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Cheap chinese sleeping bags

Original Post
Javinder Bains · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2021 · Points: 0

I posted these before in response to a sleeping bag post. Basically these chinese sleeping bags are a big step above department store specials but a bit below the brand name bags. They are however much cheaper and of sufficient quality.

Unless you are doing fast and light alpine or heading to the arctic, I find these chinese down sleeping bags to be the best value. They are especially good for general camping use.

They claim 800 fill goose down, and I have no reason to doubt it. Just a rough feel compared to my older 700 fill power bags shows less feathers and more loft. 

The zippers and shell are adequate, and the amount of down they give you is impressive for the price.

The bag, especially the footbox is decently roomy. 

They aren't western mountaineering or marmot in terms of quality, but for general use it works absolutely fine.

I have purchased 4 of these bags over the last few years. One of them is in a friend's SAR kit.

On the downside it is almost certain that the down isn't ethically sourced. Duck and goose down is cheap as hell in china, being the byproduct of various industries. Most of the price you see in western name brand bags is not the down itself, but marketing, supply chains, branding, after sales support and just good plain old markup.

The zippers are adequate. If you are not careful you can snag the shell when pulling the zipper.

The fabric is durable enough at a claimed 20D. 

All the baffles are filled with down on the ones I purchased. The top baffle near the opening could use a bit more down in my opinion. There is a down collar. The zipper baffle tube tends to be a bit underfilled.

Personally I suggest 700 grams of fill or higher, i find the 400 gram one slightly under filled in relation to the shell size.

I also find that after the first wash (assuming you wash it properly) it fluffs up decently more. i didn't find much down smell to mine, no more than any other of my sleeping bags.

When I first get them I throw em in a cotton bag and in the dryer on the lowest heat for 30 minutes.

Like the D25S headlamps, I consider this one of the few products from china where the quality is good enough and the price exceptional.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOdIEeg

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMGuBje

There Is also a newer model from the brand that claims 850 fill hydrophobic down.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOyRsjE

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mM3QOQ0

I have Western Mountaineering, Enlightened Equipment and North Face bags and quilts. I save those for when its really needed and use the $75 chinese bag 90% of the time.

Note that there are many cheap chinese sleeping bags for sale, I can only vouch for the ones I listed!

Video review from some random blokes:

Eagerly waiting for some angry Zebralighters to make accusations of "chinese shilling" ....

David Katz · · Calabasas, CA · Joined Jan 2020 · Points: 1,016

Unfortunately the people assembling these products are either slave labor or paid next to nothing.

Terry E · · San Francisco, CA · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 43

It appears that “Javinder” is a paid marketer on MP. All of his posts are promoting these cheaply made goods

FrankPS · · Atascadero, CA · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 276
Terry E wrote:

It appears that “Javinder” is a paid marketer on MP. All of his posts are promoting these cheaply made goods

Yes.  His posts since he opened his MP account two months ago have been mostly about these Chinese goods. Coincidence?

Javinder Bains · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2021 · Points: 0
FrankPS wrote:

Yes.  His posts since he opened his MP account two months ago have been mostly about these Chinese goods. Coincidence?

"Chinese schilling" no doubt my friendly Franky Boi!

I have another one to review that will make your US centric head explode!

Just admit it, you hate the chinese for some reason!

Javinder Bains · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2021 · Points: 0
J W wrote:

Whether the old yarn about the origin of the name “red herring” is true or apocryphal, I can’t say. But if unceasing attempts to throw pursuers off the scent by tossing out unrelated nonsense is your brand of arguing, Javinder is the fishmonger for you. Oh, sorry about that, chum. Corporate shill has a much nicer ring to it.

Yikes! Stripes! They’re onto me (time to pull out the old playbook) “You must hate Chinese people! Patagonia fanbooooooois!”

Sure, Javinder. We’re all as naïve as you think we are. Trolling was, and still is, a fishing term, incidentally.

Sounds just like what a "corporate Arc'teryx shill" would say!

Well done comrade! President Xi rewards your nonsense to distract from the fact that Arc'teryx is a mainland chinese owned company!

Or are you a Patagonia "shill" trying to distract from the fact that they publicly got caught by a bipartisan congress committee report on Xinjiang cotton.

Either way you have done your job well!

Teton Climber · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 1

petzl logic · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2013 · Points: 730

 Are the bags that you have listed items that you have a personal stake in marketing?

Javinder Bains · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2021 · Points: 0
petzl logic wrote:

 Are the bags that you have listed items that you have a personal stake in marketing?

Nadda, none.

Buy em if you want, or don't.

Matters not to me.

But triggering chinese haters with a chinese sleeping bag is great fun and worth every penny I paid for mine!

Terry E · · San Francisco, CA · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 43
petzl logic wrote:

 Are the bags that you have listed items that you have a personal stake in marketing?

I don’t expect a truthful answer from the entity that calls itself “Javinder“. Who actually buys 4 cheapo sleeping bags, when one would do? I doubt it even climbs.

edit - Based on its posts I would say the entity is a person or a few people originally from mainland China. The language and grammar are not consistent between various posts. People of Indian ethnicity are not usually pro Chinese, based on past and present political events and history.

I previously DM’d “Javinder” with an invite to meet in person and discuss some of these topics. I mentioned my background in Chinese human rights and democracy activism, and got no reply.

David Katz · · Calabasas, CA · Joined Jan 2020 · Points: 1,016

Javinder Haines or what ever his real name is obviously works for this company he promotes.

He is only on this site to sell his products and people see through the dishonesty

jdejace · · New England · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 5

The irony is as far as outdoor gear I can't think of many items where we're more spoiled for choice in terms of quality/manufacturing locale than sleeping bags. It's hard to avoid Chinese manufacture for a lot of products, and for some even if you manage to avoid it you're compromising quality (China makes nice shit!) but sleeping bags aren't on that list. West Mo, Feathered Friends, Nunatak, Gryphon, PHD, Cumulus, Valandre, all the little cottage quilt companies...this is the place to vote with your wallet.

that guy named seb · · Britland · Joined Oct 2015 · Points: 236

Back to the actual point of the thread. 

Have you tried the new version and if so what are your thoughts? I'm sure the zipper is going to be garbage but that's a livable nuisance. My biggest concern would be the actual quality of the down, 850fp down is expensive stuff and is somewhat weather dependent so quality is questionable. 

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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