Marmot Plasma

jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,559
Location
Piedmont, SD
Been tossing around getting one of these in a 15 degree rating. Never see Marmot mentioned or talked about much on here and wondering why. They are the lightest down bags for their rating by a pretty good margin.
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
868
Location
North Idaho
I have a Marmot Helium and love it. 2 pounds and packs down small. The Plasma looks like the next step up in the line. I don't know how set you are on getting the plasma, but the heliums seem to be coming down in price. For a couple more ounces, you may save a couple hundred dollars!

Marmot, in my experience, makes some quality gear.
 

TRIPLE

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
Messages
234
Location
Central Washington
I think you should crawl into one before you make any purchases. They are pretty tight. I looked at one but couldn't zip it up (and though I'm tall, I am by no means thick). Other than sizing, I think the components are great....the helium is a good bag too. If you like 900 fill and pertex, then another consideration would be feathered friends. They offer 3 different circumference sizes for most popular temp ratings.
 

Shrek

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Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
7,066
Location
Hilliard Florida
I just recieved a marmot 20º 600 fill bag today and was trying it out. I have the feeling that the 20º rating is VERY optimistic. It's the Flathead bag and it seems well made but if it gets to 20º I think I'll have a bunch of clothes on. I have been checking reviews on their bags and I see a lot of comments about the over promised temp ratings. Might want to look at bags rated 10ºlower than what you need. I'm probably going to send mine back and get the 5º bag.
 

flashgordon

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
197
Location
Eastern Washington
I have that bag and love it! I'm 6'2" and 220lbs and the bag fits me just fine, compresses small, has a great hood and is considerably warmer than my old 15* down bag. I feel it was money well spent!
 

worx53

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Joined
Jul 9, 2013
Messages
1,089
Location
Northeast PA
Marmot makes great bags. The tall versions have two inches more shoulder width. I have a 52 chest and fit just fine. My favorite was the Lithium long at Zero degrees. It worked great down to 10 degrees with just skivvies on several occasions. I now opted for a Western Mountaineering 20 degree bag to save a pound of weight but sacrifice some warth possibly (haven't been in the cold yet). WM bags are supposedly warmer than the rating.
 

gelton

WKR
Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
2,510
Location
Central Texas
I just recieved a marmot 20º 600 fill bag today and was trying it out. I have the feeling that the 20º rating is VERY optimistic. It's the Flathead bag and it seems well made but if it gets to 20º I think I'll have a bunch of clothes on. I have been checking reviews on their bags and I see a lot of comments about the over promised temp ratings. Might want to look at bags rated 10ºlower than what you need. I'm probably going to send mine back and get the 5º bag.

I would try it out first. I have the sawtooth 15° and I have been down to 6° and been fine. Also, its surprising to hear that people are saying they over promise their ratings. They use a European rating system that supposedly is much more accurate than ours. May be a marketing gimmick but I can say I have never been cold in mine.

[video=youtube;lTSDzVs_asE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTSDzVs_asE[/video]
 

Shrek

WKR
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
7,066
Location
Hilliard Florida
I have decided to keep the 20º bag and trust the rating. Worst thing that could happen is that I sleep in my clothes until I get back to town and buy a bag.
 

whitingja

WKR
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
737
Location
Cheyenne,wy
I just bought the Plasma 0 bag. I thought it would be way too warm, but I use it now like a blanket over the top of me. works great. Hot as hell when you actually get in and zip it. I think the 0 rating is pretty accurate. Is a little tight, but thats the concept with cold weather bags. Less deadspace, the warmer you stay. The material is incredibly soft. Love the bag. 2lbs 7ozs compared to my Helium 15 which is 2lbs 6 ozs, incredibly light.
 
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
667
Location
Anchorage, Alaska
Been tossing around getting one of these in a 15 degree rating. Never see Marmot mentioned or talked about much on here and wondering why. They are the lightest down bags for their rating by a pretty good margin.

I have a plasma 15 long and i love it! Im 6'3" 175lbs and i haven't noticed any problems with the way it fits, i find it quite comfortable. My dad has the helium and the fabric on my plasma did much better at holding water out. I have a lot of water droplets that sat on my bag overnight and id say 90% didn't leak through. Pertex quantum is what is on the plasma, and the helium just has 20 denier nylon. I love the way the baffles run length wise, it makes the bag fit to my body much better.
 
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