Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat price on a great bag, especially for sleeping in the HEAT
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2019
I am going to try and leave as thorough a review on this as possible, so I'll summarize the pros and cons first for those who dont want to read an essay and then dive deeper below.
This is an excellent sleeping bag IF you are car camping or hiking with another person you plan on sharing a tent with.
PROS
-For the price it's an absolute bargain. It's well made, the materials are good, and the customer service is next level
-The compressed bag is a lot lighter than I expected it to be
-You can make two individual sleeping bags out of it, OR
-you can have a single sleeping bag and a very plush insulating layer below you.
-The outline of the bag fits our tent (a Nemo Galxi 2p) perfectly width-wise and leaves a few inches at your head or feet for gear, etc.
-I was really impressed with the compression bag. Since I'll only ever be using the whole kit as a car camping setup, and can divide a solo bag into another stuff sack for hiking, I decided I wouldn't mind breaking the compression bag. No luck. And I tried. Even the build quality of the bag is nice.
-You will sleep FINE in warm weather. Or hot. Or chilly.
-The fabric feels nice against the skin on the inside, it wicks moisture and the exterior fabric is quieter than other bags I've slept in of the same weight and specs. It's more comfortable than flannel, I feel, and if you really want to get luxurious buy a silk liner. But I doubt you'll need it.
-The zippers are as quiet as a zipper can get, I dont understand why that's a issue for many people anyway. If you cant sleep through the sound of a zipper after a day of hiking maybe camping isnt for you. I just like that they havent snagged.
CONS
-Packed in the included bag it's not big (nor is it small by any means), it isnt bulky. It's just...awkward? Almost as long as it is big around the pack would look like a giant Chipotle burrito if you painted it silver. Again, I'm fine with that because it lives in the hatch of a car- but how to comfortably lash it to a backpack without dividing it between two people to create two smaller profiles? Your guess is as good as mine.
-The pillows. I think it is very thoughtful they were included with the bag. But they're really bad. Like, a partially-inflated-boxed-wine-bag-would-be-better kind of bad. Again, I'm totally okay with that, because I didnt buy this for the free pillows, I bought it for the awesome bag, which really delivered. Just dont get your hopes up for the pillows. Again, a very nice touch to throw in and I applaud that.
As for the full review, I'm going to start by saying that I bought this bag AFTER checking out a couple others at REI. They were all nice and this bag was the only one I didnt see in person. It was also a fraction if the cost, and I'm very happy I ordered it. If you are a casual camper, or a car camper, or even an RVer who likes to curl up in a large sleeping bag when lounging, this is THE bag. Its soft. It doesn't get damp. It doesn't make noise or crinkle. You can turn it to one side or the other to adjust your preferred insulation level, which is genius.
What this bag does that others may not (and in the case of least one other bag I checked out in person KNOW will not do) is offer a comfortable nights sleep in hot weather. Not warm; hot. We love our nemo galaxi tent but it is not ventilated as well as others, and we set up camp in middle PA recently, right as a heat wave rolled in and light drizzle from mid night to early morning with temperatures fluctuating from upper 80s to mid 70s caught us. This bag performed admirably in that weather, which is hard to come by, and even more so in a bag designed for 2. My wife is a hot sleeper, and I like to sleep on the cooler end of the spectrum. Two of us, in a giant sandwich bag, inside a giant inverted Tupperware container with the lid cracked left in the heat all day and we bothered slept just fine. The bag did a superb job at regulating the temperature all night. At one point I was getting hot so I just unzipped my side a bit to vent some heat. You can tell just by feel which side is more heavily insulated and I dont doubt it will perform equally well in cooler weather. Also, just for kicks, I unzipped the bag and rezipped it into two separate bags, stacking the warmer insulation under the cooler one. Then I went to sleep on my hardwood floors (with a real pillow) and slept well all night. So it is comfortable. The material inside the bag gave me pause at first- it felt cheaper than I give it credit for when I first opened the package. But after having slept in it I really like it and can appreciate how well it breathes and wicks away moisture.
As for weight, keep in mind it's the equivalent of two sizable single bags combined, dont expect it to weigh half as much as it does. Unfurled and spread out on the floor of a tent, you realize how light it truly is. And that's just one more bonus- this sleeping bag perfectly covers the floor of just about every 2p tent. Which can save the floor of your tent. And gives you a solid layer of padding to relax on when you arent sleeping. I'd much rather tear and repair this bag than my tent, which costs more.
All in all, if you're new to camping and want to take your significant other into the wilds for a romantic and intimate evening, buy this bag. If you're a seasoned camper and just dont want to isolate yourself from that special someone in separate bags, buy this one. If you car camp and crave a great nights sleep in the heat or in the cool, buy this bag. If you like great camping gear but cringe at the sticker shock pricing of big name brands, buy this bag. And lastly, if you want something different, well made, and that holds up to abuses of the elements while offering comfort and that touch of luxury the great outdoors so often lacks, buy this bag.
