NEWS ! NEWS ! NEWS !
November 2007

DOWN SLEEPING BAGS

The BEST Polish GOOSE DOWN with ...

... the BEST English and Japanese PERTEX fabric

NEWS

1. Independent Reviews. Please see below some of the magazine reviews from the past year or so.

2. During 2007 we added two new, top-of-the-range models to our product list. The Cumulus Expedition 900 and 1100 are rated at -30°C and -40°C respectively and are made from Pertex ENDURANCE fabric which incorprates a waterproof PU membrane.

3. We also changed the colour of the Mysterious Traveller 750 outer fabric from 'navy' to 'graphite'. The new colour outer is now shown on this website (see the Products section). Stock of the 'navy' model is still available in our stockist shops, however, so please bear this in mind when ordering, if colour is important to you.

PREVIOUS NEWS

Recent Magazine Reviews

Cumulus Expedition sleeping bags - NEW in 2007
Including our warmest bag - the Cumulus Expedition 1100; rated at -40°C yet weighs only 1770 gms.

Cumulus has launched a new, ultra-warm range of two new sleeping bags based on the Pertex ENDURANCE fabric (with ripstop). This fabric incorporates a PU waterproof membrane. These new sleeping bags also include our super-warm, diamond grade, white Polish goose down.

The Pertex Endurance fabric is used not just for the outer shell of the sleeping bags, but also in several, critical internal areas where the waterproof property is needed to prevent water penetration into the down insulation when the bags are used in extreme conditions.

As with all Cumulus sleeping bags these new models have an extremely high warmth-to-weight ratio. This is achieved by a combination of using 'brick' construction (also known as 'offset, double boxwall'), and our diamond grade down insulation, which has a 96:4 (96%) down-to-feather ratio, and a fill power rating of 870 cu in. To the best of our knowledge, this performance combination is not bettered by anyone.

Whilst we are promoting these sleeping bags based on comfort temperatures of -30°C for the Cumulus Expedition 900, and -40°C for the Cumulus Expedition 1100, independent tests have actually registered figures of -35°C and -45°C respectively.

Cumulus Quantum sleeping bags - NEW in 2006
Including our lightest ever bag - the Cumulus Quantum 200; only 495 gms, yet fully featured and with a comfort temperature down to 0°C.

In 2006 Cumulus launched a new, ultra-lightweight range of three new sleeping bags based on the Pertex QUANTUM fabric (with ripstop) and our new, ultra-high quality, diamond grade, white Polish goose down.

Quantum fabric, which includes ripstop mesh, weighs only 34 gms per square metre, and is used throughout the range for both the inner and outer surfaces. It is not only very light weight, but also has a super soft, silky feel.

Our diamond grade, Polish goose down has a 96:4 (96%) down-to-feather ratio, and a fill power rating of 870 cu in. To the best of our knowledge, this performance combination is not bettered by anyone.

The combination of ultra-warm down and ultra-light fabric means that each of the sleeping bags in our Quantum range has an incredibly low weight-to-warmth ratio.

These sleeping bags may be ultra-lightweight, but they retain most of the features of our other, well-established sleeping bags, including mummy shape, full length insulated zip, trapezoid/boxwall constructions, and excellent detailing.

Mitsui Bussan Textile Company - Pertex manufacturer
The much-publicised failure of Perseverance Mills Limited in 2005 sent shock waves through the 'outdoor' community, particularly as it affected most, if not all manufacturers of quality down jackets and sleeping bags. This led to serious consequences for manufacturers as stocks of original English Pertex were used up. Web users mentioned unexplained changes to products, which retained their former names but were evidently different as a result of fabrics other than Pertex being substituted.

Mitsui & Co. bought the rights to Pertex fabrics and started to manufacture them in Japan during 2006, but initially only in a limited way at the Osaka factory of Mitsui Bussan Textile Co.

Cumulus avoided the fabric availability problem. Anticipating the likely non-availability, we purchased a large amount of English Pertex fabric to stock 2 years ago, so Cumulus sleeping bags continued to be made from original English Pertex fabric throughout 2006.

We have now taken deliveries of Pertex Microlight and Pertex Quantum from Japan, as well as Pertex Endurance for our new Expedition range. The quality is excellent and the fabric specification is close to that of the original English Pertex, with just some slight colour and weight differences.

At present we still have stock of finished products made from English Pertex, particularly the Cumulus Prime range. All new manufacture, however, is now with Japanese Pertex.

Note. The Mitsui Pertex fabrics are slightly heavier than the corresponding English Pertex. The result will be an increase in the overall weight of our sleeping bags by about 30 to 35 grams once we have exhausted the stock made from English Pertex..

Bird Flu
Bird Flu presents absolutely NO DANGER as regards down insulation. Down that is used to insulate sleeping bags and jackets is sterilised at 120°C for 30 minutes, so even if by some chance a particular bird happened to have the disease, all traces of it would be destroyed by the sterilisation process. That said, Cumulus sleeping bags contain only the finest Polish goose down and there has been no incidence of bird flu in Polish geese, to-date (March 2006).
See what the experts say at the International Down & Feather Testing Laboratory, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA