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Camping and outdoor equipment
Robens Lite 300 Sleeping Bag Robens Lite 300 Sleeping Bag Robens Lite 300 Sleeping Bag
Robens Lite 300 Sleeping bag

Robens Lite 300 Sleeping Bag

8
by Lara Dunn
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Jun 8, 2012

4
£109.95

VERDICT:

8
10
A safe investment for summer cycle camping tours. Compact and lightweight
Weight: 
950g
Contact: 
www.robens.de
How we test

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For non-winter bike camping adventures, a lightweight down sleeping bag like the Robens Lite 300 can be a good compromise, offering more warmth for its weight and size than a bag with synthetic insulation.

The Lite 300 is designed with lightweight campers and fast movers in mind. It has an 80/20 high quality duck down filling in the nylon ripstop fabric, a box wall construction to minimize cold spots and keep insulation where you need it, soft elastication across the torso to draw the insulation around the body, and is a mummy shape with a hood. There's a press stud to keep the zip closed, and a zipped pocket on the front of the sleeping bag to keep small valuables at hand and it has a loop for hanging it out to air.

Rated for comfort down to 9 degrees for women and 5 degrees for men, it's not as warm as the Deuter sleeping bag we reviewed previously, but it's still suitable for most of the conditions where you'd consider camping, and certainly should prove warm enough for summer time use. The down side of, er, down, is that it doesn't work too well in wet conditions, that being the trade off with the heavier synthetic bags. However, there are plenty of waterproof stuff sacks available that you could transport your sleeping bag in, it's just a case of keeping the bag away from the sides of the tent and too much condensation or moisture when in use.

At 195cm long, it's suitable for all but the tallest, while there's a pretty good amount of shoulder width in the top of the bag. The elastication across the torso means even smaller-framed sleepers are cocooned properly, maximizing the warmth offered by the bag. In use it wasn't the toastiest bag out there, but was fine for warm weather camping in the UK, and with the addition of a liner (recommended with down sleeping bags anyway) was very comfortable indeed. The company do offer other warmer bags with increasing weights and packsizes. The packsize is great (31cm long x 18cm diameter), with a compression stuff sack to cinch down really small, spot on for slipping into a pannier with no worries, and the weight is excellent at just 950g.

There aren't too many companies offering a sleeping bag this light, this warm and with this sort of small packsize and low weight, especially at this price, so it's hard to fault the performance being offered for just over £100. For reliable summer camping, it's a safe investment.

Verdict

A safe investment for summer cycle camping tours. Compact and lightweight.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Robens Lite 300 Sleeping Bag

Size tested: 195cm

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Aimed at "fast moving outdoor adventurers and lightweight campers"

For 1-2 season use.

Good option for cycle campers for summer use.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

195cm long

31cm x 18cm packsize

950g

1-2 season use

Comfort rating woman 9 degrees

Comfort rating man 5 degrees

Extreme rating -9 degrees

Nylon ripstop outer

Polyester lining

80/20 duck down filling

500 fill power

Comes with mesh storage bag and compression sack

Available with left or right hand zip for zipping together if desired.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Well made, with excellent high quality components such as YKK zips.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Compact packsize, decent levels of warmth and easy to use.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Should last well as long as looked after carefully and using specialist cleaner as necessary.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

Good weight.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10

Comfortable and soft.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

A safe investment and good warmth for the weight and packsize, but just a little heavier and less warm than the competition for the same price.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Performed very well as a lightweight, packable summer sleeping bag.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Weight, packsize, comfort.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing really.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes, probably.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

Lightweight and compact, with a decent level of warmth for its size. Great for cycle camping as long as you're not a cold sleeper.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,

 

touring
Sleeping bag
Robens
camping
Lara Dunn

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

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4 comments

Avatar
FMOAB | 12 years ago
0 likes

Cheers - every day's a school day 1

Avatar
mikroos | 12 years ago
0 likes

There is a special European Norm which tells how to measure temperature ratings for sleeping bags. Have a look here if you want:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_bag#Temperature_ratings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_13537

It's all explained quite clearly here.

Avatar
Lara Dunn | 12 years ago
0 likes

The difference is based on the assumption that women sleep "colder" than men, which is for the most part born out in reality. Not sure how they calculate it though. The temperature rating system for sleeping bags is all standardized for all manufacturers but it's a bit of a black art really.

Avatar
FMOAB | 12 years ago
0 likes

I'm intrigued at the difference in the comfort rating for men and women. How do they calculate this and why?

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