Frequently Asked Questions

We have created this web site to make our products, history and company philosophy available to the wider public. We try to keep the product range updated as regularly as possible, publishing photos, technical information and specifications of new models as soon as a new collection is finalised. By doing so, we hope to provide our end-users with quick, easy to access and up to date information. Unfortunately, not all models are stocked at all dealers and so we strongly recommend that you contact your local stockists direct for a current list of what products they have available.

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Please refer to the Product Aftercare page in this section for our recommended guidance on washing and storing your down-filled equipment.

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The usual cycle of manufacturing is first you produce the shell of a sleeping bag and then you fill it with down.

When the bag is filled it is tightly rolled and stuffed into a tight compression stuff sack. They are then tightly packed in shipping cartons. When the order is completed which can be some time as it may be 1-3000 units it is loaded into a shipping container. It is common practice in the Far East (although we manufacture in Poland) to try and get as much as possible into the container and this can be helped along by packing the container tightly so the last row of cartons sticks out whereupon you hose down all the cartons with water until they are soaking wet and then drive fork lift trucks holding a ten foot high stack of pallets into the back of the cartons and force them into the container. At this point you shut the doors!

The container is then taken down to the docks to await loading on the next available boat going to Europe.

Eight weeks later it is dock side in Europe and the sleeping bags have been tightly rolled for quite a few months.

Then it is taken from the dock and delivered to the warehouse of the importer and the cartons placed in the warehouse. Sometime later the sleeping bags are delivered to the retailer who puts them on the shelf and sometime later you buy it and take it home whereupon you open it up and your “new” sleeping bag meets fresh air and warmth again.

How old is it now and does it matter?

Well yes, it does matter because the producer (brand owner) has a sample made and tested of the the sleeping bag he plans to produce and sell. In all likelihood this sample is never rolled up and it produces a certain performance. When the bag goes on sale nobody, such as a national body or a testing house ever check that what was tested is the same as what is subsequently made.

The next problem is that as a well-known outdoors magazine publicised some years ago, the performance of a down product deteriorates if they are stored tightly rolled and it is possible that they can lose up to half the performance. In the case of a down sleeping bag, a minus 20 sleeping bag could perform similarly to a minus 10 sleeping bag.

You can correct this by unpacking the sleeping bag and hanging it in a warm dry cupboard for several weeks while the down recovers its performance, which it will. However it might be disappointing when you thought you were buying a new, high performance down product.

The Tundra difference:

When you place an order on our website for a down sleeping bag, the relevant shell is filled and finished specifically for your order. Your down sleeping bag is then sealed into into a large storage bag before it is shipped directly to you by courier from Poland. This way, when you receive the bag from us you can be sure it has never been in a tight stuff sack with the down crushed.

If you buy a Tundra sleeping bag from one of our dealers these too are shipped to them in a large storage bags.

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As explained here our down sleeping bags are made to order. This is why we ask that you wait around ten working days (no more than four for manufacturing and six for delivery) so you can be sure that the performance is all there.

If you need your down sleeping bag sooner just choose Express Courier delivery at checkout and you should have your sleeping bag in around five working days. If in any doubt about delivery timescales or you need your order by a specific date please contact us prior to placing your order.

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Yes, our standard size sleeping bag is of 195cm user length which should provide a comfortable fit for someone 6’2” tall. We can make special sizes and the usual ones are 180cm or 210cm. 180cm is for a smaller person whilst the 210cm length provides storage space in the foot for boots or computer or camera batteries in Arctic conditions. For special order sizes please allow an extra seven days for delivery.

We can also provide a waterproof storage bag.

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Yes, we do. All our ethical down filled sleeping bags can be made specifically to fit women. Please refer to our Women’s Sleeping Bags page for more information and how to order.

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By definition Fill Power is the amount of volume in cubic inches that one ounce of down fills.

When one ounce of down fills 880 Cubic Inches it can be said to have a fill power of 880. A fill power of 880 against 440 means that it takes twice as much down (two ounces) of 440 to fill the same volume as one ounce of 880 and therefore 880 is lighter, half the weight than 440 for the same warmth.

So far this seems all quite simple but it goes wrong because you naturally assume that the method of testing fill power is the same the world over but that is not true..

Special treatments to increase fill power. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fill_power) Started in 2012 when some manufacturers of down products devised treatments that improved the fill power rating so 800 fill power became 100=1100 fill power.

Some suppliers and manufacturers devised adjustments to the fill power test so that again 800 became 1000.

All this is very unfortunate as it suggests one down is better than the other when really it is the same thing.

It is a little like testing the top speed of car A on a level road at sea level and then the same car (now called B) on a level road at 10,000 feet above sea level. They are both tested on level roads and were the same car but car (B) was faster but was it better? No it was the same car! but a different test criterion or standard.

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We put together the Touch Tundra page to let you know where you can find stockists of Tundra Sleeping Bags.

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