HelsportHelsport Spitsbergen Red

Every aspect of sleeping comfortably in extreme cold has been taken into account when designing this two-bag system.

Spitsbergen is a highly functional sleeping bag! It offers the warmth, comfort, and cold weather performance that only the combination of down and synthetic insulation can provide. 

Inner bag:

The inner bag is filled with down, with extra down in the foot baffles, a snug-fitting hood, and a sculpted inner thermal collar that sits naturally and comfortably over the shoulders.

All zippers are kept as short as possible with generous and insulated flaps.

There is an additional arm zipper on the right side at elbow height, covered by a soft outer flap to prevent tangling. The main zipper on the left side has three sliders that can also be used to open for an arm. This double-zip design allows you to sit in the inner bag like a jacket on your upper body. Any items you need to access can be stored in the generous chest pocket inside.

Both the hood and the inner collar have drawcords that can be closed under very cold conditions or opened as needed. It is also easy to regulate your temperature with the help of the dual zippers.

The Spitsbergen inner bag uses premium-quality Pertex fabric with 750 FP 90/10 goose down.

Outer bag:

The outer bag is completely different in design compared to the inner bag, with a short central zipper and synthetic insulation. The central zipper means that the zipper  is offset from the inner bag to minimize heat loss and avoid entanglement at night if you need to get up. The zipper is protected by an insulated flap that folds over the top to prevent freezing from exhaled air.

Helsport has used synthetic insulation for the outer bag because of a crucial, but not so well-known detail about sleeping in cold environments. We lose all moisture through our skin when we sleep. If it is cold enough, that moisture can freeze inside the bag's insulation before it has a chance to escape. Over time, this can build up as ice and be a real problem on long expeditions. With Spitsbergen, ice will still form in the outer bag's insulation, but since it is synthetic, it does not affect the insulation properties as much and can dry much faster than down.

To further increase warmth, the bag is constructed in a shingle design over the top. Shingle designs overlap pieces of the fiber fill instead of a single sheet. This allows for greater freedom of movement and also captures warm air between the layers. In EN tests, it has been found that the shingle design can be up to 15% warmer than a simple sheet-filled design. The insulation is recycled but still meets demanding standards for thermal efficiency.

The overall shape of the bag is designed to fit over the inner bag without compressing the insulation, and the hood is shaped so that it can easily be pulled up over the inner hood for added warmth.

The outer bag uses the same comfortable high-quality Pertex liner fabric as the inner bag but is more durable and treated with an additional 1000 mm waterproof coating that is breathable. All fabrics have C6 WR treatment.

The outer bag also has a generous zippered pocket for valuables with an easy-to-use vertical zipper.