Is this a good sleeping bag for a beginner?

If you are concerned that in a few months time you may want to upgrade, once you have more experience, I'd suggest saving a little more and choose an appropriate bag from Exped, also at Bivouac.

For more warmth, less carry weight, the price goes up. What you put under your bag & what you wear inside it, also mean you can shave a few dollars off bag price. Kathmandu are Hell bent on clearing their stock pre-Easter. Pretty good standard of bag at fire-sale prices.

As a family we have 5 Outer Limits bags plus a few others I bought the -10 Heaphy on sale for my 12 year old son when I started taking him climbing with me. Like you, I weighed up the cost & benefits and I think it performed well, he was comfortable and warm tenting in the snow (early spring). We have taken it on several winter tramps along with a -6C Brunner for my 8 year old son and both bags are great for what they are. Admittedly the bulk/weight is hard to justify in warmer weather, so in October I also bought 3 Heaphy +5C bags for summer tramping in huts and these too were great, light and compact. I have had Macpac Sapphire 900 gram down bag since 1993 and I will never get rid of it because it has been fantastic, especially with its Reflex outer shell (great in a snow cave) That said I use one of the +5 bags now in huts in summer because the Sapphire just ends up being used duvet style. Now that the boys have become really keen on tramping, despite my best efforts to put them off with my cooking, I have been looking for better bags for them and at this stage I quite like the Treksmart -5C from Complete Outdoors, but I am still looking. Apart from the obvious parameters, sleeping bags, like a lot of gear, are subjective, some people swear by down, others synthetic. Your metabolism will affect you sleeping temperature along with how much you have eaten, where you are sleeping etc blah blah. I still drool over some of the newer high end bags on the market but I don’t need one because I have never regretted spending the $700+ on my Sapphire. I will sell the -10 Heaphy and -6 Brunner when I do decide, because they were cheap on sale ($140 total) and they have served their purpose. If you think you will make a lifestyle of tramping then take your time and spend a bit more. I hope that helps :)

you'll struggle to get your kit weight below ten kilos if your sleeping back is that heavy save you money for something better less weight less bulk, smaller lighter pack.... something like an exped like the ones below will keep you warm, half the weight of the one you're looking at. http://www.bivouac.co.nz/gear/camping-and-tramping/sleeping-bags/exped-lite-500-down-sleeping-bag-20348.html http://www.bivouac.co.nz/gear/camping-and-tramping/sleeping-bags/exped-lite-500-down-sleeping-bag-20353.html

also this one http://www.bivouac.co.nz/gear/camping-and-tramping/sleeping-bags/exped-ultralite-500-down-sleeping-bag.html

Thanks guys for the advice. It's great to hear the -10 Heaphy is a good bag, and your general advice is terrific, 1strider! But I've convinced myself that investing a little more is probably worthwhile. Waynowski, thanks for your suggestion and yes, the 1.8kg weight is another reason to forgo the Heaphy. Saying that, the bags you linked me to are much too pricey for a student like myself! I think I'll settle on the Freedom Denali from R&R. 300g lighter, supposedly good in the cold, and a great price! http://www.rrsport.co.nz/product/MOUNTAIN-EQUIPMENT-DENALI-700-DOWN-SLEEPING-BAG?p=29097

That looks a very good all-round choice Alex,especially for a down bag. I haven't got into R&R lately, so I will have to pop in and have a look while the sale lasts. Cheers

I managed to score a GoLite bag with 800 loftpower for $200. I had to snap it up as it was the last bag in the shop. It's rated to about 2 degrees for blokes. It weighs 500g and I've used it on a cold night in a biv in the Takitimus when it started to sleet in the morning. It was warm enough with my cheating with a good down jacket used as a cape over me within the silk liner. I'm a cold sleeper but know a few tricks to keep warm!

certainly a warm bag, great price, good score there....