XCskiNYC
04-14-2011, 16:15
Please help me in choosing between these two bags: Marmot Pinnacle and Marmot Helium.
Current specs:
http://marmot.com/products/pinnacle?p=117,71,140
The Pinnacle is 2.5 lbs (1134 grams), insulated with 22.58 ozs of 800 fill power down. I have slept in the Pinnacle and find it more than roomy for me and quite warm down to 21F (the male EN 13357 rating is 10F). I'm 5-8, a little overweight (165) but with a narrow build and the Pinnacle's a roomy bag so naturally it's plenty big. But it's not too big. The extra space doesn't result in cold. The main design difference between the Pinnacle and the Helium appears to be that the Pinnacle has an inner down-filled "collar" with two snaps and a draw cord. The collar cradles around your neck and shoulders and provides an extra barrier to the passage of cold from the face opening to the inside of the bag. The zipper is full length on both bags for the current model year.
http://marmot.com/products/helium?p=117,71,140
The current Helium is 2#2.6 (981 grams), insulated with 19.5 oz of 850 fill power down. So that's a weight savings of 153 grams between the Helium and Pinnacle. Rounding an ounce to 28.35 grams means the Helium is about 5.4 ounces lighter than the Pinnacle. The EN male rating is 16F. As mentioned, there's no down collar on the upper part of the bag. Tightening up is accomplished by pulling the draw on the face opening (the Pinnacle also has a draw on the face opening as do most sleeping bags).
What mainly appeals to me with the Helium is the weight savings and that it would likely pack down slightly smaller than the Pinnacle. With the 6F higher male EN rating, the Helium is obviously not going to be as good a three-season bag (and even stretched into less cold winter use) as the Pinnacle. But since I'm going to use just one bag for all four seasons, the Helium should be a bit more comfortable on warm overnights.
It's unfortunate that the American companies using the EN rating (EN13537) don't post the "upper limit" which is "the temperature at which a standard man can sleep without excessive perspiration." Obviously if the lows only get down into the 60's, you're likely to end up climbing out of either bag and sleeping on top of it for much of the night.
Any thoughts from users of either bag?
Current specs:
http://marmot.com/products/pinnacle?p=117,71,140
The Pinnacle is 2.5 lbs (1134 grams), insulated with 22.58 ozs of 800 fill power down. I have slept in the Pinnacle and find it more than roomy for me and quite warm down to 21F (the male EN 13357 rating is 10F). I'm 5-8, a little overweight (165) but with a narrow build and the Pinnacle's a roomy bag so naturally it's plenty big. But it's not too big. The extra space doesn't result in cold. The main design difference between the Pinnacle and the Helium appears to be that the Pinnacle has an inner down-filled "collar" with two snaps and a draw cord. The collar cradles around your neck and shoulders and provides an extra barrier to the passage of cold from the face opening to the inside of the bag. The zipper is full length on both bags for the current model year.
http://marmot.com/products/helium?p=117,71,140
The current Helium is 2#2.6 (981 grams), insulated with 19.5 oz of 850 fill power down. So that's a weight savings of 153 grams between the Helium and Pinnacle. Rounding an ounce to 28.35 grams means the Helium is about 5.4 ounces lighter than the Pinnacle. The EN male rating is 16F. As mentioned, there's no down collar on the upper part of the bag. Tightening up is accomplished by pulling the draw on the face opening (the Pinnacle also has a draw on the face opening as do most sleeping bags).
What mainly appeals to me with the Helium is the weight savings and that it would likely pack down slightly smaller than the Pinnacle. With the 6F higher male EN rating, the Helium is obviously not going to be as good a three-season bag (and even stretched into less cold winter use) as the Pinnacle. But since I'm going to use just one bag for all four seasons, the Helium should be a bit more comfortable on warm overnights.
It's unfortunate that the American companies using the EN rating (EN13537) don't post the "upper limit" which is "the temperature at which a standard man can sleep without excessive perspiration." Obviously if the lows only get down into the 60's, you're likely to end up climbing out of either bag and sleeping on top of it for much of the night.
Any thoughts from users of either bag?