Review. Ultralight sleeping bag Sплав Graviton Light +6C°

Introduction

Preparing to complete the 600 km Transcaucasian Trail in ultralight style, I re-evaluated my gear, which was more suited to the northern regions. It so happened that one of the lightest sleeping bags in Russia and abroad appeared on the market - the Graviton Light from Splav. What a turn of events, an ultralight sleeping bag from Splav, unexpectedly, but I hope this is a new trend.

I tested the sleeping bag in very different conditions and spent 130 nights in it over two years at temperatures ranging from -4 to +27 at night.

18 nights in Arkhyz, Caucasus. May.

60 nights on the Kola Peninsula

28 nights in Armenia, Transcaucasian Trail TCT. July.

24 nights on the Kola Peninsula in June, July, August and September.

I continue to use the sleeping bag regularly.

Specifications

comfort +10.2 °C

comfort limit +6 °C

extreme -6.7 °C

The sleeping bag has been tested according to EN23537 standard.

Outer and inner fabric: 10D nylon, 26 g/m2, Ripstop, DWR

high-quality white goose down: FP 850, hydrophobic down treatment.

Weight: 505 g in Reg size.

Down pockets

A distinctive feature is a mix of vertical pockets on the chest and horizontal down pockets in the legs and back area. The vertical pockets on the chest reach the mid-thigh and have warm seams, while the horizontal pockets in the legs and back are through seams. The use of through seams allows for a reduction in the weight and cost of the sleeping bag. By the way, I've long wanted to see how through seams would behave in different conditions.

The filling is differentiated, i.e., there is less insulation in the back and all seams are through. Combined with an inflatable mat, I never felt cold or discomfort.

I used the sleeping bag with mats: Big Agnes Air Core Ultra 1.3, Splav HiLight 2.3, Thermarest XTherm 6.9 R.Value, Thermarest XLite 4.2.

For greater convenience, you can add loops to fix the sleeping bag to the mat, following the example of the Thermarest Hyperion. This will allow you to sleep more comfortably and move around inside the sleeping bag without exposing your back.

Vertical, warm down pockets have shown themselves to be excellent. This is a more complex design than horizontal pockets and is usually found in top-of-the-line foreign sleeping bags like Sea to Summit Spark Ultralight, Mountain Equipment Iceline, and Rab Expedition.

Horizontal, through seams from the mid-thigh to the feet did not make themselves felt in most nights. If you pay attention to the sensations, nights above +15 were more comfortable than sleeping in a sleeping bag with warm seams, it was not so hot.

In May nights in the Caucasus, at an altitude of 2,500 m, in conditions of high humidity and chill, they gave me a hard time. A couple of nights, with a temperature inside the tent of 0 to +5, in medium-warming thermals, I felt cold in my thighs, which woke me up and did not allow me to sleep. I solved the issue by insulating myself with synthetic pants and put a membrane jacket on my legs of the sleeping bag.

It should be noted that the beginning of May in the Caucasus, when it snows a couple of hundred meters higher, are not optimal conditions for this sleeping bag. Plus, I slept alone in a Big Agnes Cooper Spur 2 tent, with a completely mesh inner, and the camp was 50 meters from a wide and turbulent mountain river. I deliberately took a set not corresponding to the conditions, checking the limits of the possible and my impressions))) Then there were overnight stays on the pass at 3,000 m in the snow zone, I had already moved to a 3-person tent with two beautiful ladies, it got radically warmer, even without an additional synthetic condensation bag Lixada)) I even had to unbutton. After all, the number of people in the tent plays a huge role.

At the same temperatures, in the Hilleberg Enan tent on the Kola Peninsula and BA Copper Spur in Armenia, there were no such sensations.

Conclusion: through seams work great in sleeping bags designed for temperatures not lower than 0 degrees. The use of through seams in the back does not give any disadvantages when used with a warm mat. Of course, we must not forget to roll around inside the bag at night, and not with it. Through seams in the upper part, compared to warm seams, give more heat loss, but can be easily compensated by the right tent and a membrane jacket on top.

Down

Filled with goose down 850FP. This is a high indicator and a certain standard for ultralight sleeping bags of this class. The down of birds raised in cold, harsh conditions is valued because it has the best characteristics, and currently there are 3 leaders in down production: Russia, Canada, and Poland. Our down is used in many foreign brands, including the Splav Graviton Light sleeping bag.

Now transparent control and tracking of raw materials have been established, it's similar to the barcode system on clothes and shoes, if anyone has worked in the field and encountered this. Down production and cleaning take place on European equipment, so the quality is identical to foreign ones of the same class. This is good news, because before there was a greater chance of encountering chicken down))

Now the Graviton Light uses hydrophobic Nacar treatment from Germany, similar to Nikwax. The down is coated with a water-repellent, bacteria-resistant fluorocarbon coating with a low friction coefficient and has high resistance to clumping, allowing the down to distribute evenly in the down pocket.

In my version, the down is not treated at all, it was the first batch. Despite the long duration of hikes of 14 and 28 nights, the sleeping bag never lost its properties or got damp. The main thing is to handle it correctly. Now the sleeping bag is produced only with treated down, and it works reliably in most conditions. Message to everyone who is afraid of down sleeping bags...

Fabric

10 den on the outside and inside. This is a very light and thin fabric. Rarely, something lighter is found, only in very expensive ultralight models like Rab Mythic Ultra 360 and Sea to Summit Spark Ultralight - 7 den. But it's difficult to find a normal article of 7 den, so 10 den looks like the optimal option.

From the point of view of durability, doubts have long been dispelled, I've used sleeping bags of 7, 10, 15D a lot and there are no problems or features from the point of view of an ordinary user reducing the weight of the backpack.

Zip

There's a zipper almost the entire length №5. I had questions about the appropriateness of such a length and size of the zipper, since many ultralight sleeping bags have 2/4 or 2/3 of a zipper and №3. But after talking with the designer, I found out the following:

1. The length of the zipper reduces the weight slightly, but the functionality of the sleeping bag is significantly reduced. You can't unfold it on hot nights.

2. Reducing the size from 5 to 3 will give a gain of 15 g, with a twofold decrease in strength and service life. And №4 are very rare zippers, and even if you put them for aesthetic reasons, it's difficult to find them for production.

Hood

The hood tightening is made of elastic cord and straps, which allows you to determine by touch which part of the hood needs to be tightened in the dark, it's convenient, that's how Mountain Equipment does it.

On the 4th night, the lace came off when I tried to tighten it harder in my sleep from the cold. I know that this happens in some batches, despite production control. I sewed it up, now I'm confident.

Size

The sleeping bag is available in two sizes 190 cm, suitable for a height up to 165 cm. The 205 cm size is suitable for a height up to 180 cm, which is just my model. At the same time, it has a shoulder width of 80 cm, which is very wide for a sleeping bag of this class and weighs only 505 g.

Conclusion

Graviton Light is suitable for everyone who strives to reduce weight. There are very few analogs in terms of weight and temperature.

The model turned out to be cool. There are practically no analogs, and compared to them, it has more advantages. With such results, I hope that our manufacturers, in light of recent events, will be able to catch the wave, strengthen themselves, and compete in quality and technology with world brands. And our task is to go to the tundra, mountains, and enjoy.

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