OEX Fathom EV 200

I own an EV 300 sleeping bag, but I needed something suitable for warmer temperatures as the EV 300 can be stifling on hot days. What better than the OEX Fathom EV 200?  Since I purchased the Fathom EV 200 it has been used in a huge range of environments across a wide span of activities: alpine bivvies, bike packing, wild camps, valley camps, hiking trips, in caves, on ridges and even a couple music festival. 

Wild camps and bike packing trips where the EV200 sleeping bag has been well used.

The key features[1]:

  • 2 Season sleeping bag
  • Lightweight synthetic fill
  • Comfort temperature: 7°C
  • Limit temperature: 2°C
  • Extreme temperature: -12°C
  • Fabric: 20D Nylon Shell and Lining
  • Unpacked Size: 215 x 80cm
  • Packed Size: 30 x 17 x 17cm
  • Weight: 800g
The sleeping bag weighed 843g on my scales. This could be a result of cheap scales or possibly because this EV 200 has been well used?

The Fathom EV 200 cost £29.00 from GoOutdoors (with a discount card).  For this price, this is an excellent sleeping bag.  I have found the small pack size beneficial when packing my bag for multi day hikes or alpine bivvies. 

The small pack size can be made smaller with the compression straps
The unpacked sleeping bag

Through most of the British spring and summer, I have used this bag but when the temperature is anticipated to be low during the night, I have used a bivvy bag and/or sleeping bag liner to keep the chill away.  I used the Fathom EV 200 during a trip to North Italy when we climbed the Southeast face of Pizo Badile.  We bivvied under a boulder the night before the climb.  During the night the temperature reached the limit indicated above. With the addition of a bivvy bag, a good roll mat and my cloths, I was warm and comfortable all night but without the extras I would have had a shivery night. 

The downsides to the EV 200 is the build quality is very poor.  In several places there is only a single stich keeping the bag together.  I ripped open a seam on the inside soon after purchase and over the course of a couple seasons, this continued to grow until I was forced to do a self-repair. 

My repair skills need some improvement but the bag should not have broken so easily
The rip is on the inside seam and is more than a meter long

In my opinion, the Fathom EV 200 is a sleeping bag designed for comfortable valley campsites.  It will keep you warm when at the comfort limit if you are cosily inside a tent.  For a real adventurer, it might not be the one for you.

Pros:

  • Lightweight (800 g)
  • Small pack size
  • Fast drying synthetic fill

Cons:

  • Build quality
  • Normal retail price +£40 is too much.  Only buy when on offer!
  • The indicated temperatures are ambitious, more layers required for comfort.  
The morning view from a mountain bivvy in North Italy

[1] https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15904989/oex-fathom-ev-200-sleeping-bag-15904989

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