Sleeping bags are hard things to improve. Down is down, fabrics can only be made so light until they’re fragile, and zippers weigh what they weigh. Shape has pretty much been dialed to the cleanest possible measurements, and construction hasn’t changed that much over the last decade. Still, some companies still strive to reinvent the wheel. Here are a few sleeping bags that have piqued our interest (yet again). Want more? Check out Backcountry.com’s Sleeping Bag Guide.
Bag: Big Agnes Tumble Mountain
Key Feature: Recycled everything
Lowdown: These days it’s all about going green, and Big Agnes pulled out all the stops with this one. Essentially every stitch of this bag is either recycled or completely renewable. The shell is made from a recycled polyester ripstop fabric that includes a water-resistant treatment. Big Agnes made the lining from recycled polyester taffeta with a stain-resistant finish. Inside, the 725-fill Goose Down provides the warmth, which is completely renewable.
Bag: MontBell U.L. Super Spiral Hugger
Key Feature: Curly-Q construction
Lowdown: Several companies have experimented with different baffle styles and stretchy fabrics, but MontBell came out with something completely different. By using a combination of stretch seams and diagonal baffles, this bag wraps around your body to completely eliminate dead air space and making it warmer then regular sleeping bags. Since it has both vertical and horizontal stretch, you can still move freely and won’t feel like you’re confined inside a body bag.
Bag: Marmot Helium
Key Feature: Super light
Lowdown: In a world where everyone strives to make the lightest whatever, Marmot managed to make the lightest 15-degree sleeping bag on the planet (as of May 2010, these things change quickly). No space-age materials or anything that you’ve never heard of—just the lightest stuff available, and not too much of anything. Marmot made the shell Pertex 20D Quantum fabric and filled it with high-loft, highly compressible 850-fill down. The whole package? Two pounds.
Bag: Therm-a-Rest Haven
Key Feature: Lack of features (ultra lightweight)
Lowdown: The trend these days seems to be to come up with a new fabric or new construction to make a bag lighter. Therm-a-rest went the other way and cut out absolutely everything that wasn’t required. No overkill fabrics, no insulation on the bottom, not even a zipper. This bag is made of nothing but 700-fill down and 20D nylon. The result is a 20-degree sleeping bag that weighs only 22 ounces.
Key Feature: Heatshield Optimal Technology
Lowdown: Synthetic insulation has several drawbacks—the main among them being weight, compressibility, and durability. The Aleutian bag fixes all of these issues with Heatshield Optimal Technology insulation. Unlike traditional fibers, these ones uses hollow cores which make them lighter, allows them to compress more, and lets them spring back into shape after they are compressed. It’s about as close as you can get to down insulation without using down insulation. Plus, unlike down, it still insulates if you get it wet.
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Tags: backpacking, camping, down sleeping bags, sleeping bags