What sleeping bag have you bought? - a wide width, 20degreeF (-7degC), extra-extra-extra long down sleeping bag with a full-length zip and a draft tube. I paid USD445, + $10 for the zip and $20 for the tube, so USD$475 altogether or £306.60. I concede that is a lot of money, but what you get has been made hand made to your order. I doubt if I could get anything similar "off the shelf."
It has 18 segments and it is huge, just the zip is 81" long. Overall the bag must be about 90":
I have limited sleeping bag experience, having owned only one before this one, a Marmot Helium EQ Long, also rated to -7degC. That cost £280 in 2007, so roughly the same as this one. It weighs 1123g, against the Zpacks' 788g, or 335g more. It is a standard "mummy" shaped bag. It has been a good bag to use, warm and comfortable. I particularly like the pertex outer that is quite water resistant. Bag leakage or tent condensation have never affected it, a very useful attribute for a down filled bag.
The only problem I have had with the Marmot is that its mummy shape is a bit constricting.. very snug in cold weather, but it doesn't cope quite so well with warm or hot conditions. So, I decided the next one would not only be lighter, but would be easier to use as a duvet or a cover, not just something to be inside.
So, what do you think of the Zpacks bag? I like it! It is very comfortable in use. It does weigh significantly less than my Marmot bag, and if you buy a normal size one, it will weigh less still. Zpacks claim that a medium 20degF sleeping bag weighs 473g, or 17oz, which is remarkable! I ordered a draught tube and full length zip, as well as a longer than average bag, all of which adds weight of course.
I haven't slept in the bag at -7degC, so I can't definitively answer for the insulation, but I tend to run cold and like a snug bag, and this one has never let me down; It has been down to 0degc, and felt fine.
The shape is really good. It is just as snug as the traditional mummy shape when it is cold, and much better when it's hot because you can use it as a quilt or lie on it and leave the zip open. I do recommend the full-length zip option. You can buy a down hat/hood to go with it if you want, I didn't and didn't miss it.
showing the full length, double pull-thingy zip, the internal draft tube, and the foot section of the bag
No problems at all then? No, no problems at all. The fill is a little loose, so that your feet, for example, can ruffle through it during the night and end up feeling cold. This would only affect you if you had no sleeping mattress, or a short one (like I do) that doesn't go under your legs. Once or twice I had to put a fleece under the bag below my feet to stop them getting cold. The filling seems rather looser than the Marmot's.. perhaps that just means that it is higher quality down. Certainly it felt just as warm. I do feel the cold easily, but I had no problems with the Zpacks bag and never had to wear extra clothing in it to feel warm.
I think the outer shell is supposed to be waterproof. Several times the toe end of the bag did get wet, usually because I had slid to the end of the tent and made contact with the inner tent lining when there was condensation. The water didn't seem to bead and run off, but so far as I could tell, the down inside stayed dry, which is the important thing.
The bag comes in its own cuben stuff sack, and moreover not a tiny one but one that is big enough for me to actually get the bag into. However I don't use it. What I do instead is to stuff the bag straight into the bottom of the rucksack liner bag, and then put the other stuff on top. Usually this means that the bag does not get so compressed, unless the bag is really full. It also shifts the centre of gravity of the rucksack nearer the top, which I like. Another worthwhile bonus is that you now have a nice medium size cuben bag (worth $23) to use for something else; in my case I put my spare clothes in it, and also used it as a pillow.
I saw a review that said it wouldn't stand up to rough treatment.. but who treats their sleeping bag roughly anyway? I used it every night in the Pyrenees for 55 nights, even when staying in refuges etc., and stuffed it into the bottom of my rucksack each morning and piled everything else on top, and it coped fine with that, still looks like new.
In summary? This is a very fine sleeping bag. It lives up to its temperature rating, it feels toasty in cold weather but because of its shape it is also great for warmer temperatures too. Highly recommended. Get the full length zip and ideally, pair it with a full length sleeping mat. Oh, and order it in good time, it is made individually for you, and that takes time. That is a plus not a con though, and will make it feel all the more special, when it arrives!
No it isn't cheap, but it is excellent value for money.
Thermarest Neoair sleeping mat
My first sleeping mat was a Thermarest Prolite 4, and I used it for some years. It sprang a leak, but I repaired it and after that it was fine, easy to inflate and warm. Quite thin though, and not the most comfortable.
When the Neoair came out I spent £80 and bought one from Amazon. It is lighter than the Prolite - 274g, in its stuff bag, whereas the Prolite weighs 392g - and because it is much thicker when inflated, I do find it far more comfortable. It also packs down very small. I bought mine in 2010. It is rectangular in shape, silver underneath and bright yellow on top. The current model is the Neoair Xlite, which apparently weighs even less, only 230g for the small size.
The Neoair takes a fair bit more inflating than the Prolite, about a dozen breaths. Not usually a problem, but once or twice a bit of a struggle. You can buy a pump to do the job for you, but that rather defeats the object of buying the lightest mat around.
It is comfortable , I found it best to let a little air out so you sink into it a bit more. I have the small size, and small it is. It comes down on me to about mid-thigh, and it is wide enough so long as you keep still, and don't roll about!
So no problems then?
Yes, at some point early in my Pyrenees walk it developed a slow leak. To start with it would last the night, it just felt a bit spongy in the morning (don't we all? :-) but by the end of the walk it needed blowing up again about twice a night. Irritatingly, all efforts to trace the leak have so far failed.
It is also quite small.
Would you get another?
I guess I would, though both my Thermarest mattresses have sprung leaks despite never having been used outside a tent. They are very light, and the Neoair packs down very small. If I bought another though I would get the regular size, and swallow the extra 70g weight.
Update 2024: well, I have bought another Thermarest, a Neoair X-lite long. It weights more than its replacement at 480g but it is well worth the extra because it is much more comfortable. At the time of writing it has survived a Pennine Way without leaking at all .. keeping fingers crossed!
Inflating it can be a bit of a trial at the end of a long day, so I also bought a "Neoair pump sack." It doubles as a liner bag for the rucksack, it is just the right size, and it does make inflation much easier.
Thanks
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