Nunatak Arc Ghost

[Pedro Arvy]

Pros: Lots of loft for the 400 grams of total weight. More than a WM Highlight for instance.

Cons: Too narrow. Way too narrow to sleep in for me and I like sleeping bags people normally say are too narrow. When you roll the bag “follows you”, exposes the base and in comes the draft.

I also have the Arc Alpinist but the Ghost is a very different bag. It is MUCH narrower. I agree with Ryans rating, with overfill, the Alpinist is a 4 and the Ghost is a 2. It is useable, but very uncomfortable. I would also rate the bag to 40, not 32, but I do that with every bag.

Also, I think a differential cut is important. I don’t have one on either of these bags but it would stop down falling from the top of the bag down to the edges. As someone once said (was it me?), to get the most out of a custom made bag that’s so on the edge, you need to own a couple first so you can then specify exactly what you want!

Me ideal bag:

Arc Alpinist
Add a zipper AND 3 straps (i.e. 1 strap extra)
Add a draft tube
(I don’t believe you need a draft collar though)
Make it in Epic so it works in wet environments

I don’t care if it’s a bit heavier.
It is much warmer than the standard Alpinist and still very flexible.

[Inaki Diaz de Etura]

I was torn between Ghost and Alpinist before ordering and eventually ordered something in between, quite like the former X from BMW. It has the loft of the Ghost with the dimensions of the Alpinist and with Quantum outer and 0.85 nylon inside it comes at 430 gr. with no overfill.
I wanted the loft of the Ghost but I thought it would be too narrow to be confortable as I like to sleep on my side and I usually turn sides so staying put for the night was not an option.
This Arc is definitely confortable and I usually have no problems to roll inside unless I adjust it tight in which case I have to roll with care.
I find the 32F rating just at the edge if not a little optimistic, I have to wear a light insulating jacket to be confortable at that temp. I’ve been wearing a fleece cap and a buff around the neck as well. Overall I’m very happy with it, I think it’s a great performer at that weight. It does what I expected from it.
It used to be in the news page at Nunatak’s website under the Arc Special name but it seems it’s not there anymore.

[D T]

Recently purchased an Nunatak Arc Ghost and I love it. It has a one ounce overfill and third strap with a rating of +32 degrees. My previous down bag was a Mountain Hardwear Phantom +32. The Phantom has (according to manufacturer) 10 oz. of 800 down fill. That’s 10 oz. to fill the top, bottom, foot box, hood, and draft tube. The Arc Ghost has 9 oz. of 800 down fill stock with an extra ounce in mine making it 10 oz. to fill the top, sides, and foot box. The same amount of fill and less space.

This is the first bag that is truly the rating it is stated to be. With the Phantom I always added 10 degrees to the comfort rating making it a +42 degree bag, but not with the Arc Ghost it really is a +32 degree bag. I don’t miss the hood either with the Arc Ghost as I use a bivy sack and a beenie.

I almost deducted one point because the straps on the Arc Ghost are really long, but the fix was easy, just trim them, so no deduction needed. Also notable is the baffle height, 2 inches on the Arc Ghost and only 1 inch (maybe) on the Phantom. More loft, more down, more warmth.

[Mark Verber]

The Ghost provides a great deal of warmth in a light and compact package. I would say that it's a '5' if I was just using it in the summer (temps about 45F)… but only a '4' when considering that this quilt is rated by the manufacturer as being good to 32F.

In warmer weather I have found the width of the quilt to be fine. When the temp is below around 40F, I have found the width to be usable for me (5'10", 185lbs), but I would agree with others that the Ghost is too narrow. If I was expecting temps below 40F I would happily carry an extra few ounces for more width.

I have been comfortable down to 30F wearing a mid-weight base and a GoLite Snow Cap. The lowest I have used the Ghost (and was comfortable) was down to 10F wearing light base, montbell thermawrap vest, a montbell inner fleece, micro tights + cloudveil peak pants, neck gaiter, and 4 shadows hat with a golite snow cap over it.

If you are a side sleeper I would recommend 1oz of overfill. I find that will a normal amount of fill the feathers sometimes shift which results in a cold spot above my hips. On the nights this happens I wake up, redistribute the feathers by shaking the edges toward the middle, and then can return to sleeping.

All this said, I have been using my Ghost on all my non winter trips (and several of them) since 2003. I have no plans to replace it.

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