Mountain Equipment Helium Solo Down Sleeping Bag

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Mountain Equipment’s Helium Solo sleeping bag is from their Helium series of bags which hit a sweetspot for trekking and backpacking, very technical with high warmth to weight ratios they are many hikers ‘goto’ bag.

Mountain Equipment says:

If you want the lightest bag we make to help free up space on your global travels then this is it. Perfect for short excursions when a comfortable guest house isn’t always guaranteed.

Our Verdict

Mountain Equipment’s Helium Solo Down Sleeping Bag is part of their Helium range which are highly technical, accomplished sleeping bags for backpacking and trekking. They use 700 Fill Power down and a new baffle construction technique to achieve some excellent warmth to weight ratio figures.

The Helium Solo is one of the lightest sleeping bags available and still has an EN Comfort Limit of +10C, perfect for summer use sneaking into Spring and Autumn. At an overall weight of just 420grams it will appeal to mountain marathoners and fast packers alike.

Design wise Mountain Equipment’s sleeping bags are really good, the Helium Solo has a simplified hood (saves weight no doubt, acceptable on a summer bag) but an excellent sculpted footbox with multiple baffle sections to give it shape and structure. The Helium bags have a built in neck collar rather than an out and out shoulder baffle – this saves weight and is pretty good in use.

There’s a DWR coating on the outer shell which is PFC free, this will give the bag some resilience to a damp environment. As an ultralight backpacker I think these bags are a superb choice – like buying IBM, back in the day.

– Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear

Features

• Alpine fit 2.0 improves comfort and maximises thermal efficiency 
• Stitch-through narrow baffle top 
• Stitch-through quilted base 
• Mid-level side seams
• Shaped hood 
• 4 baffle anatomically shaped and offset foot-box 
• Supplied with lightweight stuff-sack and storage cube

Specifications

• Regular weighs: 415g (excludes storage bags)
• Long weighs: 422g (excludes storage bags)
• Packed size: 22 x 11 x 11cm

Temperature Ratings

• Comfort: 14°C / 57°F
• Comfort Limit: 10°C / 50°F
• Extreme: -1°C / 30°F
• Good Nights Sleep Guaranteed*: 7°C / 45°F

*Mountain Equipment use their own ‘Good Nights Sleep Guaranteed’ rating which they believe is a more accurate number for some sleeping bags and is based not just on the EN test results but on lab testing, their own use, thermal imaging and cold chamber work, along with a lot of data analysis.

Material & Construction

• 100% recycled HELIUM 20D outer shell is very light and highly breathable with PFC free DWR
• 134g of 90-10 Pure European Duck Down with a minimum fill power of 700
• 100% recycled Supersoft 20D lining fabric with PFC free DWR
• 100% Polyamide outer/inner, Down fill

Help & advice:

• The Ultimate Guide to Lightweight Sleeping Bags
• Time-Saver Guide to Choosing a Sleeping Bag
• The EN13537 Standard
• Mountain Equipment Sleeping Bag Guide
• Down Quality
• All About Down
• Hydrophobic Down
• Why is ‘PFC Free’ Important?
• Recycled Content in Outdoor Gear