Sleeping Bags

Rab Alpine 800 Sleeping Bag | Review

A lightweight and packable all-rounder with some excellent design details

We featured an earlier version of the Rab Alpine sleeping bag on our pages a few years ago and it came out of our review really well. So, when we heard that Rab had updated the model we’d been very keen to get our hands on it – and once again it has impressed us.

The best way to describe this sleeping bag is as a jack of all trades. It’s a great option for UK campers who want something versatile enough that it can be used through all four seasons. And, given it’s exceptional warmth-to-weight and packability, it’s the kind of thing that could be used for anything from fast and light alpinism through to fastpacking and bikepacking.

Materials and Construction

Rab give this a sleep limit of -16C. That’s the lower extreme for this we’d say – around that temperature you’ll be getting some sleep in this but not a deep one. It weighs 1260g which is very impressive given that temperature rating.

OM editor Will using the Alpine 800 in Ryvoan Bothy. Photos: Dave Macfarlane

Pros: Excellent warmth-to-weight, lofty down fill, useful details
Cons: Down fill could be higher spec, stuff sack is very basic

It’s filled with a 650 fill power duck down which is treated with Nikwax to make it highly water repellent. Top spec sleeping bags can have a fill power of 850 or even 1000 and will tend to have goose down which is seen as more premium than duck down, so you could say that the insulation Rab have used here isn’t quite top quality, but that’s why this bag is priced at £330. OK that’s not cheap but there are sleeping bags out there that cost a lot more.

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Rab have deployed a trapezoid boxwall baffle construction. This construction ensures that the insulation remains in place and doesn’t shift or compress, reducing the risk of cold spots where there’s less insulation. Stitched-through baffles, on the other hand, have stitching that goes through both sides of the sleeping bag, which can create cold spots along the seams.

The Alpine 800 during our test trip in the Cairngorms. Photos: Dave Macfarlane

As for the shell and liner materials, these are made from Pertex Quantum. This is known for being exceptionally lightweight, but also surprisingly durable, making it ideal for gear where minimising weight is crucial, such as in ultralight backpacking and mountaineering. 53% of the plastics used for the shell fabric are recycled while the liner is 100% recycled.

While we’re on the subject of recycled content, we should mention that Rab is one of the first companies in the outdoor industry to be fully clear on the percentage of recycled content in their products – and the fluorocarbon content too. Go on their website and you’ll see they have a neat chart alongside every product that makes the level of sustainability fully transparent.

Design Details

While this might be a little warm for use on warm summer nights, you do at least have a two-way zip which allows the base of the bag to be unzipped for ventilation. The zip also has a cleverly designed tab that prevents snagging and is lined by a long internal baffle to prevent heat loss. The hood has a cinchable collar and also has a down filled baffle that traps heat in below your neck. You also get a handy little zipped pocket up on the shoulder that’s the right size for a head torch or phone.

Verdict

Rab don’t compress their sleeping bags at all, that’s from the moment their stuffed (in the UK) to the point at which they’re handed over to the customer, and you can tell the difference this makes because this was luxuriously lofty when it arrived with me. Since then, I’ve had it compressed in its stuff sack but it’s still definitely stayed very lofty and is certainly very warm. Using it on one occasion in the Cairngorms with snow on the tops, I was extremely cosy within it and I’m looking forward to using it right through the winter.

It comes in a regular or long length and in left and right hand models. I’m 5 foot 10 and pretty slim and I tried the regular version which left me with lots of stretching out space. Still, I wasn’t left with any big cold voids either. There are only a few sleeping bags that I’ve felt have been pretty narrow and short on space but this isn’t one of them.

The only main downside to this is that the stuff sack is pretty basic. I can see myself using a stuff sack from another sleeping bag with this instead – one that can compress it to a slightly more compact size. Still, all in all, I’d say this is a great sleeping bag. It’s become my go-to for the colder months and will probably come with me on summer trips when I’m not too bothered about how much my pack weighs overall.