Sold Valandre Bloody Mary Down Sleeping Bag

[Blue Skunk]

If you clicked the post you realize Valandre is arguably the Premier Sleeping Bag Company in the World. The Bloody Mary was the winner of the 2009 Outdoor Industry Gold Award. It is a super versatile and cozy bag. You can add more warmth by using the interchangeable draft collars. Valandre lists it as a 5F bag. I would say the temp rating is similar to a Western Mountaineering Versalite.

Description:
Valandre has a reputation for excellence in the world of down products. Valandre only uses the highest quality raw materials for their sleeping bags. The down used comes from hand picked, free range Bar-Headed geese. These geese are equipped to survive the harshest conditions during their annual migration over the Himalayas. The Bloody Mary is a clear example of the craftsmanship of the tailors at Valandre. One of the most innovative features of the Bloody Mary is the interchangeable draft collar system. Two different weights of draft collars can be zipped into place to compensate for cooler or warmer weather. This versatility allows you to comfortably use the bag across a wider temperature range. Each Bloody Mary has 83 separately cut panels, expertly tailored to trap the maximum amount of heat. Its details such as these that put the Valandre sleeping bags ahead of the pack. The Bloody Mary is much more than a sack of down, it is a versatile, technologically superior piece of gear you can count on for your next hunt.

Valandre did a nice Product Video:

https://youtu.be/J0vf0Psr1_4

Specs:
Size Medium fits to 6'
850+ Fill Goose Down
Weight 2lbs 9ozs
Length(outer) 84.6
Length(inside) 72.8
Shoulder 62.6
Hip 55.5
Foot 39.0

Storage Bag and Stuff Sack included

$400 Shipped

 

[Blue Skunk]

Price Drop $375 Shipped

 

[three5x5s]

Bloody Mary is a hell of a bag. bump for you.

 

[Bighunt531]

Would this work for bigger guys with wide shoulders im 5'11

 

[Blue Skunk]

Your height is fine. It’s not a relaxed fit like a Western Mountaineering Badger for example. I am an average build and there is ample room. Let me see if I can find the shoulder spec. Just wouldn’t want it to be too tight for you.

 

[Bighunt531]

Ok

 

[Blue Skunk]

Here is some sizing for reference.
Bloody Mary shoulder width 62.6
Western Mountaineering Ultralite 59
Western Mountaineering Versalite 62
Western Mountaineering Badger 65

 

[Blue Skunk]

Price drop $350

 

[Blue Skunk]

Bump

 

[Blue Skunk]

Bag is still available.

BAG REVIEW:

My name is Larry Amkraut. I have walked across America and have also walked from Mexico to Alaska. I have slept out at -70 F. with wolves all around me and the northern lights dancing overhead.

For almost three decades I have tested mountaineering and backpacking gear for various outdoor magazines. Sometimes it's fun work, sometimes, when using inferior products, it's miserable work and makes for long nights.

I give the Valandre Bloody Mary my highest rating. If you want one sleeping bag to cover the temperature range from approx. 40F to -10F, this is a superb bag. It is light enough for lightweight backpacking and mountaineering and warm enough for all but the most extreme conditions.

Valandre has taken the construction of the down collar to an art level. With this bag one can use it without a collar, a passive top draping collar or a full wrap around three dimensional collar that encloses one's neck as securely as a Pilgrim's stock. During an open bivy with measured winds of 55 mph, the wind buffeted the sleeping bag but did not penetrate that full collar.

It is all the sleping bag one needs for a big mountain such as Aconcagua. You can use it without a collar up to basecamp, the passive collar at an intermediary camp and the full wrap-a-round collar up high.

There is also enough room to layer in during frigid high altitude nights.

Similarly for the California Sierra's it is a true four season sleeping bag, light enough for summer and warm enough for autumn, spring and yes, winter.I used it with light layering at Lee Vining at -12F and was perfectly comfortable.

There are a lot of good companies using "the best, highest lofting down available." I have never had a bag loft up as quickly as the Bloody Mary did after spending all day in a stuff sack. I showed my mountaineering friends and they too were amazed. One asked, "Are you sure that it's down, and not helium?" Valandre uses the best down I have seen and I have had the opportunity to test many of the top sleeping bags.

If you have champagne taste but a beer budget and want one top of the line sleeping bag to cover all of your nights outside, the Valandre Bloody Mary is a superb choice.

Larry Amkraut