Help on length of Arc Alpinist

You can custom order any length from Nunatak. Yes, if you are using for Winter, add a little extra length for layering but not too much as you will burn calories heating up the extra space. Same goes for girth, although you can adjust for that with the variable girth design. You may want to order a 3rd strap for better closure if you go 6' or over.

Such a great sleeping system!

I'm 5'11" and was also worried about the Alpinist's sizing for medium and long. Didn't want it too be short or too long, but just right. After discussing the size issue a few times with Nunatak, took their suggestion to just add another baffle to the medium size. Since the baffles are (or at least were at the time) 5" apart, that put my Arc at just about midway between medium and long. Works fine for my 5'11" height, and I believe it even leaves me an inch or two extra for layering if needed.

I also had my Arc made with differential cut between the liner and the shell material to minimize any compression of down between the liner and the outer shell. Plus, I had them add about 2 ounces of down for an extra measure of warmth, which included increasing height of the baffles from the standard 2 1/2" to 3" to allow for the resulting increase in loft.

Didn't think to ask for an extra strap. Haven't really missed it since the standard width of the Arc is plenty enough (at least for me) to keep drafts at bay with just having two straps fastened. I'm not a small person, with my weight at just over 200 pounds. But don't tell anyone.

With a .85 shell and a microlight liner, my Arc weighs in at 24 ounces. That's what overfill with higher baffles, plus an extra baffle, did to the "standard" weight. listed on Nunatak's website.

Have used my Arc down to the low teens in a bivy under a tarp with no need for additional clothing to stay warm. Don't know at what point more clothing would be needed to stay warm.

Nunatak was great to work with, and produces an excellent product in the Arc Alpinist. Because of the time it takes to custom make one of these things, they even loaned me an Arc to use for about a month for a trip I had set long in advance to go into the Enchantments. The Arc loaner was great, too, and hated to send it back. It's shell was made of Epic material (sturdier than the .85), which made it possible to dispense with a bivy on my trip.

One suggestion by Nunatak that surprised me was that the shell be made of the .85 material, with microlight used for the liner. Made sense when they explained that the liner would get more wear than the shell over time from my limbs thrashing around inside. If I ever use the Arc with no shelter overhead, a light bivy gives more than enough added protection (and water resistance) for the .85 shell.

If the new Arc version (the Specialist) had been available when I was shopping for the Alpinist, I would have given the Specialist a close look for its lighter weight that I think would be plenty warm for three season use. Maybe there'll be a next time, though. For now, a 24 oz Arc is a big improvement over the 3+ pounder that I used pre-Arc.

JRS

I purchased a Nunatak Arc Edge last year. I'm about 2/5 of an inch longer than 5'10''. Tom from Nunatak suggested me to add an inch of length, and that turned out to work just fine for me. They charged 15$ for the added length. I'll probably order an Arc Ghost this year, and if I do so, it's again gonna be a size M with an inch added.