Feel the warmth
For the second time in 2015, our favourite sunglasses brand, Fortis, have hooked-up with outdoor specialists Snugpak to produce one helluva sleeping bag
Not content with simply making some of the most fashionable and functional jackets and salopettes in the world, the Snugpak X Fortis collaboration has expanded its lineup to include sleeping bags. Well, one bag, but it’s available in Olive and the pattern we’re all obsessing over right now: DPM camo.
This month the duo has announced the Techlite, a handmade from start to finish in the UK sleeping bag which has been in development for over a year now and comes packed to the preverbal Softie Premier insulation seams thanks to Snugpak’s 30+ years of military sleeping bag experience, and styled to perfection courtesy of Fortis.
The Techlite boasts all the features of a traditional military sleep bag but is manufactured with the tweaks needed to suit the overnight angler. The most noticeable difference to a regular high performance Snugpak bag is that it isn’t a ‘mummy’ style shape and will attach to your bedchair, something that the anglers who have sourced bags from the outdoor field have often struggled with. The Techlite has elasticated hoods top and bottom, a detachable bedchair strap around the middle and there’s an internal draught baffle running alongside the crash zips either side of the bag for added heat retention.
The heat-to-weight ratio is insane. Weighing just 2.9kg, it’s the lightest yet warmest bag on the fishing market, and the minimalist design is manufactured to cut weight but not warmth. This extreme warmth is created thanks to the bag being packed with Snugpak’s Softie Premier® insulation – a filling which has kept soldiers and climbers warm for decades.
That isn’t enough. The duo has given the Techlite a removable top layer, which can be zipped back on when the temperature starts to drop. This feature provides warmth right through the most extreme winter conditions and will give the bag its 5 season rating, however, when removed, the bag weighs only 1.9kg and carries a 3 season rating to keep you warm through spring to autumn. And regardless of whether its used as either a 3 or 5 season, thanks to its supreme pack-down ability, it means it’ll fold into any bedchair with ease and also comes supplied in a compression sack if you like to keep things separate.
And just like Snugpak’s famous outdoor clothing lines, the outer paratex micro fabric is highly breathable and windproof so you won’t sweat, nor feel any draughts. A winner by a Country Mile for ‘Ology’s ‘Bag of the Year’.
“GIMME”: Available in Olive or DPM, priced at £229.95 and £249.95 respectively; fortiseyewear.co.uk