New piece of cycle touring kit

…..preparations continue for the next part of our cycle tour, in this case a new sleeping bag. The 5 season mamut Tyin sleeping bag. tested last night……It is the best sleeping bag I have ever slept in. My old one was an Ajungilak 3 season sleeping bag that I have had for so long I can’t remember when I bought it. Ajungilak were bought up by mamut but the design so impressed them they I believe made this as an upgraded version. It is beyond wonderful and I am so looking forward to some proper winter cycle touring

My thoughts on why this one…..

the thing is when planning a long cycle tour choice of equipement becomes problematic…..sleeping bags are a fairly bulcky piece of kit so you are faced with taking just one and if you know you are going to be cycling through one or more winters how is one to choose, I opted for a 5 season bag because I definately want to stay warm at night even if the temperature drops way below zero especially with thoughts of cycling Europe through the winter and then on to Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland  ….but then you are faced with a conundrum is the bag still comfortable to use in the Autumn spring or even in summer and do you choose to compromise with winter or summer conditions, So after a lot of research and past experience I choose to compromise but hopefully not by much, with summer conditions. In summer it is always possible to sleep on top of the sleeping bag and remain comfortable, obviously not so in winter. The Tyin is rated to -25 C so the first test for me was is it usuable in the Autumn with the mild temperatures we have here. And yes it is….. though it was fully open to half way – the zip only travels half the length of the bag for max insulation for your feet…… and without the use of the shoulder and hood draw cords to fully close the bag it was perfect…super comfortable and I did not over heat….more testing to come……The foam mat is also rated at 5 season and is super comfortable…..can’t wait to test it at lower temperatures. Aaron has the same bag and we plan several nights over the winter without the tent just the sleeping bags plus mat’s star gazing…..fun fun fun…..

…..So just when will the next tour begin…..well who knows with Covid – 19 and the second wave spreading fast. Tentatively Aaron and I are planning to resume the tour in about twelve months time ….. so this time next year. We are still gathering bits and pieces of new equipement to replace worn kit and making plans as to where we will go. And because we are almost certain to cycle tour through the winter, well that is my other reason for my choice of new sleeping bag.

Also after ten years I have had to retire my old two person Quasar tent. The inner is still ok but I have one broken pole and the flysheet is totally done with non functioning zips UV damage and the seams are starting to delaminate……A brand new tent will be the subject of the next blog post….soon