Highlander Echo 400 Reviews
A hot bag at a cool price
Highlander continue to confound logo-obsessed gear-heads
by producing excellent kit at excellent prices, and their
new Echo 400 sleeping bag extends that reputation further.
After a couple of bad experiences with synthetic bags that
must have been designed for 3/4 seasons in Bermuda, not Braemar,
I had sworn myself onto down bags forever.
So it was with some scepticism that I agreed to tested a
new synthetic bag that claimed 4 seasons plus and boasted
warmth down to -25°.
“Right,” I thought, “let’s see how
good you really are,” and for the test I chose a freezing
cold, cloud-free February night deep in Glen Etive in the
Scottish Highlands.
Now, the theory goes that you should sleep naked inside your
bag. That way your body warms the efficient heat-trapping
fibres of your bag’s filling, and not the inefficient
fibres of your underclothes. I’ve usually completely
ignored this wisdom, but for this experiment, the shreddies
came off.
The first thing I noticed was how soft the bag feels –
luxurious almost. It’s also well shaped, designed to
contour the body without mummifying you.
Straight away, I knew it was a warm bag – almost too
warm, in fact, although I soon realised I was puffed from
setting up camp quickly. But the sun was long gone and as
the temperature in the deep glen quickly began to drop I settled
myself in for what I thought would be a restless night.
A pleasant surprise was a padded collar running round the
inside of the bag just above shoulder level. I adjusted this
to draw the bag in towards my neck, preventing warm air from
dissipating. A few more shoogles and my feet were in their
footwell, my head was in its hood.
I checked my watch – 11.25pm – and set my alarm
for 6.30am. Then I turned over and took off my headtorch.
The next thing I knew I opened my eyes to darkness. Toe check
– toastie. Finger check – likewise. Can’t
have been asleep long. Better make a time check. And I wriggled
my head free of the hood to discover - daylight. I scrabbled
for my watch – 7.44am.
Wow.
I threw on some clothes and whipped open the flysheet. Overnight,
the temperature had plummeted. My tent was white, not green,
and ice had formed at the edge of the river Etive.
Consider me converted.
Richard Happer
Highland Echo 400 – the details
4 season extra
Apex cocoon fabric
QFX3D filling
-25° protection
weight 2.2 kg
size open: 225cm x 80cm x 50 cm
size rolled: 43cm x 25cm
Positives:
A superbly warm, well-designed bag that fits your body and
offers down-standard insulation for a synthetic price.
Negatives:
Bulkier and slightly heavier than a comparable down bag.
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