Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass Gore-Tex 0° Down Sleeping Bag (7° Test!)

Рет қаралды 6,277

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 29

@PhilAndersonOutside 10 ай бұрын

Excellent video. Interestingly enough, I own both the Thermarest Parsec 0, as well as the Bishop Pass GoreTex 15, and have had them for almost 3 years, and been very impressed with both. I agree with everything you say here. I used the Bishop 15 down to about 25 degrees, no liner without a problem. The Parsec however is the best sleeping bag I've ever owned. There is definitely overlap between them, and people don't need both, honestly. For other readers: While this bag is not technically "waterproof" it's damn close. It's windproof, which helps from any breeze at all, while still breathing well. The Infinimum membrane is actually over 30,000nm waterproof, which is much higher than many other "___Tex" garments that are supposedly waterproof as low as 10,000nm. What keeps this bag from being truly waterproof is that the seams are not taped. But this is not necessary at all. The water resistance needed in a bag like this is for cold, damp conditions. Close to, or under freezing, but high humidity. Mornings where you wake up and everything is cold and damp, there's frost outside, or even on the inside of the tent. 3, 4, 7 days in, this sleeping bag will still retain all of it's loft, and not get wet at all. The moisture in such conditions will not penetrate it. Thus, it is in effect, "waterproof". If you look at the chart at :28, you can see many of the bags are "treated" down. This is a hydrophobic treatment to keep the down from losing it's loft during constant damp, humid conditions. All of these treatments work to some degree. In studies, the treatment from Nixwax used in the Thermarest bags is the highest level of treatment. However, even the Parsec won't hold up in abject bad, cold, damp conditions as long as a bag with GoreTex, like the Bishop Pass. We're talking extremely bad weather for days on end. Think: extended trip to Alaska in the shoulder season. For example, GoreTex Infinium sleeping bags rated 0 degrees are what's most frequently used by mountaineers in the Himalayas (like the Bishop Pass here. Though the GoreTex version of the Phantom is more popular there). I stated that the Thermarest Parsec was the best sleeping bag I ever owned, simply because I am rarely in this harsh of conditions. I take my Bishop Pass to winter, or just cold/wet backpacking or overnight snowshoe trips in the Pacific Northwest Cascades. The Parsec I take everywhere else it's just cold. Sierras in October, northern New Mexico in February, Maine backwoods in autumn. I do recommend people use a liner, and silk is likely your best bet, unless it's too warm, in which case this is the wrong sleeping bag for such conditions. When the weather gets warmer, silk/cotton is more practical, but weighs more. Sorry, I kind of rambled on here.

@CaptainBerz 10 ай бұрын

Agree!

@toddjames7626 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing. Curious what you think about humidity from the body and the potential for that moisture to condense on the internal down feathers, with the bishop goretex - have you had this 'issue' yet? Context for me, up in Canada, is we ski and camp in the alpine in the winter, with or without tents, in a variety of temperatures (between 0 and -20 Celsius), and the biggest issue I find is either frost falling off the tent fabric and onto the shell of the sleeping bag (so, external shell DWR/Goretex is great), but also the condensation that forms from our body heat and moisture. I have an old mont bell -18 bag and yah, it's like sleeping with a wet towel... Cheers to the author for this video, love it, and thanks for the reply y'all

@PhilAndersonOutside 9 ай бұрын

@@toddjames7626 It's almost impossible to do this, unless the interior of the sleeping bag is colder than the ambient temperature outside, and you're in a humid environment, while you are generating a lot of heat. Put another way, it will happen when you are really overheated in the bag (say, a 0 degree down bag in Georgia on the AT in May). Another good way to trigger this would be if you are sleeping in a vapor barrier. Though the vapor barrier would be wet. Gore-Tex is designed to breathe, pass vapor moisture away from the heat source, while keeping moisture (dew, rain) from going through it. Unless somehow the sleeping bag wets out, like a hardshell jacket in a rainstorm when the DWR has failed. If you feel that you sleep so hot you sweat a lot, regardless of the conditions, regardless of the bag, I'd consider purchasing a sleeping bag liner, specifically a silk-cotton blend. In fact, I'm a huge fan of liners, and own a few of them, and use one on every single trip. I'm also a fan of down sleeping bags that are treated. I know some top brands don't do this by default, but I have yet to see a single shred of proof that doing so diminishes the bag, while there are many benefits to doing so. While a person can't quite treat a bag the way Therm-a-Rest does (Parsec, Vesper, Hyperion) where they treat the down, cure and dry it in a chamber, then also treat the shell of the bag with DWR after it's assembled, you can accomplish similar results simply by washing your down bag (front loading washing machine, with no other garments) with Nikwax Down Wash Direct, then before removing it from the washer, run it through another cycle with Nikwax Down Proof. If you really need a bag to be as water proof as you can get, then a Gore Tex bag is the way to go. For clarity on this, nearly all of these bags are Gore Tex Infinium. A Google search will tell you this is windproof, but not waterproof. This is only because of Gore's stringent standards. The Infinium membrane is waterproof to 30,000 mm, which is far greater than many brands who claim to be "waterproof" down under 12,000. But the bag's seams are not taped, and the zipper is not waterproof. Doing this is overkill for 99.99% of the time in a sleeping bag. The idea is to keep all dew, condensation, spills, windblown or ambient moisture from affecting the bag, and it works fantastic for this, even in extreme conditions. I took a Bishop Pass 15 GoreTex bag to Mt. Rainier National Park for an overnight snowshoe backpack in March. The weather was marginal, not nasty, but it was cold and damp, hovering just below freezing at night. I didn't have a single issue with the bag. It worked perfectly as designed.

@paullonglee 7 ай бұрын

@@PhilAndersonOutside Did you usually use a liner with your Gore tex 15? I'm new to liners, what conditions would you not use one? Sounds like too hot, too cold, extra sweaty all seem to benefit from a liner. Thanks for the detailed info, incredibly helpful 🙏

@PhilAndersonOutside 7 ай бұрын

@@paullonglee Most of the time, yes. A liner accomplishes two things: 1. It keeps. the sleeping bag clean. You get done with your trip, you come home and toss the liner in the washing machine. 2. It can add warmth to a bag. Also, sort of like your bed at home, if it's too warm you can peel back the bag (blanket) and still have a tiny bit of insulation from the liner. Why not take a liner? 1. It's one more thing to carry. Thermal ones can weigh over a pound. 2. If you are in a chilly area, and you're wearing thermal clothing from head to toe (warm enough to not need a liner), your clothing will absorb most of the sweat, and you will obviously wash your top, underwear, socks, when you get home. I sometimes skip a liner in winter (not bitter cold) if my bag is warm enough. However, I did carry a silk liner on backpack trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. My point there is it often depends on the trip. Many people buy a liner if they have a 20 degree bag, but are headed out on a trip where overnight temps are sustained under freezing. Simply by adding a thermal liner it means you don't have to buy a 0 degree sleeping bag (my Parsec is nearly $600).

@JonPasq 2 күн бұрын

Awesome review . Thanks for sharing! I'm curious, how do you hang your sleeping bags?

@josephvargas187 9 ай бұрын

This has been my favorite bag I’ve used, I mean at this point I’ve only had an old Coleman bag, my Kelty cosmic 20, and this one. I’ve been using this on all my splitbiarding and a few backcountry trips!

@CaptainBerz 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

@jackwalsh1468 Жыл бұрын

Da Berz and another excellent bag review as the Capn, knows how to exude "Chilaxin".. Cheers, Mate.

@CaptainBerz Жыл бұрын

Chilaxin = winning! Cheers!

@christopherdesantis9876 Жыл бұрын

Can you test the new MH Bishop Pass Gore Tex -15F bag. I really enjoyed your review of the 0F version. Great videos. Thank you!

@CaptainBerz Жыл бұрын

I have reached out to them to get one to test a few months back, have not heard back. We shall see!

@XYZ-sq7ki Жыл бұрын

@@CaptainBerz I was hoping to use this for backpacking but it doesn’t come with a compression sack. Do you have any recommendations for a compression sack?

@PhilAndersonOutside 10 ай бұрын

@@XYZ-sq7ki The Bishop Pass Gore Tex 15 I purchased in late 2021 came with a compression sack. As I look at the MH and REI websites, this may no longer be the case. You might, maybe be able to get this into a 15l compression sack, but 20l may be the way to go.

@blueheron719 Жыл бұрын

Just picked one up for an elk hunt this fall. Thanks for info.

@CaptainBerz Жыл бұрын

Nice! Good luck.

@daewonshaun1 3 ай бұрын

I was about to pick up the -15 degree version and this morning the listing is gone 😢

@danielmv1442 Жыл бұрын

Hello! I was wondering how much volume this bag fill in the backpack? I mean, the concretely dimensions of the bag, not the volume, in the compression bag. Sorry if is not clear, english is not my language.

@PhilAndersonOutside 10 ай бұрын

It will not compress as small as other sleeping bags the same size and temperature rating. It does come with a compression sack, which will help.

@sambonilla416 6 ай бұрын

Looking for a Backpack sleeping bag. I’m in Northern California, I saw your video and with a lot of research I’m pulling the trigger… 👍🏼

@CaptainBerz 6 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@philzimmer4809 Жыл бұрын

Looking at this bag in the non-Gortex version for an archery mtn goat hunt. Think the comfort rating will be close without the Gortex?

@CaptainBerz Жыл бұрын

Eh. The Goretex Infinium really helps against the wind and chill.

@bent7406 Жыл бұрын

How does the breathability compare to the non-Goretex version of this? Do you think that the Gore-tex windstopper adds much other than if you are out in the wind with your sleeping system? Usually you'd be in a tent or bivy so I'm wondering what the advantage would be. . .

@CaptainBerz Жыл бұрын

It certainly helps, I would just recommend a silk liner to assist with any moisture. Would recommend that with any Gore-Tex bag. It performed better than the Mountain Hardwear Phantom non-Gore-Tex, which I did a test on, which is $200 more. For what that is worth.