Tag: review

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Nemo Concerto and Vector Insulated 25L

Getting quality sleep is a key part of being able to truly enjoy camping, so gear that keeps you more comfortable and allows you to sleep better is something that should top every gear list. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve probably all had nights where we didn’t sleep well or where we didn’t sleep at all while camping.  Maybe it was the crappy sleeping bag that didn’t keep you warm, or the bag that fit you like a glove to the point that you felt like you were being mummified.  Or maybe it was your sleeping pad that didn’t insulate you well enough from the cold ground, or caused your body to ache in the morning because it didn’t do a thing to make the ground any more comfortable.  There’s no reason that you can’t have a good night’s sleeping while camping – you just need the right gear.

MEET CONCERTO

Nemo Equipment calls their Concerto sleeping bag the new definition of comfort while camping, and after using it over the last six months, I’m inclined to agree.  The concerto is what happens when the technical gear wizards at Nemo make a sleeping bag based on real world experience and outdoor industry technologies in a design inspired by your bed at home.

Crawling into the Concerto is actually quite like climbing into a real bed, where you’ll find space aplenty and cozy layers that can be configured to keep you comfy in a wide range of temperatures.  The first layer is a sheet that is zippered on both sides of the bag so that you can adjust it to your liking.  On top of the sheet is a 700 fill Downtek down comforter that can be snapped all the way up around your neck with the oversized draft collar in place, or rolled nearly all the way off you if you don’t need it.  The net effect of these layers is that you feel like you’re in a real bed – and unlike a single-sided zip sleeping bag, you can have your choice of which side you want to access the bag from.

Inside the bag, the bottom layer is quilted for comfort, and you’ll find a pillow pocket that accepts a Nemo Fillo (which has been my favorite camping pillow for years) or some folded layers to create a stay-in-place pillow.  There are two mesh pockets inside the bag, one each side near your shoulders so you can stash your headlamp or whatever other small items you need with you for easy access.  Out back, the Concerto has a sleeve that will accept up to a 25inch wide sleeping pad, and Nemo’s Vector Insulated 25L is a great choice here – more on the Vector in just a minute.  The Concerto packs in to a storage bag that may seem loose at first take, but this is so that you can toss the Concerto with a sleeping pad and pillow in place into the storage bag and still easily get it closed.  Making camp, and packing up, just became a faster and easier.

MEET VECTOR

I chose Nemo’s Vector Insulated 25L Sleeping Pad because the specs for the pad made it sound like it had the potential to be a true quiver-of-one sleeping pad – and in use I was not disappointed.  The Vector Insulated 25L strikes a sweet spot between featherlight backpack-ability and car camping comfort.  It weighs in a 1 pound, 8.5oz, which is pretty light for a 25inch-wide insulated pad that’s 6’4” long and also packing a foot pump.  Its three-inch thickness makes it thick enough for comfortable side sleeping, and the insulation makes it a pad that you can use on the cold side of freezing temperatures.

The foot pump makes inflation fast and easy with a few light stomps, and you can also get great results with your hands when working inside a tent or truck cap.  You don’t have to master any breathing or blowing techniques here – just compress the pump a few times and your pad will inflate.  A conventional mouth valve allows you to fine tune your pad pressure, and a dump valve allows you to deflate the pad quickly.  No more kneel-deflate-wait-roll-repeat procedures here.

LEARNING IN THE DARK

The first time I used the Concerto and Vector Insulated 25L was at zero dark thirty after ducking onto a dirt road in a place I’ve never been after a full day of driving from Flagstaff, AZ to Rigby, ID.  If this sounds like a great time to figure out how gear you’ve never used works, you’re absolutely correct – but it took me all of 4 minutes to get a bed setup for the night.  Tarp, Vector, Concerto, Fillo in it’s pocket, and everything was ready.  The temperature was in the mid sixtys when I stretched out in the Concerto for the first time, and snapping the down comforter all the way off but leaving the sheet zipped up was the perfect setting and I soon fell fast asleep.  As the night cooled off, I woke up once to pull up the down comforter, but otherwise I slept great.

Things were much colder in the morning, and I awoke to a down comforter covered in dew.  Thankfully the Concerto is made with DWR materials and Downtek is treated down, so despite the fact that I was sleeping under a layer of beaded water, I was still totally dry, and sold on the comfort and performance of the Concerto and the Vector.

Since my trip to Eastern Idaho in June, I’ve taken the Concerto on a number of trips and it’s continued to provide me with great sleep every time I’ve used it.  Moving into Fall and colder temperatures, the bag has done better than I expected closing in on freezing temperatures as long as the wind isn’t blowing when you’re sleeping under the stars.  I found out the hard (cold) way that cold airflow can make it’s way under the down comforter if you’re sleeping broadside to the breeze.  Rolling my tarp over me provided a wind break on that night, but it would be awesome to see Nemo come up with a way to seal the comforter to the bag better.  I’m also worried about tearing out a snap, so adjusting the comforter is an exercise in care and patience.  My only other wish for the Concerto would be a sheet system that worked like a sleeping bag liner and that was completely removable.  With a removable sheet, you would be able to simply wash the sheet just like you wash a liner, and would therefore have to wash your bag less often.

The Vector has proven to be a great sleeping pad to the point that it’s my most used pad, hands down.  With its easy foot pump inflation, dump valve deflation, and great physical comfort and insulation, the Vector is a hard pad to find fault with.  Not once have I experienced any air leakage while using it and the pad is much quieter than other “bag of chips” pads out there.  It also packs to a small enough size that it’s a great choice for backpacking or moto-camping, and its been a great pairing with my backpacking sleeping bags too.  If you’re only allowed one sleeping pad to your name, the Vector would be a great way to go.

ENJOY THE FIVE BILLION STAR HOTEL

The Nemo Concerto sleeping bag and Vector Insulated 25L sleeping pad work together to make a great sleeping system that, when combined with the Nemo Fillo, provides better sleeping comfort than a number of real beds and cheap roof top tent mattresses I’ve used.  Used together, or as standalone pieces of gear, both are great options.  When space and weight aren’t the driving gear selection criteria, it’s hard to beat the Concerto for its roomy comfort in a wide range of temperatures.  Even when you’re crashing on your buddy’s couch, Concerto can make that couch a better place to sleep.  For the Roof Top Tent crowd, the Concerto is a great choice for a bag that can live in your tent for the duration of the trip – you won’t have to pack your sleeping kit up each morning, and your tent will easily close with Concerto inside.  Likewise, the Vector Insulated 25L is a warm, quiet, and very comfortable pad that would make for a great quiver-of-one sleeping pad.  It complements the Concerto quite well when car camping, and works equally well when you’re living out of a pack and using another bag.  Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself missing your Concerto when you’re in a backpacking bag.

A WORD ON SLEEPING BAG RATINGS

Sleeping bag temperature ratings are subjective, and even EN 13537 or “EN Tested” bags shouldn’t be assumed to keep every user comfortable at a given temperature, because everyone’s comfortable sleeping temperature and physiology is different.  A bag that may keep you totally comfortable at 20 degrees may keep me teeth-chattering-shivering awake all night at the same temperature. Therefore, EN testing is helpful for comparing bag A to bag B, but remember that not all manufactures test their bags the same way.  Bring an insulated liner or some extra sleeping layers with you when pushing the lower limits of your what your bag is rated for.  Remember the weather forecast is a prediction, and other factors such as wind and humidity can really impact the temperature of where you’re going to be sleeping for the night.

UPDATE:

Nemo Equipment has launched the Jazz Series of bags that have all of my wished for features (zippers instead of snaps, and a removable sheet) and a synthetic comforter to help keep costs down.

Full Disclosure: The sleeping bag and pad were provided by Nemo for an independent review at no cost to myself or American Adventurist. That said, I’ve purchased a number of Nemo products over the years and have been a satisfied customer. This review and others like it are intended to provide you, our readers, with no holds barred honest opinion of a product used over a number of outings and months of use.

 

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BTB: Equipt Expedition Outfitters

Editor’s Note:  Over the last year, we’ve dropped in on a number of companies in the adventure travel industry to see what life is like behind the Employees Only doors at the companies that make and sell the products we use day in and day out.  Over the winter we’ll be sharing our experiences with you so if you can’t get out and play, we’ve got some cool new content to tide you over until the springtime.

Apparently there’s some big thing happening with the sun and the moon today, but despite the fact that thousands of people are positioning themselves along a very specific path across the country, I’m slightly more focused on getting to a certain address in Salt Lake City, Utah.  My destination is Equipt Expedition Outfitters, and I’m going to spend a few hours learning all about the one of the most well-known and respected companies our industry. Many folks know Equipt Expedition Outfitters because they know Paul May.  But I have a confession to make: I don’t know Paul very well. I’ve certainly had the chance to chat with the man over the years at Overland Expo, where I’ve appreciated his hospitality (the man knows how to make a proper drink), but I’m honestly feeling like I’m not the most qualified guy to be writing the profile on a company whose Founder and Owner is so well known.

Pulling into the parking lot, the first thing that you fixate on are the rigs.  Just like that feeling you get pulling into a Rendezvous, Overland Expo or walking into SEMA for your very first time, you can’t help but feel just a little bit giddy parking next to these well-built, and more importantly well-traveled rigs.  On this Monday, the Equipt crew is just getting back from “product training” (Read: A weekend adventure with friends and family trying out new gear and learning more about current gear.) so there’s plenty of that familiar Utah dust on the rigs in the parking lot.

Step through the front door and you’re greeted with a showroom full of awesome gear.  Pictures of vehicles in epic locales cover the walls and unique decorations hold down the shelves – this is clearly the haunt of people who love to travel and explore.  I’ve barely had a chance to walk through the showroom when Raquel Donati (Equipt’s VP of Sales & Marketing) ushers me back into the warehouse, nicknamed “Big Toy Room” because it is also the place where you can play with nearly every product that Equipt sells.  But playing with things can wait – I’m here to learn more about the company, so Raquel and I sit down so she can bring me up to speed on everything Equipt.

Equipt Expedition Outfitters is the exclusive US Importer of Eezi-Awn, National Luna, Alu-Box, Escape Gear, and Kariba.  They also sell a number of other choice brands like TrekPak, MaxTrax, and Four Wheel Campers.  As Raquel puts it, “Equipt is a one-stop shop—you can find pretty much anything you need here, but regardless of how robust our product selections are, we are still highly selective about what partners we bring aboard, and which products we will carry. Our motto is Built Better, and that sentiment is the backbone of Equipt. We only offer the very best selection of gear, stuff that has proven to stand the test of time. There may be lighter options or something cheaper out there, but if you want gear that you can trust around the globe and back again, this is where you’ll find it.”

Equipt is the result of Paul May’s chance backcountry meeting with Eazi-Awn founder Jack Stuhler in the Utah desert circa 2004, where a common love for the outdoors and overlanding solidified an opportunity for Paul to become the exclusive Eezi-Awn importer in the states. Over the last 12 years, Paul has grown Equipt into the company that it is today.  I find that I really appreciate Paul’s approach to doing things, which is also something Lola Barron the Fulfillment Specialist, points out to me:  over the thousands of feet of space, there are tons of products setup so customers can come and put their hands on actual products before they buy them.  Playing with the products on the company’s rigs is also something that the crew is happy to entertain, and as long as you’re okay with getting a little dusty, you can check out real gear to your heart’s content.

Kristin is Paul’s niece and Equipt’s Chief Everything Officer and she tells me that over the last eleven years of working at Equipt, she has come to recognize the value of a relationship-based sales approach.  Customers come back to Equipt time and time again because they know that Equipt and the brands that Equipt sells stand behind their products and will go above and beyond to take care of their customers.  Integrity is also a key piece of the business model here, and I can’t think of a better way to relate that then when Paul told me that Equipt doesn’t put product on sale.  Equipt’s approach is to offer their best price to everyone, everyday.

Back in the shop, Paul is working with Craig to install a K9 Rack on Project Tundra.  These two work together like old friends and it’s clear to me that Paul spends time wearing many different hats for the company.  While the guys are putting holes in my truck, Raquel is showing me some gear from Eezi-Awn and talking about what it’s like day in and day out at Equipt.  She explains it like this:  “We have what big companies strive for.  As a small company, we do this to support a lifestyle, not to make business our lifestyle.”  As if I needed any more convincing that what Raquel is telling me is the truth and not canned-PR tripe, a bottle of champagne and some eclipse glasses suddenly materialize – because there is something pretty damn cool happening in the sky today.

The whole Equipt crew stops what they’re doing and meets out back behind the warehouse.  The eclipse is nearing it’s greatest occlusion of the Sun, and so bottles are uncorked, and eclipse glasses are donned.  It’s 11-something O’Clock on a Monday morning, and I’m watching a group of folks who are clearly happy to be together and happy in life take a minute to experience something that doesn’t happen every day.  It’s clear to me that what Lola told me is true as well – the folks at Equipt have a great time working together.  Craig is a retired electrician, but he’s here because he wants to work with Paul and the crew at Equipt.

Coming into my morning with Equipt, I have to say that I had expectations, because so many different folks over the years have told me what an outstanding guy Paul is.  While I will say that Paul is everything I’ve been lead to believe, I can tell you that he has also built a great team and a company at Equipt Expedition Outfitters.  Everyone who works at Equipt is exactly who you would want to spend time around a campfire with – and as it turns out campfire time is a big part of product training and testing.  A company can tell you a thousand tales of why they are the best or how serious explorers rely on their gear in extreme conditions, but when every single person who works at the company enjoys their work as much as the crew at Equipt does, you’ve found a great company to do business with.  Oh, and happening to sell really awesome gear helps too.

Learn more about Equipt Expedition Outfitters by visiting them at equipt1.com, or give them a call at +1 866-703-1026.  The folks at Equipt are all great people who are more than happy to chat about whatever project you’re working on, and share their expertise on everything from gear you need for the trip of a lifetime or weekend getaway, to where to find outstanding BBQ in SLC.

Equipt has been a long running sponsor of Expediton Overland, and on January 20th, 2018 at 7pm they’ll be hosting the Season 3 Wrap Party at Equipt HQ in Salt Lake City. Head here to sign up for an invitation and get the details.