SEA TO SUMMIT Ember 7C Review: Recommended for hikers who want to make their luggage as light as possible. High quality, ultra-lightweight quilted sleeping bag that combines portability and heat retention
written by Yosuke.C
The author walks from the low mountains to the Alps with the motto of "as light as possible."
The weight of equipment excluding food, fuel, etc. is called UL (ultra light) to be less than 5kg, but recently there has been a growing interest in UL, and each brand has added a lineup of lightweight gear.
Some of them are "pointed" items that are simplicity, remove all the necessary functions, and pursue lightness.
This time we will introduce the "Ember 7C" quilt from Seatto Summit, which is a sharp item for a sleeping bag.
Unlike a regular sleeping bag, the Ember is a single quilt with no zippers or hoods. It can be said to be a simple sleeping bag, but the usage can be endless depending on your ideas. It is highly versatile, which is hard to imagine from its simple appearance.
In this article, we will explain the features and functions of Ember, and review what I felt after actually using it.
table of contents
- Main features of Sea to Summit Ember 7C
- Detailed review
- "Lightness" and "Compact" for excellent portability
- Highly versatile, only a simple quilt can be achieved
- Water-repellent 850FP premium goose down that is resistant to wetting
- It mainly uses it for three seasons, but can be used in winter as a boost to heat retention.
- Removable strap if necessary (can be made lighter)
- Summary: Balance between "portability" and "heat retention." And the versatility of "quilt" is endless depending on the user
Main features of Sea to Summit Ember 7C
Sea to Summit's Ember series is a quilt designed for people who want to combine heat retention, such as through hikers and cycle tourers, with a focus on portability of "lightweight" and "compact" and also have a balance between heat retention.
This sleeping bag is intended to be used in combination with a sleeping mat, and the back part is removed and the down is gathered at the top to ensure heat retention even with a small amount of down.
The padded down is has been certified with RDS , and the water-repellent down overcomes its weakness, "water-repellent."
The fabric is made of ultra-thin nylon ciel, which is as light as the limit of 10 denier. Additionally, by making it a box quilt, it prevents the down from falling, so there is no difference in heat retention depending on the location.
The Sea to Summit sleeping bags, including the Ember, have snap buttons, allowing you to connect the sleeping bags to each other, allowing you to boost the heat retention.
Because it is a quilt type, it has weaknesses that make it easy for cold air to enter, but to prevent this from happening, there are five connecting loops, drawcords at the feet and neck, preventing cold air from entering.
By using the finest down and extremely thin fabric, it weighs less than 450g. This is a high-spec quilt that combines portability and heat retention.
Favorite points
- Portable, lightweight and compact
- A simple quilt makes it highly versatile
- Water-repellent wet resistant 850 + FP Premium Goose Down
- It mainly uses it for three seasons, but can be used in winter as a boost to heat retention.
- Removable strap if necessary (can be made lighter)
Interesting points
- A sleeping bag with a sense of security
- It's difficult to get in and out when connected to a sleeping mat
- If it has a compression function, it would be a little larger.
- The fact that the mummy-shaped Spark 7C is lighter
Main Specifications and ratings
| Item name | Sea to Summit Spark 7C (Regular) |
|---|---|
| Adapted height | Maximum 185cm *Long model is 198cm |
| Storage size | 10 x 15 x 24cm |
| down | 850+ Ultra Dry Premium Goose Down (RDS certified) |
| Fabric material | Ultra-thin water-repellent 10 denier nylon shell |
| Official weight | 423g |
| Down weight | 200g |
| Official lower temperature | 7℃ (ISO23537) |
| size | 120/150/87cm from top |
| accessories |
|
| Outdoor Gearzine Review | |
| Comfort | ★★★★☆ |
| Thermal insulation | ★★★☆☆ |
| weight | ★★★★★ |
| Storageability | ★★★★★ |
| Easy to use | ★★★★★ |
| Durability | ★★★☆☆ |
| Versatility | ★★★★★ |
Detailed review
"Lightness" and "Compact" for excellent portability
When you compare it to a 500ml plastic bottle with the Ember 7C stored, you can see how compact it is.
Furthermore, the included storage bag also has a compression function, so you can compress it further if necessary, making it even more compact.
The 5L bag is so small that it feels difficult to store it, but it is very portable as it is smaller when stored.
The Ember comes in regular and long models, but the regular size is large enough to fit up to 185cm, but it weighs less than 423g and 450g.
A sleeping bag is a "heavy" gear that is one of the top gears among the equipment, so if the sleeping bag is this light, the impact on the base weight of the equipment will be large.
Highly versatile, only a simple quilt can be achieved
The biggest advantage of quilted-type products is its portability, but its versatility is also one of the attractions of quilts.
Even mummy-shaped sleeping bags are lightweight and compact, so I believe that the versatility is the reason for choosing a quilted sleeping bag.
By connecting a sleeping mat, it can be used in the same way as a mummy-shaped sleeping bag, and when you are sitting in a tent, you can put it on your knees as a blanket, or if it is cold, it can be worn over your shoulders to relax.
If it's hot, you can use it like a futon to sleep comfortably without getting stuffy, and depending on the cold, you can use a drawstring and strap to cover your lower body firmly (or, on the other hand, you can also use only the lower body to be exposed).
Quilt that goes well with hammocks
I often use hammocks when camping, but quilted shapes are useful when sleeping in a hammock. The hammock is floating in the air, so trying to get into a mummy-shaped sleeping bag is more difficult than you imagined (same when you leave), but with a quilt, it's easy because you just hang it after lying down.
Water-repellent 850FP premium goose down that is resistant to wetting
The official lower limit temperature for Ember 7C is 7°C.
The amount of down used is 200g, which is not too large, but the characteristic of the quilt-shaped type is that it can ensure this much heat retention and the quality of the down.
By removing the back (or the part on the ground and the part on which it is installed) that collapses when lying down, and bringing the down to the top (the part not touching the ground), the down is more concentrated than the regular mummy type, providing heat retention that is greater than the amount of down.
Another reason is that it uses 850 +FP Ultra Dry Premium Goose Down, which is why it ensures heat retention even with small amounts of down.
Down usually stores dead air in a place called a loft (swelled feather) to provide heat retention. In terms of "fill power (FP, height of bulk)," which indicates the insulation per weight (quality), down is said to be high quality at 600 or more, and the highest quality at 800 or more.
The down used in Ember is sustainably sourced (RDS certified) and boasts a loft height of 850+ FP.
Moreover, the type of feather is made from higher quality goose down with larger feathers than duck down, and although we tend to focus on FPs that express quality in numerical values, the feathers used are also the finest.
The down is also water-repellent, making it less likely to get wet (hard to absorb moisture) than usual, so it overcomes the weakness of down, preventing its heat retention from dropping due to condensation and sweat inside the tent.
Used in conjunction with clothing to expand the operating temperature range
Quilted sleeping bags such as Ember do not have a hood, so it is essential to use them in conjunction with clothing.
What I felt after actually using it was that depending on what I chose for the clothing, it can be used in an environment that is lower than the official lower limit temperature.
It's a good idea to use as it varies from person to person, but if you only use underwear, you will feel cold when it reaches 10°C or below, but if you wear top and bottom downwear and wear a hood, you can use it in an environment below 5°C.
By combining the erver with the clothing, you can widen the range of original operating temperatures.
It mainly uses it for three seasons, but can be used in winter as a boost to heat retention.
The official lower limit temperature for the stand is 7°C, and it is suitable for use in three seasons, from spring to autumn, but it is lightweight, compact, portable, and highly versatile as a single quilt, so it can also be used as a heat retention boost in winter.
Sea to Summit's sleeping bags have snap buttons so you can connect them together, and even if you use sleeping bags from other brands, you can improve your heat retention by wrapping the quilt around your body.
Winter sleeping bags contain a large amount of down, so they have high heat retention, but they are also expensive.
By combining a sleeping bag for three seasons and an enema, it can be used in winter.
Removable strap if necessary (can be made lighter)
All straps that connect to the sleeping mat are stopped with snap buttons, so they can be removed.
This allows you to reduce the number of straps when you want to prioritize breathability and less stuffiness rather than heat retention, such as in hot seasons, which will make it lighter. In seasons where cold weather is a concern, all straps can be used to prevent cold air from entering.
When I actually used it in the field, it is more difficult to set up than a mummy-shaped sleeping bag that can be simply placed on a sleeping mat, but as I started to get used to it after using it a few times, I only felt like it was a hassle at the beginning.
Summary: Balance between "portability" and "heat retention." And the versatility of "quilt" is endless depending on the user
With the wide variety of sleeping styles, such as for use in mountainous areas for three seasons, through-hiking on low-altitude trails, camping in hammocks in addition to tents, highly versatile quilts are definitely an option.
The author feels that it is possible to combine "portability" and "heat retention" and its high versatility will become the standard for fast packing sleeping gear, such as UL hiking and mountain climbing.
The last thing I would like to tell you is the price. Although it is an overseas brand product, it is surprisingly low price. That said, the affordable prices up to this point will be until August, and be careful, as soon as the other-dimensional discount campaign at Lost Arrow, the import agency, ends, this low price may end.
