. |
| Available Colors |
Cranberry Outer w/Navy Lining, Olive, Black. Olive
and Black are part of the Code Green Range military line.
They are identical to the Cranberry/Navy otherwise. I received
an Olive bag.
|
| Fill |
Synthetic Softie & Reflectatherm
Synthetic Softie is manufactured by the Swiss under the Hardi
brand (Established in 1915 by Jacob Hardi) for Snugpak.
The Softie insulation or 'superfine high thermal' is a combination
of fibres with different crimp systems and surface finishes. Some
are crimped, some are curled and others are simply left straight.
The random nature of the process results in a product that closely
resembles the structure of natural down and the way it
performs. I will be splitting a seam
to examine this wonder for myself. Pictures will be included
in the Field Report.
The yarns used are staple yarns as in natural insulations (as
opposed to continuously extruded as in most synthetic fills),
giving it excellent re-loft abilities when unpacked.
Softie is easy to care for, machine washable and still retains
a lot of its thermal property when wet. Alas!
I had not foreseen this when I decided to take this test. Now I
will have to sleep in a wet sleeping bag...
The fibres have now been updated with special binders and
treatments for an excellent combination of softness and
durability, making it the perfect fill for these lightweight
expedition bags.
Recent development work undertaken with Hardi has lead to the
introduction of a new resin which gives more stability to the
fibre allowing us to utilise our profiling 'no stitch through
construction system'. See the section
on Construction below.
This seems to be a type of chopped staple
polyester fiberfill, which in my experience generally breaks down
quickly. I will be curious to see if Hardi has actually
solved this problem in their product.
Reflectatherm is a foil product produced by A. Proctor Group
Ltd. in the UK. The slogan is, "Space Age technology in
a down to earth application."
This metalised fabric is designed to reflect heat and retain
warmth. A highly breathable material, which adds little to the
weight or packsize of the product and provides at least 15%
additional warmth whilst being undetectable by touch in the
sleeping bag or garment.
I want to see this for myself, and so
I'll split a seam and have a look and take some pictures. I
will admit that I'm very skeptical about the durability of any
metalised fabric, and I will be splitting the seam again at the
end of the Long-Term Report to check on that. I
also note that the product poster included with the Merlin states,
"Due to the ultra fine 'down like' nature of our filling and
the ultralight fabrics we use, some percolation of the fibre
through the casing is inevitable."
|
| Outer Shell / Inner Shell |
Pertex Paratex / Pertex Infin8T
'Infin8T' is the new fabric of Snugpaks flagship
'Softie' range of sleeping bags. It has a new luxuriously textured
finish and incorporates the special Infin8T weave, designed specifically
for Snugpak by long term fabric partners, Perseverance Mills,
manufacturers of Pertex®.
Pertex® Is the brand name for Pereseverance Mills
UK made, high performance, lightweight nylon. The brand leader in
sleeping bag casing fabrics Pertex uses many thousands of bundles of
microfine yarn within its construction. What makes Pertex® products
unique are their ability to manage moisture. Each square metre of Pertex®
used in our products is made up of around 12,000 continuous bundles of
fine yarn (each bundle contains 34 strands of yarn, each strand 10 times
finer then a human hair). Ok, so I won't be
counting that... We'll just have to trust them. The capillaries created between
these yarns actively draw moisture away from the source and spread it
across the surface area allowing it to more readily evaporate. As the
moisture is evaporating from the fabric, and not from the occupant,
chilling is dramatically reduced.
The gaps between these strands are very small, small enough to
block water droplets but large enough to allow moisture vapour
out. The small channels (capillaries) between each of the strands
draw moisture away from source spreading it over a large surface
area using capillary action. Any moisture forming on the skin is
drawn into the weave of the lining of the product where it
evaporates and continues its journey to the outside without
chilling the occupant.
As long as the temperature inside the bag
(normally body temperature) is higher the natural path of any
moisture will be from the inside out.
Paratex from Pertex® is our brand name for any fabric we have
had specially commissioned to fill a gap in Pertex range whether
our product calls for a lighter weight, higher strength, a fancy
weave or specialist finished.
This material is very nice. See see
further comments in the Trying It Out
section.
I also note that the product poster
included with the Merlin states, "Due to the ultra fine 'down
like' nature of our filling and the ultralight fabrics we use,
some percolation of the fibre through the casing is
inevitable."
|
| Construction |
Singer Layer Quilted (According
to the website.) Profiling is our name for the development of a 'no stitch
through' system of the sleeping bag construction. This bag is a 'profiled'
(unquilted)
bag which uses the 'no stitch through' method of construction. (From
another place on the website. So
what's with the 'Single Layer Quilted' above? )
Traditionally, all synthetic sleeping bags have to be quilted,
that is the outer or the inner fabric stitched in the insulation
to give it stability and prevent it from moving, when compressed
or washed.
Whilst developing new resins to enhance the softness of our
bags, together with Jacob Hardi, we came across a special blend
which gave a remarkable degree of strength to the structure of the
fibres, so strong in fact, that the fibre would support itself in
the bag, allowing us to remove all the stitch lines and the cold
spots that occur at each constriction of the insulation.
Stitching also restricts the re-loft, the recovery of the
sleeping bag when unpacked. The sewn line holds back the fabric
and the filling. We estimate that the profiling we have increased
the loft of our bags by 30%, providing a significant increase in
warmth without actually adding anything to the weight or the pack
size.
|
| Compression Stuffsack |
Included, and very
nice. Waterproof coated nylon.
|
| Layering Capability |
I assume that this refers to
the fact that you could use a liner with the Merlin, and/or use
the Merlin as an additional liner, or even two Merlins
together. Snugpak refers to this as the 'ZIP IN'
system. A side zip baffle can be purchased for use with any
two regular Softie sleeping bags with the zipper on the same
side. Different bags can be mixed and matched to create
different bags with cumulative ratings.
|
| Snugfit Hood |
Closes with drawstring.
Ample.
|
|
Zip Baffle |
Truly baffled, and I don't
mean confused. The baffle is 2 in (5 cm) wide, and very
ample.
|
| Circle Foot |
Well, half circle
anyway. Roomy.
|
| Hanging Dry Tabs |
These are loops of nylon cord
attached externally at the foot of the Merlin. There are
two.
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Anti-Snag Zip
Two-way Zip |
The anti-snag feature appears
to be a length of nylon webbing that supports the zipper and keeps
it away from the soft material of the shell. Despite this, I managed to snag the zipper
twice while unzipping it the first time...and I seem to keep
snagging it. I suppose I will have to practice. The zipper
is a 5C coil zipper, YKK brand, and it opens from the bottom as
well. (That's what two-way means.) To be completely
technical it is a two-way separating zipper, which means that two
bags could be zipped together. I have a bag with the zipper
on the right.
|
| Liner Loops |
There are two small nylon
loops inside the footbox for securing a liner. |
| Rating |
Two Season, (41 F, 5 C) The
bad news is that we started this test at the beginning of
winter. The good news is that in Southern Louisiana, there
are only two seasons. |
WEBSITE
The Snugpak
website, http://www.snugpakusa.com,
is top notch. It is easy to navigate and provides a lot of easy to
access to information about their products.
INITIAL
IMPRESSIONS
PACKAGING & PACKAGE CONTENTS
The Snugpak Softie 3 Merlin arrived in a cardboard box
stuffed with newspaper. It was in its stuff sack with an
information card attached to the stuff sack and a fold out informational
poster about the Snugpak line of products in the box.
My first reaction was, "Well, that's
small." I also noticed that it was rather hard, being
tightly packed in the compression sack.
READING THE INSTRUCTIONS
There aren't really any instructions. There is,
however, an informational hang tag and a fold out poster of Snugpak
products.
TRYING IT OUT
I loosened the compression straps and attempted to
remove the Merlin from the compression sack. This proved quite
difficult, as the Merlin was a very tight fit. My thought at
this point that I would never be able to repack it like it came out,
but I paid close attention as I unrolled it so I could duplicate the
packing when it came time to stow it.
The Merlin is quite thin, lofting no more than 1/2 in
(1.25 cm).
Unzipping the bag reveals a triple tag. One tag is
the Made in Great Britain tag, the second is the 100% Pertex Nylon
materials tag, and the third is the care instructions tag.
The care instructions tag, on one side, states,
"Softie 3 The answer to keeping warm with less bulk. Not
only is Softie insulation easy to care for, it is unique in thermal
efficiency, low in bulk and yet feels like down. We have developed
this fibre for sleeping bags and it has been successfully tested, by you,
braving Scottish winters and light weights for summer." I was a
little perplexed by this, because I haven't braved any Scottish winters
yet... The other side of this tag is the care instructions.
There are the usual symbols. "Wash in cold water. Do not
bleach. Do not iron. Tumble dry at low heat setting. Do
not dry clean." The tag does not, however, say exactly how to
wash it, nor was I able to find that information on the website. I
will contact Snugpak to determine the proper method.
Examining the Snugpak Softie 3 Merlin closely shows
average construction. Seams are not perfect, and stitch lines aren't
particularly neat. Where several seams come together at the base of
the zipper, the work is roughly done. I trimmed a few dangling
threads and cleaned up some protruding strings. I resealed the
zipper pull with a lighter when it began to unravel.
PUTTING IT ON
Do you get into a sleeping bag, or do you put it
on? I suppose that depends on your point of view. The
history of the sleeping bag is lost to antiquity. Perhaps, like
Mr. Hill surmises, it goes back to the Egyptians or with that first
Paleolithic person who was gathering berries somewhere near the birth of
civilization and looked upon the horizon and said: "I'd like to
find out what's over that hill, but wherever would I sleep?"
No matter the history, there is something organic about
sleeping bags. Something womb-like. I imagine that all kinds
of trouble could be found by pursuing that metaphor...
In any case, I immediately put on my pajamas - the same
ones I was born with - and slid into the waiting folds of the
Merlin. Now there's another metaphor that could be
trouble...
A little background on my sleeping habits may be
appropriate. If you don't think so, you can skip
past this.
I sleep nude; not because I've bought into the fallacy
that, "You'll be warmer if you sleep naked in your bag", but
because I'm more comfortable that way. Besides, only animals sleep
in their clothes. I will from time to time use a silk liner, or if
I'm feeling greedy, a fleece liner - but only if it is necessary due to
the temperature. On even rarer occasion, I will sleep in silk
tights, but for that the weather would have to be desperately cold or
very damp. The rarest of all occasions will see me wearing all
my clothes inside the bag, but only if I'm going to freeze to death
without them. My sleep in that case is by no means sound.
Why am I telling you all of this? So that you understand that for
the rest of the test, unless otherwise noted, I am rating the bag and
the bag alone. I intend to thoroughly chart the bag's comfort in a
variety of temperatures, and I don't want clothing to interfere with
that charting. A bag's rating, after all, is a bag's rating.
Not the bag's rating when you're wearing a down parka.
The outer shell is quite soft, but the inner shell is exquisite.
The very fine quality of the Pertex Infin8T material was reported by every
square inch of my body. The 'profiling' or 'no stitch through'
construction means that there are no stitch lines to irritate my sensitive
skin. Zipping the Merlin all the way up and tightening the hood
around my head revealed several things. The footbox is very roomy,
and the hood is roomy as well. I was pleased in these regards.
I am 56 in (142 cm) around my arms, however, and the 59 in (150 cm)
fit is rather confining. Being cocooned in the Merlin, I decided to
take a nap. My nap was interrupted, though, because I quickly became
quite warm in my bedroom, and had to adjust the zipper to allow some
ventilation.
I do not usually zip a sleeping bag, even in the coldest
weather for a few reasons. One, I don't like to be confined. I
wouldn't define this as any kind of claustrophobia - I just like to be
able to move freely. Secondly, I have found that any part of the
sleeping bag under me compresses, and so loses its insulative
value. I prefer, for those reasons, to use any sleeping bag as a
quilt. During the test I will use the Merlin both ways and report on
each.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE STUFF SACK.
The Snugpak Softie 3 Merlin is light and small.
That's good. Considering that it will replace a synthetic bag that
is considerably bulkier with the same rating (read cheaper), it will
allow me to carry less in both weight and volume - the goal, really of
any backpacker. While running through the woods on night maneuvers
I expect that this will be especially beneficial. Coupled with the
Tarptent
Virga, it will provide a much lighter and smaller sleep system than
I currently use.
What's better is that it is luxuriously
comfortable. Having used it for a few nights, the inner shell has
gotten even softer, if that's possible, and I am very pleased with it in
this regard.
What's bad? Very little at this point. It's
a little confining for my girth, but that's the fault of Southern
cooking, I suppose. The anti-snag zipper isn't very anti-snag in
my limited experience so far. I seem to snag it a lot unless I am
very careful. When I need to get up and urinate in the night, I
usually have to go now and I am not likely to be careful. I
will see if this causes any trouble in the field.
I expected that it would be very difficult to get the
Merlin back into the compression stuff sack. To be fair, it isn't
as hard as I thought it would be, but it is still not easy. The
Merlin must be folded correctly then rolled very tight in order to get
it into the stuff sack. Even with my strong hands, this is a chore
that requires some time. It takes me almost five minutes to roll
it then work it into the stuff sack. If the stuff sack were just a
little larger, this wouldn't be as difficult or time consuming.
TESTING
STRATEGY
During the Field Test I will use the Snugpak Softie 3
Merlin as my sleeping bag when out and about, as a quilt every night,
and as a blankie while snuggling on the sofa with my family.
I will rate the comfort and test the temperature rating thoroughly.
I will also be examining loft, shell (fabric) performance, 'percolation'
of the insulative material through the shell, as warned about in the
product poster, warmth (both wet and dry), performance of the stuff sack,
packability, and my emotional attachment to the Merlin after regular
use. While the latter may seem silly, it is actually an important
factor for me. I have had good bags that I just didn't like.
SUMMARY
THINGS I LIKE
1. Small
2. Light
3. The Pertex material is more comfortable than any other
synthetic material I have had against my skin.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
1. Moderately difficult to get into compression stack.
2. A little confining for my girth.
3. Anti-snag zipper isn't anti-snag.
***
Thank you for your time.
Shane Steinkamp
shane@theplacewithnoname.com
www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking
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