Vango
Vango Nitestar Alpha 250 synthetic sleeping bag
Best use
- Made for
- Backpacking and wild camping
- Not for
- Winter mountain
Why these labels
- Backpacking and wild camping: The maker states this use, and the published specs do not rule it out.
- Winter mountain: Comfort rating 2 °C: too cold for winter nights
From the maker's stated use and the published specs.
- Summer wild camp: 4/10 UK, roughly May to September, nights above about 8 °C, sheltered pitches.
- Three-season hills: 4/10 UK hills in spring and autumn. Wind, rain, and nights near freezing. Below this trip's minimum: needs warmth 7+ (comfort 0 °C or colder).
- Winter camp: 4/10 UK winter or high ground. Below freezing, strong wind, possibly snow. Capped at 4: needs warmth 9+ (comfort -5 °C or colder).
- Weight: 3/10 How much it adds to your pack, compared with the whole market.
Comfort 2 °C, limit -4 °C (EN 13537).
Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions and Scout camps: Vango and Attwoolls list it as DofE recommended kit
- Zip side
- Left
- Comfort
- 2 °C
- Limit
- -4 °C
- Fill
- synthetic
- Weight
- 1.65 kg (Standard, left zip)
Packed size 9.1 L, 29 cm long and 20 cm across Compare with a 2-litre bottle
About as long as a 2-litre bottle and about twice as wide. Drawn to scale.
Where to buy
Attwoolls Outdoors £36.95 In stock. Delivery £5.95. Neptune (blue). Standard delivery £5.95 under £100, free over £100.
View at shop: Attwoolls OutdoorsNorwich Camping & Leisure £39.99 In stock. Delivery £5.99. Neptune (blue). Standard delivery £5.99 under £100, free over £100.
View at shop: Norwich Camping & LeisurePrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Warmth
From maker's figures 6/10How cold a night you can sleep comfortably through. 6: A bit better than average.
Vango's comfort figure is 2 °C (limit -4 °C), in the 0.1 to 5 °C band. Jacksons of Old Arley's spec table says the ratings follow EN 13537:2002, and the figures are the same at every shop. Other shops word the standard differently (ISO 23537-1, 'EN 23537:2016'), so treat the standard as brand-stated. The brand's figure, not re-tested.
Room inside
Estimate from maker's specs: bag shape (fewer than 3 reviews about room) 3/10How much room to move, bend your knees and sleep on your side. Roomier is comfier. 3: Below average. Fine for some trips, not others.
No review we found says how roomy it is, so this is an estimate from the bag shape.
Weight
From maker's figures 3/10How much it adds to your pack. 3: Below average. Fine for some trips, not others.
1,650 g sits in the 1,300–1,699 g band (Vango's figure, quoted the same by Attwoolls, Jacksons and Bergfreunde; Mountain Warehouse rounds it to 1.6 kg).
Packed size
From maker's figures 4/10How much room it takes in your rucksack. 4: A bit below average.
Jacksons gives 29 cm x 20 cm across, which is 3.1416 x 10 x 10 x 29 = 9,111 cm³, so 9.1 L, in the 9–12.9 L band (the bottom edge). Attwoolls prints 39 cm instead of 29; at 39 cm it would be 12.2 L, the same band.
In short
Good for
- Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions and Scout camps: Vango and Attwoolls list it as DofE recommended kit
- Young campers and anyone who wants a synthetic bag that is cheap to replace
Strengths
- Synthetic fill, so a damp night matters less than with ordinary down
- Insulated zip baffle, 3D hood with drawcord, two-way auto-lock zip and an inside pocket
- Machine washable at 30 °C, with hanging loops for airing
Weaknesses
- Heavy for a three-season bag at 1,650 g
- Bulky: about 9 L packed in the compression sack
- Short on independent evidence: we found no magazine or specialist test, so damp performance, comfort and durability are estimates, not reviewed scores
- Shops quote different test standards (Jacksons says EN 13537:2002) and one prints a pack length of 39 cm against 29 cm elsewhere, so check the label on the bag you buy
- Comfort 2 °C is the maker's figure for a standard woman on a suitable mat; cold sleepers should expect to want layers near freezing
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.