View Full Version : Nunatak Raku
farmermv
02-14-2007, 09:55
Anyone have any experience with with this product? Thanks
I used one from the beginning of Nov. until the middle of January, going SOBO on the AT. It's da Bomb for cold weather.
Marta/Five-Leaf
ChinMusic
12-03-2008, 22:41
I used one from the beginning of Nov. until the middle of January, going SOBO on the AT. It's da Bomb for cold weather.
Marta/Five-Leaf
Marta - What you you do with 35 degrees and rain when approaching camp? Did you have some huge poncho to cover the Raku?
Until I stop for the night the Raku is in its stuff sack down in the bottom of my pack. I don't put it on until I'm under cover. For one thing, it goes way down below my feet so I have to hold it up like a bridal dress when I'm walking about camp.
In the morning, I wear it while cooking and whatnot, until right before I strike camp and take off. I get everything else ready to pop into the pack, take off the Raku, stuff it into its sack (a silnylon compression sack), put it in the bottom of my pack, load in everything else, and take off walking so I can get warm again.
ChinMusic
12-03-2008, 23:14
I'm taking it that you have some rain gear like Frogg Toggs. I can see setting up my tent in the 35-degree rain in reasonable comfort as I wouldn't have cooled down yet. But without a down/sythetic jacket under my rain gear, I'm thinking that morning 35-degree rain is gonna be rough.
I like the idea of the Raku in winter. I'm just trying to see its downside.
I'm just trying to see its downside.It cost 619 bucks.
ChinMusic
12-03-2008, 23:37
It cost 619 bucks.
point taken, and at age 24 I wouldn't have given it another look.
take-a-knee
12-04-2008, 00:26
I used one from the beginning of Nov. until the middle of January, going SOBO on the AT. It's da Bomb for cold weather.
Marta/Five-Leaf
Is yours the standard 20 degree model Raku? What temps did it take you down to comfortably, and do you consider yourself a "normal" (as in temp) sleeper? Do you use one or both of the sleeves as a draft stopper/collar?
I have a FF Rock Wren that I love but I wish I'd bought the Winter Wren. The Raku looks like dabomb but a Winter Wren and a pair of JRB down sleeves might accomplish the same thing for a bit less.
The last six weeks of my AT hike I was using a borrowed Raku. I think it was the standard model. I went down to zero in that one.
My own Raku came after I finished my long hike. It has four inch baffles and extra down. It hasn't really been tested. That said, it seems to have some uneveness in the filling. The head and shoulders area is very warm while there are some thin spots around the hips that look like they could use more down. I've been trying to redistribute, but I may contact the company to see if they can add some more to that area. (I won't be doing that until after I've gotten through this winter, though...) I have gotten the bag really damp a couple of times already this winter--I may just need to run it through the dryer with a couple of tennis balls to refluff the down.
I'm a very cold sleeper. I use one or both of the sleeves as a collar, but if it's very cold and windy, it works even better to take some loose item of clothing and wad it up around my neck for a more complete seal against drafts. (The sleeves tend to move around when I'm sleeping--they are slick nylon--so air leaks develop.) Amoeba, who put me onto the Raku in the first place, carries a cashmere shawl with her to put in cold spots.
For hiking in winter, I bring a fleece jacket (older Patagonia R-2) and fleece pants, plus base layer and rain layer. That usually suffices for hiking wear...with the appropriate neck gaiter, hat, gloves, etc. I'm usually wearing the base layer plus fleece jacket when young men around me are hiking in their T-shirts. My rain gear consists of a silnylon jacket and pants. That's enough for hiking and setting up/breaking down camp.
As far as the cost...a good zero bag is usually at least $450 and a jacket is another $250. I spent the equivalent on the one parka/bag.
take-a-knee
12-04-2008, 16:44
The last six weeks of my AT hike I was using a borrowed Raku. I think it was the standard model. I went down to zero in that one.
My own Raku came after I finished my long hike. It has four inch baffles and extra down. It hasn't really been tested. That said, it seems to have some uneveness in the filling. The head and shoulders area is very warm while there are some thin spots around the hips that look like they could use more down. I've been trying to redistribute, but I may contact the company to see if they can add some more to that area. (I won't be doing that until after I've gotten through this winter, though...) I have gotten the bag really damp a couple of times already this winter--I may just need to run it through the dryer with a couple of tennis balls to refluff the down.
I'm a very cold sleeper. I use one or both of the sleeves as a collar, but if it's very cold and windy, it works even better to take some loose item of clothing and wad it up around my neck for a more complete seal against drafts. (The sleeves tend to move around when I'm sleeping--they are slick nylon--so air leaks develop.) Amoeba, who put me onto the Raku in the first place, carries a cashmere shawl with her to put in cold spots.
For hiking in winter, I bring a fleece jacket (older Patagonia R-2) and fleece pants, plus base layer and rain layer. That usually suffices for hiking wear...with the appropriate neck gaiter, hat, gloves, etc. I'm usually wearing the base layer plus fleece jacket when young men around me are hiking in their T-shirts. My rain gear consists of a silnylon jacket and pants. That's enough for hiking and setting up/breaking down camp.
As far as the cost...a good zero bag is usually at least $450 and a jacket is another $250. I spent the equivalent on the one parka/bag.
I've considering a 3inch baffled Raku or a Winter Wren. I asked the guys at Feathered Friends why they didn't offer a warmer wearable bag and they said that design wasn't as thermally efficient as a side zip conventional bag. They decided the Winter Wren was pushing that design as far as you can go with it. The Wren has the arm holes to lose heat from that the Raku doesn't, but that neck issue seems to be the weak link. Having said all that I'm leaning towards an overstuffed Winter Wren (In Event outer fabric) and JRB down sleeves.
I've considering a 3inch baffled Raku or a Winter Wren. I asked the guys at Feathered Friends why they didn't offer a warmer wearable bag and they said that design wasn't as thermally efficient as a side zip conventional bag. They decided the Winter Wren was pushing that design as far as you can go with it. The Wren has the arm holes to lose heat from that the Raku doesn't, but that neck issue seems to be the weak link. Having said all that I'm leaning towards an overstuffed Winter Wren (In Event outer fabric) and JRB down sleeves.
Interesting.
For winter use, I'm looking at using the parka function from about 17:30 to 21:00, and the following morning from 6:30 to 8:30, or about 5 1/2 hours. The bag function is paramount from 21:00 to 6:30, or about 9 1/2 hours. (We can see that I get a lot more sleep when I'm hiking in the winter, than when I'm at home!)
When the Raku is functioning as a parka, having the sleeves to help myself keep warm, and having some ventilation around the neck is pretty important.
As a sleeping bag, it's warm enough that I don't start suffering from drafts around the neck until the temperatures drop below 25. At that point, I wrap something like a jacket around my head and neck. This past weekend I even brought a small wool shawl for that purpose...but ended up not using it because it was never cold enough to need it.
I'm curious about the Winter Wren--what stops the drafts around the arm holes when you don't have your arms sticking out of them?
BTW, I haven't weighed my Raku but I suspect the FF setup would be lighter.
take-a-knee
12-04-2008, 19:48
Marta, the Wren's arm holes are simply a zipper, in other words, it's a potential cold spot. They've never bothered me because I'm a hammocker, there is a down underquilt between the zippers and the elements. I think I'll be good to hook with the Winter Wren and the JRB sleeves, I can wrap one of those around my neck as a draft stopper.