CAMPING GEAR | Vango Planet 140 Down Sleeping Bag Review

May 21, 2019 Benjamin Cannon

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What is it?

Vango Planet Down Sleeping Bag RRP: £130

Stockists

Features

Shell: Diamond ripstop polyester
Insulation: Hydro-barrier down (90/10 700 fill power)
Suggested usage minimum: 4°
Polair Flux lining
Lightweight mosquito net
3D Hood with multi-cord closure
Insulated zip baffle
Auto-Lock two-way zip
Zip extends around the feet
Internal Pocket
Fleece lined with a removable compression system.

The Verdict

The Vango Planet 140 Down is a brand-new duck down sleeping bag from the highly-regarded outdoor brand, Vango.

As a brand normally aimed at the mid-end of the market when it comes to accessories, but Vango is aiming to compete with the premium big boys with its newest range of camping gear but how does the new Planet 140 stack up? Well let’s find out…

Weight, size, insulation and features and the four main aspects to be considered when purchasing any new sleeping bag.

Fortunately, the Vango Planet 140 seemed to tick most of my boxes as I was looking for something that not only packed down small, but that would also kept me warm on spring nights when camping around the Lake District (where we all know the weather can change radically in the blink of an eye!).

Additionally, as a bit of a gear geek, the sleeping bag had a few little extra features that caught my eye, like the added internal pocket and the fleece-lined stuff sack that converts that into a pillow when stuffed, handy or what!?

First Impressions

The very first thing that hit me as soon as I opened the parcel from Vango was how small the sleeping bag compresses too! I genuinely didn’t believe that it was actually a sleeping bag that had been delivered to me, you could honestly confuse it with a large water bottle, that’s how small it actually packs down to!

The compression sack does an amazing job of holding the sleeping bag, making it even smaller and it’s surprisingly easy to stuff into the bag too.

It gets better when you pick it up and chuck it in your bag because you could very easily forget you’re carrying it, it’s that light, you could even start to panic when pitching up for the night because you actually thought you’d forgotten it…not that this ever happened to me, honestly!

At 900g this thing is super light, much lighter than anything I have ever carried with me before, however this does limit the bag to 2 season use only as it really isn’t designed to cope with cold Winter weather.

Insulation

Arguably the most important question to answer with any sleeping bag, does it keep you warm? Quite simply, yes.

As previously mentioned, this sleeping bag is designed for 2 season use with a minimum recommended temperature of 4° so this will keep you comfortable during warmer spring camping trips and positively toasty when camping in summer.

Personally, I am a warm sleeper, and found the sleeping bag so effective at keeping me warm that I even had to stick my leg out a few times throughout the night. It’s far better to be a little too warm than it is to spend a night shivering, so for anybody who is generally cold at night, this sleeping bag will be perfect.

The added benefit of Hydro-barrier down means that even if the sleeping bag does get wet it retains more heat than standard down when wet, in reality it is never recommended that you get down wet but it’s reassuring to know should the weather really turn on you.

All the Small Things

Smaller features are normally things that can make or break a product and the same holds true with the Planet 140.

It has quite a few features that are particularly useful like the mosquito net which was easily detachable so should I ever feel the need to use it, it’s already there.

I particularly liked the Internal Pocket which saved me scrabbling around for my phone in the middle of the night when needing a torch.

What could be improved?

The main problem I found throughout the sleeping bag is the zips seem to snag quite a lot, particularly the baffle around the main zip.

In the sleeping bag’s defence, this may have been me as most of these snags occurred in the middle of the night when I was half-awake and in complete darkness.

However, it can be a little annoying if you are in a rush for the toilet but in the grand scheme of things wasn’t exactly a make or break.

Final thoughts

Our Rating

Quality 4.5/5

Practicality 5/5

Looks 4/5

Value 4/5

Overall Rating (4.5 / 5)

A premium sleeping bag, at a premium price, from a brand I’d always considered to be mid-range. It sounds like a strange recipe for success, but the Vango Planet 140 is a great sleeping bag that I can recommend, particularly for those wishing to travel light.

If you are planning on a backpacking adventure in a warmer climate, this sleeping bag is absolutely ideal and one which I will be using all through my summer adventures and I am genuinely excited to see what other technical products Vango bring out in the future!

Thank you to Vango who provided the featured product. We were not paid to write this review.

Benjamin Cannon

Attempting to encapsulate my surroundings through the eye of a lens is something I love to do”

Ben is keen on all things outdoors, from rock climbing and fell running, to kayaking. He truly does it all. With a camera in tow, he attempts to spend all his free time training at the local climbing wall in order to take his abilities into the mountains and put the latest gear to the test in his favourite national park, the Lake District

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