PHD is acclaimed in the sleeping bag world for making sleeping bags that are lightweight, yet warm. The prices are a bit eye watering but many people who are looking for a lightweight and warm sleeping bag are willing to pay the cost of this high quality brand.
Features of PHD Greenlandic 400 sleeping bag
- Three-season
- Typical Operating Temperature (TOT): -5°C/23
- 950 fill-power European Goose Down
- Weight: 1030g (starts from 649g, depending on what you customise)
- Standard fabric: 7x (7 denier, 22gsm)
- Customised outer fabric: 40gsm Ultrashell
- Zip: Full/left selected. (You can choose none, half or full, left or right; also foot zip option)
- Length: Standard (also short//long/extra long available)
- Width: Slim/Standard/Wide/Extra Wide
- Price : £815 (starts from £737)
- Buy from: phdesigns.co.uk.
- Greenlandic 400 semi-rectangular down sleeping bag (phdesigns.co.uk)
My thoughts: PHD Greenlandic 400 three-season sleeping bag
PHD offer a “starting point” of a bag that generally suits your needs and then offers the opportunity to customise it to perfectly suit your more exact requirements.
I have slept in several different PHD sleeping bags over the years and they are, in my experience, the best by far for weight-to-warmth ratio. The bags are also pricey, however, so they may well be outwith the budget of many people.
I started with the “basic” PHD Greenlandic 400 and then adapted it to suit my requirements. I requested a wider fit because I like wriggle rom in a sleeping bag. I especially like to curl up on my side when I sleep. You can also choose from four different lengths of bag.
PHD use a 950-fill goose down that they adjust to give the same warmth rating whatever width and length of bag you choose. The Greenlandic 400 is wonderfully warm yet the bag weighs only a shade over 1kg.
If you get particularly cold feet, as I do, optional down-filled socks are a great idea when ordering from PHD.
PHD has three fabrics for the bags, including 7X, which is a fine, seven-denier, rip-stop nylon fabric, and standard across the whole bag. You can choose to change the outer fabric to Ultrashell (I did), which is a slightly heavier weight ripstop nylon with wind-block and good water resistance.
The third choice of fabric is Dri-LX, and you can choose this for the outer fabric or the footer area of the bag for greater durability, wind proofing and waterproofing.
The more windproof or waterproof the fabric the more weight you add, although it’s small in the overall total weight of the bag.
Further customising potential includes the options for no zip, full zip or half zip and a waterproof foot box, sewn on or “stud on”.
There are not many finer features. For example, there is no shoulder baffle and the zip is a simple one-way with no zip garage. The zip fastener at the top of the bag is a basic fabric tab and velcro.
PHD do not send the sleeping bags with compression sacks, so you need to buy your own if you want to eliminate more of the air for the bag when carrying it.
I have greatly enjoyed using the bag in three-season conditions and when temperatures dipped under 0C. I am a cold sleeper and this bag keeps me warm. Even my feet stayed warm, which they rarely do in other bags.
The bag feels light and airy to sleep in yet the warmth stays inside. I tend to keep my head out of the sleeping bag and so I am not too bothered about the lack of shoulder baffle. I was able to wrap the sleeping back around my neck.
When wild camping in windy weather, I still felt warm and I haven’t noticed any dampness.
The bag packs away into a fairly small bag. I use a stuff bag with compression straps. It’s not the lightest bag I own but in terms of warmth-to-weight it exceeds all others. The bag feels as good as new even after several camping trips.
If you can afford a PHD bag they are very much worth the money, in my opinion. I have an older PHD Minim 400K and while I have used this on plenty of trips, it still feels like new. The down stays in place and offers good lofting and warmth.
In conclusion, if you’re a camping and outdoors enthusiast who will be carrying your sleeping bag in a rucksack, so weight and warmth matter, PHD are worth looking at. They are a big investment, however. It’s ideal for lightweight backpacking and bikepacking.