VANGO SLEEPING BAGS CONSTRUCTION & TESTING

Vango has spent the last four decades testing and developing innovative designs and fabrics to meet the demands of mountaineers, climbers, trekkers and camping enthusiasts alike. As part of our ongoing commitment, we offer on all of our Sleeping Bags, the Vango Lifetime Guarantee.

All our fabrics are developed or selected to suit the intended sleeping bag use. Lightweight fabrics are ideal for bags which need to be light and easily transported, whilst bags which need to endure the rough treatment given out by kids, for example, need to be tougher and by their very nature are heavier.

That's why we have such a wide selection of Polair® fabrics. Every one of our outer shell fabrics is windproof, tear resistant, non absorbent and quick drying, each having been developed to be fibreproof.

Our linings or inner fabrics are used to create the warmest and cosiest environment but still contribute to the lightweight aspect of the bag.

Omega

A patented Omega design will ‘hug’ the body and is engineered to give more heat retention by moving the zips or seams to the bottom of the bag, and reducing possible loss of heat.

Single Layer Construction

Single layer, stitched through construction, used on our Wilderness, Voyager and Venom.

Off-Set Double-Layer Construction

Two layers of filling separated with two layers of scrim to keep the fill sliding rather than snagging or lumping. Used on Nitestar, Orion and Galaxy.

ASC2 - Advanced Shingle Construction

Double Layer Advanced Shingle Construction utilises a double strata of overlapping layers in combination with some of the most advanced synthetic materials available to create a thermal system which retains generated heat more effectively.

TLS - Thermic Loft System

The Thermic Loft System makes use of a layering technique which combines classic synthetic insulation with a new interlocked lattice construction to produce our most effective thermal insulation system yet. This is achievable thanks to the unique way in which the Thermic Loft System creates and manages its thermodynamic abilities.

The lattice construction utilises a formation of perpendicular interwoven thermal tubes that, combined with classic construction creates an insulation system with more loft and greater heat retention properties than was previously possible. A minimum of stitching though the insulation is used in the combination process to eliminate cold spots and ensure the maximum efficiency of this advance in insulative technology.

ATC - Advanced Trapezoidal Construction

Angled chevron baffles prevents down from shifting and increases thermal efficiency by slowing heat loss comparable to similar rectangular shaped baffles. Used on the Vipers.

In order to provide a realistic indication of the temperature range at which a camper will feel comfortable whilst using one of our sleeping bags, we have tested the insulative properties of most of our sleeping bags in accordance with EN13537:2002.

The standard requires a Humanoid Thermal Mannequin, which is internally heated to a constant temperature representative of an adult body keeping a constant surface temperature at all times, to be placed inside the sleeping bag in controlled conditions. The Mannequin has 35 individually heated segments which are monitored independently to replicate the differing temperature variances of head, toes, arms etc. From this information the extreme and comfort performances of our sleeping bags are calculated.

These temperature ratings are as accurate as scientific measurements can be, given that everyone has differing metabolic rates and can generate and hold heat at different levels. These can vary dependent on your state of health, what and when you last ate, and a multitude of other factors, such as how humid it is and how sheltered you are from the wind.

Hence these temperature ratings are only a guide. When choosing a sleeping bag it is the comfort temperature range that is the most important criteria to consider. We would suggest that if you expect temperatures close to the lower limit of the comfort temperature listed for a sleeping bag that you consider moving up the range to the next warmest model, just in case you meet unexpected conditions, or you are ill etc.

NB. There are some sizes of sleeping bag that are not covered by this standard (e.g. junior bags and double sleeping bags). In these cases we interpret the results of similar sleeping bags to provide our recommendations.