Gear We’ve Tried
Summertime Sleeping Bags
Three bags to keep you warm—but not sweltering—this summer By Allison Woods
The idea of “needing” multiple sleeping bags for different conditions may seem repugnant to some, but for those of us who like to pack light when the mercury climbs, or carry along a sleeping bag on some of our travel adventures, these ultralight little bags are just the ticket. We looked for bags that fell in the 40-45 degree range, and for some consistency in the test, all of the bags included are filled with down.
Kelty Light Year 45
$130 Unisex Temperature Rating: 45° Insulation: 650-fill power goose down Fill weight: 10 oz Total weight: 1 lb 12 oz Stuffed size: 7” x 11”
The Good: This bag has a zipper that we couldn’t snag, whether getting up for a late-night loo trip, or when using the bag as an extra layer around the campfire. The hood is well-constructed, and the differential drawcords are easy to manage. Differential drawcords have a different type of cord (e.g flat) for the hood adjustment than for the chin (e.g. round), which makes it much easier to fiddle with the hood while half asleep. The bag includes lots of handy-dandy little loops for attaching sleeping pad and www.wta.org
other odds and ends. The three-quarter-length zipper is completely appropriate to the bag style. Also, it has an incredibly good price. The Bad: This bag doesn’t have the ‘“drape” of the other two bags reviewed. We’re not sure if it’s the fill or the shell fabric that’s causing this, but we had problems with cold spots in the bag. Sewn-through baffles compound this problem and make it a bit on the chilly side. If a sleeping bag has sewn-through baffles, the baffle sections just have a row of stitching in between, rather than a sewn-in wall. It’s a method that’s less expensive and less warm. “Huh?” The Light Year 45 has a zipper in the footbox. This is a great feature on bags rated for lower temperatures, but in this case, it seems needless. Light in the pack and light on the wallet: The Kelty Light Year 45 weighs just 1 pound 12 ounces and provides good insulation up to 45 degrees. These one-season bags are meant for not-too-cold backpacking conditions or perhaps in a hostel in Kathmandu.
August 2007
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Gear We’ve Tried
Sierra Designs Topaz
$159/$174 long Women’s Temperature Rating: 45° Insulation: 600-fill power goose down Fill weight: 13 oz/15 oz Total weight: 2 lb/2 lb 3 oz Stuffed size: 7” x 17”
The Good: This bag i s c udd ly. It’s cuddly as a bunny. There’s some kind of magic here, whether it’s the fabric or the fill.It’s lofty and you’ll want to wear it like a cape. The Topaz also has a big ol’ draft tube and a full-length zipper. There’s a little zippered pocket up by the hood for headlamp and earplugs. It also has a sleeping pad attachment system and a hanging loop for airing out the bag. A very comfortable bag that was a hit with all of the testers, even the men. We all appreciated the constructed baffles and had zero problems with cold spots. The Bad: This bag lacks differential drawcords. It’s such a simple thing to include, it’s always surprising to see them left off. In all fairness, my personal bag is a Feathered Friends that cost more than my car payment, and it doesn’t have them either. The mondo draft tube should cause the zipper to snag, but it doesn’t, due to a clever system to keep the tube and the zipper from getting too WASHINGTON TRAILS
familiar. So that’s not really bad, it just might have been bad. The little stuffed draft collar along the hood section is extraneous. “Huh?” The SD Topaz is a thoughtfully designed bag with excellent fit and good features. There’s nothing weird about this one. Truly a bag with mass appeal.
MontBell U.L. Super Stretch Down Hugger #5
$235/$255 long Unisex Temperature Rating: 40° Insulation: 800-fill power goose down Fill weight: 6 oz. Total weight: 1 lb 2 oz. Stuffed size: 4.8” x 9.5”
cold spots. It’s as light as a potato chip, and packs down tiny. That bag went to Alaska Lake with me the other day in a small compression sack, and there was room for another bag in there. I’m not kidding. The Bad: An ultralight bag can take some getting used to. On the face of it, this bag looks far too flimsy to keep a person warm to 40 degrees. Plus, $235 is a lot of money for a specialized bag, though the success of this bag is based largely on its (expensive) components. This bag also lacks a differential drawcord, a serious omission on a top-flight bag. “Huh?” There’s a drawcord across the footbox. It seems weird, but it does make this bag usable for shorter people. WTA’s own Lace Thornberg is on the petite size and is very happy with her unisex Montbell bag with the “bag shrinker” drawcord. Taller people might consider removing this feature.
The Sierra Designs Topaz is cuddly for a 45 degree bag. Our testers had no problems with cold spots. This is a thoughtfully designed bag that has no obvious drawbacks.
The Good: T h e a w kward ly-t it led U.L. Super Stretch Down Hugger #5 is a purist’s fantasy sleeping bag. Weighing in at just over a pound, this bag relies on 800-fill power down, fully constructed baffles, and thin elastic to keep you snug as the proverbial bug in a rug. The elastic’s quite clever. It’s sewn in along the baffles and very gently (you won’t notice it) holds the bag slightly closer to you, eliminating August 2007
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Gear We’ve Tried
Sleep Tight, You Big Klutz! Cascade Designs ToughSkin sleeping pad Two sizes, $120/$100 I’ve spent many a night on a flat sleeping pad after dragging said pad across sharp pointy rocks all evening. Most inflatable pads are fairly fragile and can’t be mistreated. Fo r t u n a t e l y Cascade Designs has a solution. Enter the ToughSkin pad. Just like the name suggests, this pad can take some serious abuse. I’ve been using one all summer and haven’t put so much as a nick in it—the thing just seems indestructible. It’s only a few ounces and a few dollars more than a standard pad,
and has the R-value (that’s fancyspeak for insulative properties) of CDI’s four season pad series. If you find yourself sleeping outside on a pad more flat than fat, get a Toughskin and get some sleep!—A.W.
It’s pricey, but the Tough-Skin sleeping pad from Cascade Designs is virtually indestructible.
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MontBell’s U.L. Super Stretch Down Hugger #5 manages to get 40 degrees of insulation into a bag that weighs just over a pound. This is the perfect bag for ultralight backpackers—incredibly, it compresses down to the size of a large orange. It’s expensive, but for those seeking to seriously downsize their pack weight, the Down Hugger is a winner.
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Neat Stuff!
August 2007
Keep your electrolytes in balance with dissolvable tablets from nuun.
nuun hydration tablets tube of 12 tabs $6.50 When hiking in the hot hot heat of late summer, it’s always wise to augment your water consumption with electrolytes. Volumes have been written on the subject already, so just take my word for it. These hydration tablets offer a simple and effective way to do just that. Simply drop one fizzy tablet in 16 ounces of water, wait a moment, and drink away. The tablets now come in four flavors. I’ve tried all but the cola, and they taste good, quite good, matter of fact, for a sugar-free electrolyte replacement. The tablets come in a handy tube, so there’s no little bits of waste to contend with on the trail. The tube (not the top, there’s a dessicant in there) is recyclable, at least in Seattle, where I live. For more information on the benefits of electrolyte replacement (and a bit more on nuun) check out their website at www. nuun.com. —A.W.
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