Where should I sell the worlds warmest sleeping bag? (inflatable + goose down)

[Tim Helweg-Larsen]

Hi All,
I'm looking for suggestions of where on the web (probably not BPL) to sell a crazy warm sleeping bag. I have a Cocoon 4 Extreme by Pneugear / Envirogear. Bought in 2001 hardly used since. The company that made them went bust.

It is made from a 6-inch inflatable goose down filled mattress topped with a 6-inch inflatable goose down filled duvet, and then a bivi-style canopy over the head. It covers a temperature range of -45F to +70F by varying the inflated thickness of the duvet. Its also just big enough for two to squeeze in. My wife and I can fit in it together.

It negates the need for tent/bivy and mattress. However its its probably not the thing for members of BPL as It weighs 8lb. It's also pretty pricy, I paid, hold you breath,… $1,700 for it in 2000 and I'm looking to sell it for about that now. I bought it with the plan of distributing them in the UK but never did and the one I did buy has only been used for a few nights.
I know the BPL forums well but I'm a bit lost as to where on the web to advertise this. I would be perfect for polar expeditions, or survivalists living in Minnesota but I don't really see it as a BPL thing – unless there is a mountaineering couple out there looking for a cosy bivi.
Can anyone suggest a couple of good websites that deal with extreme cold and would have a for sale area on their forum?
Thank you.

[Jeffs Eleven]

I'm glad you posted pictures. I wouldnt believe in such a thing otherwise. It looks like some Anime creature. Like those worms. (flat worm?)

I see two problems:
1. The weight
2. The cost

I have no ideas other than ebay- for the world to view.

[Bob Gross]

Other than the canopy area, how does it breathe?

–B.G.–

[Tim Helweg-Larsen]

Hi Bob,
The bag itself doesn't breathe, period. But it's designed that way and it works. Two things are going on. Firstly You adjust the insulation level to match the outside temperature. Secondly you don't get condensation because there's no cold surface on which to condense.
You adjust the insulation level by inflating or deflating the duvet and changing its thickness. It's 6inches fully inflated but if you have almost no air in it its very thin, like a summer bag.
The condenation thing is admittedly very strange but once you've set the insulation right, you won't be overheating and sweating profusely but your skin does skill breathe and there is moisture in the air around your body. Because the inside of the bag is at the same temperature as the air round your body there isn't any condensation and you stay dry.
Infact reviewers have used it to dry themselves and their clothes.
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/pneugear/cocoon-4/

Evelen,
Yes it is heavy but you need to compare it to the weight of a bag+mattress+tent or bivi that can go down to minus 45F. I think it will match or beat the alternatives and in t apecific case of a couple going on extreme cold adventures it will be the lightest option.

eBay might well be the place in the end but I was rather hoping to find an extreme cold community that would be more appropriate. Any other suggestions?

[Greg Mihalik]

"Secondly you don't get condensation because there's no cold surface on which to condense."

1) The body is always sweating/transpiring to some degree.
2) If it is 98.6F on the inside, and 20F on the outside, there is condensation.

I can agree that the system "works". But denying biology and physics doesn't explain it. (Did I miss a VBL somewhere?)

Good luck (sincerely) on finding a buyer. It sounds amazing and I'm sure there is a niche for it somewhere. Be patient.

[Edit: And you were very wise to wait to April 4th to post.]

[Tim Helweg-Larsen]

Hi Greg,
Yes it is effectively using a Vapour Barrier liner. It is similar to a regular sleeping bag in that it is constructed of a mattress and duvet zipped together and both mattress and duvet contain baffles and goose down. The difference is that the material is air-tight – hence it being inflated. It’s inflated using sack-pumps and the air will be as dry as the conditions you are camping in – pretty dry if its bellow freezing. So the goose down is surrounded by totally dry air and can’t get damp from the occupant’s perspiration because, well all the fabrics are air/water tight.
The chap who designed it came up with the idea one freezing night on an exercise with the military. I think he was on a frozen lake and he realised that all the insulation underneath him was compressed and useless, and after several days in the field, and no vapour barrier in his sleeping bag he had accumulated several kilos of ice in his bag. So lying there freezing and wide awake he came up with the cocoon. The sad thing is that although he got it to manufacture he went bust before making any money out of it.

Yes probably good I didn’t post on April 1st.

I grabbed a few quotes from reviewers a few days ago, off the archived version of the Pneugear website. For some reason the link doesn’t work any more. but here are the quotes.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010214035553/http://www.pneugear.com/index.html)

– “In 30 years of testing, we have never seen anything like it! The COCOON 4 is the best sleeping bag in the world.”
Ralph Goldman, Ph.D. Chairman of the NATO Committee that compared sleeping bags of all NATO countries, and Director (ret.) for over 20 years of the Army group that does sleeping bag evaluations.

– “The COCOON 4 was very warm and comfortable in the advanced base camp at 18,000’ on the Tibet side of Everest”
Steve Kin

– “The best night’s sleep I’ve had in over 40 years of camping. Even the winds of Baja didn’t phase it.”
Wayne Marsula’

– “We have tested all the leading equipment, under the harshest conditions, for Polar Challenge. Even at -40° F, in high wind, we were cozy in our COCOON 4. It is unquestionably the best there is.”
Helen Thayer.

I totally agree its a niche product. Did you have any ideas of forums that might fit the niche? I’m struggling to find the BPL equivalent of the solo arctic explorers forum.

Cheers,
Tim

[Buck Nelson]

Might be worth a try:
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/forumdisplay.php/28-Alaska-Outdoors-Swap-n-Sell-Forum

[Tim Helweg-Larsen]

Thank's Buck,
That looks like a great fit. I'll register.

[Arapiles .]

I remember these!

Being self-levelling was one of the selling points.

[Tim Helweg-Larsen]

Arapiles,

I think the self levilling thing is that although the matress is 6" thick, the chambers that run down each outside edge of the matress are quite a bit thicker, maybe 8". this means stops you rolling out and yes I supose does have a self levelling effect. The few nights I've used it have been on level ground – snow and grass.

Here's a pic of the side wall and some other pics I've been taking.
heat welded and stitched construction.

[Stephen M]

The last photo reminds me of a portable decompression chamber.

All the best with the sale.

[Tim Helweg-Larsen]

Thank you all for your advice on where to find a buyer.
After some more hunting i have found that a likely buyer might well be carp fishermen in England. Ebay sells integrated camp bed sleeping bags for carp fishermen for $1700, the same as I paid for the Cocoon back in 2001.

So I've decided to list on ebay as it will have a very international reach. Carp fisherman in England, hunters in Alaska and solo adventurers in the Antarctic. I'll probably also list it on the Alaskan forum that was recommended and a carp fishing forum.
Cheers.

[Author]

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