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Greenback for ounce, no a part of an ultralight backpacker’s equipment is extra pricey to chop down on weight than the sleep system. Premium down — we’re speaking 800 and even 900 fill energy — prices exponentially greater than the usual 550 fill energy down utilized in typical sleeping luggage. That can assist you make the precise alternative earlier than you drop half a grand, we examined choices from the likes of Feathered Associates, Stone Glacier, Western Mountaineering, Rab, and extra to seek out which of them carry out the very best out within the area.
How We Examined the Greatest Ultralight Sleeping Baggage
Choice
Greater than another class in ultralight backpacking, the smaller corporations making ultralight sleeping luggage are setting the bar for high quality. Outside Life was lucky sufficient to have the likes of Western Mountaineering and Feathered Associates ship us loaners for our testers to take a look at.
We pitted them towards ultralight searching manufacturers Stone Glacier and Kuiu in addition to premium mainstream manufacturers Sea to Summit and Mountain Hardwear. Ultralight backpacking mainstay Zpacks and UK-headquartered Rab rounded out our testing record.
The Testers
Outside Life conducts an annual backpacking gear testing journey that focuses on modern light-weight and ultralight backpacking gear. These testing journeys happen on America’s nationwide scenic trails, together with a 30-mile stretch of the northernmost part of the Oregon Coast Path (the place we examined the best backpacking quilts) and a 40-mile stretch alongside the Pacific Crest Path within the Goat Rocks Wilderness.
- Adam Tycaster: Over 4,000 miles of backpacking expertise, together with the PCT 2014 and CT 2017. Runs chilly.
- Alex Robinson: OL editor-in-chief; a backcountry massive sport hunter and fair-weather path runner. Runs heat.
- Ashley Thess: OL affiliate gear editor. Over 600 miles of backpacking expertise. Runs chilly.
- Diana Helmuth: Creator of Learn how to Endure Outdoors (Nationwide Outside E book Award winner). Over 1,500 miles of backpacking expertise. Runs chilly.
- Jac “Prime Shelf” Mitchel: Over 11,000 miles of backpacking expertise together with the PCT 2014, CDT 2016, AZT, 2017, and GET 2017. Runs chilly.
- Laura “Chop Chop” Lancaster: OL workers author. Over 4,000 miles of backpacking expertise, together with the PCT 2014 and CT 2017. Runs heat.
- Patrice “Regular” La Vigne: Gear reviewer, Denali information, and creator of Between Every Step. Over 7,000 miles of backpacking expertise, together with the AT 2011 and Te Araroa 2014-2015. Runs chilly.
- Sven “Magic” Anderson: 1,350-mile LASH (PCT) 2022. Mountaineering with Parkinson’s illness. Runs chilly.
Scoring
Every tester was assigned a sleeping bag based mostly on their measurement and whether or not they ran sizzling or chilly. Whereas most sleeping luggage in our take a look at have been rated between 10 to fifteen levels, a pair have been within the 25 and even 30 diploma vary. After taking copious notes within the area, the testing staff then spends a day filling out scoring sheets for every merchandise within the take a look at, together with their ultralight sleeping luggage. Testers then introduced to the group the sleeping bag they examined, together with their expertise. The group then mentioned which sleeping bag most impressed them.
Ultralight sleeping luggage have been rated on the next metrics.
- Consolation: This consists of the texture of the material towards testers’ pores and skin, and whether or not there was sufficient house for them to comfortably sleep contained in the bag.
- Heat: Testers evaluated whether or not the said temperature score matched their expectations for a restrict score. The restrict score — what is usually used for backpacking sleeping luggage — describes the bottom temperature {that a} sleeping bag could be secure to make use of.
- Inside Area: Our testers got here in all sizes and shapes and supplied suggestions as as to if the sleeping bag they slept was too massive, too small, or simply proper.
- Water Repellency: Did moisture, together with condensation occurring throughout the tent and throughout the sleeping bag, compromise the power of the right down to loft? When it did get moist, did it dry rapidly?
- Worth: Was the sleeping bag definitely worth the price ticket?
Testers additionally described their expertise with the hood of every of the beneath sleeping luggage, which was considered when figuring out the highest picks. Weight was measured independently, and consists of the supplied stuff sack. Lastly, we took value into consideration.
Comparability Desk
The consumer rankings describe the relative expertise every of our testers had with the sleeping bag they examined. An effort was made to supply people with sleeping luggage that appropriately matched their physique kind and inside thermostat. The spec comparisons desk drills down on the relative variations in value and weight, which differ considerably relying on measurement and the fill energy getting used for every sleeping bag.
Consumer Scores
Spec Comparisons
Sleeping Bag | Max Consumer Peak | Value | Weight | Fill Energy | Fill Weight | EN/ISO Examined? |
Feathered Friends Egret UL | S: 5’3” M: 5’9” |
S 20F: $589 M 20F: $609 S 30F: $529 M 30F: $549 |
S 20F: 1 lb, 9.6 oz M 20F: 1 lb, 11.2 oz S 30F: 1 lb, 7.5 oz M 30F: 1 lb, 8.8 oz |
950 fp | S 20F: 1 lb, 0.3 oz M 20F: 1 lb, 1.3 oz S 30F: 13.3 oz M 30F: 14 oz |
No |
Kuiu SuperDown Altai | M: 6’ L: 6’6” |
M 0F: $750 L 0F: $800 M 15F: $600 L 15F: $660 |
M 0F: 2 lbs, 7.3 oz L 0F: 2 lbs, 12.2 oz M 15F: 1 lb, 13.6 oz L 15F: 2 lbs, 0.4 oz |
850 fp | M 0F: 1 lb, 14 oz L 0F: 2 lbs, 1 oz M 15F: 1 lb, 3 oz L 15F: 1 lb, 6 oz |
Sure — 13F Restrict for 15F choice |
Mountain Hardwear Phantom | S: 5’8” M: 6’ L: 6’6” |
S 0F: $670 M 0F: $680 L 0F: $710 15F: $580 30F: $480 |
0F: 2 lbs, 10.6 oz 15F: 2 lbs, 1.2 oz 30F: 1 lb, 6.3 oz |
800 fp | S 0F: 1 lb, 12.4 oz M 0F: 1 lb, 14.5 oz L 0F: 2 lbs, 0.6 oz S 15F: 1 lb, 3.4 oz M 15F: 1 lb, 4.2 oz L 15F: 1 lb, 6 oz S 30F: 9.7 oz M 30F: 10.1 oz L 30F: 11 oz |
Sure — 25F Restrict for 30F choice |
Sea to Summit Spark Women’s | M: 5’7” L: 6’1” |
M 15F: $550 L 15F: $580 M 30F: $450 L 30F: $480 M 45F: $350 L 45F: $380 |
M 15F: 2 lbs, 0.8 oz L 15F: 2 lbs, 4.2 oz M 30F: 1 lb, 4.6 oz L 30F: 1 lb, 6.5 oz M 45F: 13.5 oz L 45F: 15.2 oz |
850 fp | M 15F: 1 lb, 8.2 oz L 15F: 1 lb, 11.5 oz M 30F: 13.2 oz L 30F: 15.2 oz M 45F: 7.1 oz L 45F: 8.1 oz |
Sure — 5F Restrict for 15F choice |
Stone Glacier Chilkoot | 6’5” | 0F: $650 15F: $600 |
0F: 2 lbs, 10 oz 15F: 2 lbs, 3 oz |
850 fp | 0F: 1 lb, 13.1 oz 15F: 1 lb, 6.4 oz |
Sure — 8F Restrict for 15F choice |
Rab Mythic | M: 6’1” L: 6’7” |
M 18F: $750 L 18F: $770 M 32F: $600 L 32F: $650 |
M 18F: 1 lb, 6.7 oz L 18F: 1 lb, 8.9 oz M 32F: 15.5 oz L 32F: 1 lb, 0.9 oz |
900 fp | 18F: 12.1 oz 32F: 6.3 oz |
Sure — 35F Restrict for 32F choice |
Western Mountaineering AlpinLite | S: 5’6” M: 6’ L: 6’6” XL: 7’ |
S 20F: $670 M 20F: $695 L 20F: $715 XL 20F: $730 |
S 20F: 1 lb, 13 oz M 20F: 1 lb, 15 oz L 20F: 2 lbs, 1 oz XL 20F: 2 lbs, 4 oz |
850 fp | S 20F: 1 lb, 1 oz M 20F: 1 lb, 3 oz L 20F: 1 lb 5 oz XL 20F: 1 lb, 7 oz |
Sure —14F Restrict for 20F choice |
Zpacks Classic | S: 5’6” M: 6’ L: 6’6” |
See beneath | See beneath | 900 fp | See beneath | No |
Greatest Ultralight Sleeping Baggage: Evaluations & Suggestions
Greatest for Males: Stone Glacier Chilkoot
15-degree bag examined by Adam Tycaster within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 5
- Inside Area: 4
- Water Repellency: 4
- Worth: 3
- True to temperature score
- Measured Weight of the 15-Diploma Bag: 2 kilos, 8.6 ounces (5.6 ounces greater than marketed)
- PFAS free in 2025
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 0F and 15F
- Value: $600 (15F) to $650 (0F)
- 850 fill energy
- Shell: 15D Pertex
- Size: Suits folks as much as 6 toes 5 inches
- Guarantee: Restricted lifetime
Execs
- Tender materials
- Pillowy draft collar with a mild magnetic closure
- Beneficiant invoice on a roomy hood
- Loads of room for aspect sleepers
- Nice guarantee
Cons
- Complicated zipper
- Noticeably heavier than marketed
- No choice accessible for hotter situations
- Just one top accessible that isn’t applicable for shorter people
Too typically ultralight sleeping luggage compromise inside house to chop ounces. Not solely is that this annoying for aspect sleepers, however it will possibly make it robust for heftier people to squeeze inside in any respect. So the testing staff was impressed after they noticed simply how a lot additional inside house was within the Stone Glacier Chilkoot, simply the widest choice we checked out.
Tycaster was additionally impressed by how comfy this sleeping bag was. “It felt silky and delicate,” he stated, noting that it had a, “full hood that encircles the face and felt pillowy on the forehead.” One element that stood out on the Stone Glacier Chilkoot was the magnetic closure for the draft collar, which made it straightforward to open and shut.
The one confounding a part of the Chilkoot sleeping bag for our tester was the two-way zipper. Whereas sleeping bag zippers sometimes run up alongside the left or proper edge, on the Chilkoot, it kinds extra of an arc, beginning nearer to high middle of the bag close to the consumer’s knees, arcing out to the aspect, after which curving again in the place it zips as much as the neck. Within the area, Tycaster discovered that he was struggling to zip and unzip the bag — particularly when he had rolled onto his aspect and gotten tousled in the course of the evening.
Males who’re on the shorter aspect also needs to word that the Chilkoot is barely accessible in a single size. Sleeping luggage which are excessively lengthy could really feel colder, as there may be extra extra air within the bag that must be warmed up.
Greatest for Girls: Feathered Friends Egret UL
20-degree medium bag examined by Patrice “Regular” La Vigne within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 5
- Inside Area: 4
- Water Repellency: 4
- Worth: 4
- True to temperature score
- Measured Weight of the 20-Diploma Bag: 1 kilos, 13.3 ounces (2.1 ounces greater than marketed)
- Free from deliberately added PFAS (some PFAS within the paint on the zipper pulls at current)
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 20F and 30F
- Value: $589 to $609
- 950 fill energy
- Shell: Pertex
- Size: Small matches folks as much as 5 toes 3 inches; medium matches 5 toes 9 inches
- Guarantee: Restricted lifetime
Execs
- Smaller measurement means a greater match, much less expense, and fewer weight for smaller people
- Made within the USA
- Nice guarantee
Cons
- Slipped off of the sleeping pad simply
- Misplaced a number of feathers throughout our testing journey (not from a tear)
Regular raved concerning the Feathered Associates Egret after our Goat Rocks Wilderness testing journey. She was greater than impressed with the 20F temperature score — overkill, because it turned out, for our mid-season alpine trek.
“The 20-degree Egret was cozy and comfortable,” stated Regular. “I appreciated that the two-way zipper allowed for temperature regulation. I slept with it unzipped from my toes to my waist most nights.” Regular famous that, despite the fact that it wasn’t a roomy bag, there was nonetheless loads of room for aspect sleeping. “I slept comfortably inside even with my tossing and turning, and didn’t get all twisted within the bag.”
Smaller particulars have been additionally appreciated on the Feathered Associates Egret. The hood was “kind becoming and tremendous snuggly,” and the zipper was draft free, even on the windiest evening of our take a look at. It packed right down to the scale of a loaf of bread.
“I’m extraordinarily impressed,” concluded our tester.
Greatest Improve: Western Mountaineering AlpinLite
20-degree medium bag examined by Diana Helmuth within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 4
- Inside Area: 4
- Water Repellency: 5
- Worth: 3
- Runs barely chilly
- Measured Weight of the 20-Diploma Bag: 1 pound, 15.1 ounces (0.1 ounce greater than marketed)
- Free from deliberately added PFAS
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 20F
- Value: $670 to $730
- 850 fill energy
- Shell: 12D nylon ripstop
- Size: Small matches folks 5 toes 6 inches; medium matches 6 toes; massive matches 6 toes 6 inches; XL matches 7 toes
- Guarantee: Restricted lifetime
Execs
- Obtainable in a variety of heights
- Snug width for customers throughout a spread of physique sorts
- Made within the USA
- Nice guarantee
Cons
The most costly ultralight sleeping bag we checked out greater than delivered the products so far as our tester was involved. “I might instantly inform I used to be sleeping in a premium bag,” Helmuth stated. “Like a high tier quilt — silky, lofty, deliciously heat.”
Helmuth did expertise some condensation, contained in the Zpacks Free Duo, on our trek by means of the Goat Rocks Wilderness, which impacted the sleeping bag close to the footbox. This was particularly noteworthy, as Western Mountaineering doesn’t use hydrophobic remedies on the down of their merchandise. Right here’s their rationalization for not treating down:
“We now have present in our personal testing that the efficiency enhancements of hydrophobic remedies on prime quality down are broadly overstated. Top quality untreated down already has naturally water repellant oils on it left by the geese (is sensible since geese spend a variety of time in water). These oils assist repel water and maintain down lofted. Extra importantly is that these oils final indefinitely. Hydrophobic remedies wash out like a DWR and take away the pure oils throughout the utility course of. Due to this, and the water-resistant functionality of our shell materials, we really feel that hydrophobic down doesn’t present a substantial influence on efficiency and will really inhibit efficiency over the lifetime of our merchandise.”
Whereas precise submersion is likely to be a special story, our tester was impressed with how the Western Mountaineering AlpinLite dealt with condensation. “I by no means felt it,” Helmuth reported. “It dried within the solar in lower than a minute.”
Actually the one challenge with the Western Mountaineering AlpinLite is that, per our tester, it ran barely colder than anticipated — extra consistent with the 25 consolation score it has per the EN take a look at Western Mountaineering had run on it (scroll down on their FAQs for more information on this). On our coldest evening of testing, Helmuth shook out the bag to redistribute the down, saying it made the bag really feel 10 to fifteen levels hotter.
Greatest Hoodless: Zpacks Classic
10-degree medium broad examined by Ashley Thess within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 5
- Inside Area: 5
- Water Repellency: 4
- Worth: 4
- Runs chilly
- Measured Weight: 1 kilos, 11.2 ounces (1.6 ounces greater than marketed + 0.9 ounce stuff sack)
- Freed from deliberately added PFAS
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 10F, 20F, 30F
- Value: $440 to $520
- 900 fill energy
- Shell: 7D ripstop nylon
- Size: Shorts matches 5’6”; medium first 6’; lengthy matches 6’6” (additionally has three width choices)
- Guarantee: 2 years
Execs
- Three size, three width, and three temperature score choices provides loads of customization
- Decrease priced than different choices on this record
- Very light-weight
Cons
- Temperature score runs chilly
As a result of hoods are so efficient at locking in heat air, virtually all ultralight sleeping luggage have them. However that doesn’t imply that everybody makes use of them; consumer suggestions throughout our Goat Rocks Wilderness take a look at confirmed a transparent cut up. Half the testers noticed them as indispensable. Half the testers solely used them to carry their pillows in place. Personally, I discover them a bit annoying as I’m without end waking as much as discover I’ve twisted the hood right into a distracting place. If I have to maintain my head heat at evening, I’ll throw on one of many best down jackets with a hood.
Whereas OL affiliate editor Ashley Thess could have found that she is the staunchly pro-hood camp throughout her take a look at of the Zpacks traditional sleeping bag, she got here away impressed by nearly each different element. The zipper that went right down to the footbed made it a cinch to get into the broad medium — which she discovered to be wider than needed for her normal body — with simply the precise variety of clasps and bungees to maintain every thing in place.
“I used to be so comfy,” reported Thess. “Nice pores and skin really feel and the most important vary of movement of any sleeping bag I’ve ever examined.” It’s price noting that whereas the Zpacks Traditional makes use of a 7D material for the shell, there have been no tears throughout our take a look at.
Lastly, the sheer vary of customization accessible for the Zpacks Traditional sleeping bag is spectacular, and essential for ultralight backpackers. Getting a good measurement and match can imply substantial weight and financial financial savings, because the beneath desk demonstrates.
Zpacks Traditional Dimension | Temperature Ranking | Value | Weight | Fill Weight |
Slim Quick | 10 | $440 | 1 lb, 4.5 oz | 15.6 oz |
Size: 68” | 20 | $420 | 1 lb, 0.6 oz | 12 oz |
Width: 55” | 30 | $400 | 12.3 oz | 7.8 oz |
Slim Medium | 10 | $460 | 1 lb, 5.7 oz | 1 lb, 0.6 oz |
Size: 74” | 20 | $440 | 1 lb, 1.3 oz | 12.7 oz |
Width: 55” | 30 | $420 | 13 oz | 8.3 oz |
Commonplace Quick | 10 | $460 | 1 lb, 5.9 oz | 1 lb, 0.8 oz |
Size: 68” | 20 | $450 | 1 lb, 1.8 oz | 12.9 oz |
Width: 60” | 30 | $420 | 13.1 oz | 8.4 oz |
Commonplace Medium | 10 | $480 | 1 lb, 7.2 oz | 1 lb, 1.8 oz |
Size: 74” | 20 | $460 | 1 lb, 2.2 oz | 13.7 oz |
Width: 60” | 30 | $440 | 13.8 oz | 8.9 oz |
Commonplace Lengthy | 10 | $500 | 1 lb, 8.5 oz | 1 lb, 2.8 oz |
Size: 80” | 20 | $480 | 1 lb, 3.8 oz | 14.4 oz |
Width: 60” | 30 | $460 | 14.5 oz | 9.4 oz |
Broad Medium | 10 | $500 | 1 lb, 8.7 oz | 1 lb, 3 oz |
Size: 74” | 20 | $480 | 1 lb, 4 oz | 14.6 oz |
Width: 65” | 30 | $460 | 14.6 oz | 9.5 oz |
Broad Lengthy | 10 | $520 | 1 lb, 9.9 oz | 1 lb, 4 oz |
Size: 80” | 20 | $500 | 1 lb, 5 oz | 15.4 oz |
Width: 65” | 30 | $480 | 15.4 oz | 10 oz |
Lightest: Rab Mythic
32-degree common examined by Laura “Chop Chop” Lancaster within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 4
- Inside Area: 3
- Water Repellency: 4
- Worth: 4
- Runs chilly
- Measured Weight of the 32-Diploma Bag: 1 pound, 1.5 ounces (2 ounces greater than marketed)
- PFAS free
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 18F and 32F
- Value: $600 (32F) to $770 (18F)
- 900 fill energy
- Shell: 10D nylon
- Size: Common matches folks up 6 toes 1 inch, lengthy matches as much as 6 toes 6 inches
- Guarantee: Restricted lifetime
Execs
- The lightest sleeping bag we examined
- Very small packed measurement
- Nice guarantee
Cons
- Considerably colder than marketed
- Troublesome to get into
No ultralight sleeping bag raised extra eyebrows in our take a look at than the Rab Mythic. Packed up, it regarded about half the scale of the opposite choices we examined, and it had the burden to match. However it additionally regarded lots much less substantial than the others.
As a result of I are inclined to run heat, I examined the 32F model of this sleeping bag, which has solely 6.3 ounces of 900 fill energy down. Evaluate that to the Mountain Hardwear Phantom 30F, which has 10.1 ounces of down. The rationale the Rab Mythic thinks it will possibly get away with a 3rd much less down is that it’s utilizing a brand new type of material within the liner created from a nylon yarn handled with titanium. The thought is that it’s purported to mirror warmth again to the consumer, type of like an area blanket.
All issues thought-about, this really labored fairly properly. I wasn’t fairly as heat as I anticipated to be (or wished to be) for the 32F temperature score, however I used to be definitely a lot hotter than I anticipated to be trying on the Rab Mythic. If I had snagged the 18F model relatively than the 32F model, I think I’d have been toasty, even on our coldest evening of testing. Because it was, I slept in my puffer jacket that evening and did simply high quality.
Sometimes the excessive price of excessive fill-power down is what drives up the value of hotter sleeping luggage — this is without doubt one of the few classes the place you’ll pay extra for the longer model of a product and fewer for the shorter model. So I used to be shocked that, regardless of the comparative lack of down within the Rab Mythic, the value level was nonetheless as excessive or increased than different choices we examined. For now, this one is greatest fitted to excessive ultralighters who know they run sizzling.
Sea to Summit Spark Women’s
15-degree common examined by Jac “Prime Shelf” Mitchell within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 4
- Inside Area: 2
- Water Repellency: 4
- Worth: 4
- True to temperature score
- Measured Weight of the Common 15-Diploma Bag: 2 kilos, 3.8 ounces (3 ounces greater than marketed)
- No info supplied on PFAS content material
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 15F, 30F, and 45F
- Value: $350 (45F) to $580 (15F)
- 850 fill energy
- Shell: 10D nylon
- Size: Common matches as much as 5 toes 7 inches, lengthy matches as much as 6 toes 1 inch
- Guarantee: Restricted lifetime
Execs
Cons
- Slim profile
- Runs brief
Whereas the Sea to Summit Spark Girls’s saved our tester heat by means of the coldest evening of our backpacking gear take a look at, it didn’t stand out for consolation or inside house in comparison with different choices that we checked out. For the ladies’s model of this bag, Sea to Summit altered the design to have narrower shoulders and more room on the hips. Sadly, for our tester, there wasn’t sufficient room left on the toes, which restricted her vary of movement. This one additionally runs a bit brief in comparison with different sleeping luggage we checked out — if you’re near the higher restrict for top then think about sizing up.
All that being stated, the Sea to Summit Spark Girls’s is competitively priced in comparison with others that we checked out, making it a superb guess for dedicated again sleepers with common to slim shoulders.
Mountain Hardwear Phantom
15-degree common examined by Sven “Magic” Anderson within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 3
- Inside Area: 3
- Water Repellency: 4
- Worth: 3
- Runs barely chilly
- Measured Weight of the 15-Diploma Bag: 2 kilos, 4.5 ounces (3.4 ounces greater than marketed)
- No info supplied on PFAS content material
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 0F, 15F, and 30F
- Value: $480 (30F) to $710 (0F)
- 800 fill energy
- Shell: 15D nylon ripstop
- Size: Small matches as much as 5 toes 8 inches, medium matches up 6 toes, lengthy matches up 6 toes 6 inches
- Guarantee: Restricted lifetime
Execs
- Competitively priced
- Good pores and skin really feel
- Nice guarantee
Cons
The Mountain Hardwear Phantom is a well-priced ultralight sleeping bag that will get the job executed. Whereas a few of the options — such because the draft collar and hood — have been extra minimal than different choices we checked out, they saved our tester lots heat throughout the testing journey within the Goat Rocks Wilderness.
Magic additionally gave the pores and skin really feel the very best potential reward, which is that he barely observed it.
Kuiu SuperDown Altai
15-degree lengthy bag examined by Alex Robinson within the Goat Rocks Wilderness
Report Card
- Consolation: 4
- Inside Area: 4
- Water Repellency: 4
- Worth: 3
- True to temperature score
- Measured Weight: 2 kilos, 1.7 ounces (1.3 ounces greater than marketed)
- Does comprise PFAS
Key Options
- Temperature Ranking: 15F
- Value: $600 to $660
- 850 fill energy
- Shell: 7D ripstop nylon
- Size: Common matches 6 toes 6 inches; lengthy matches 6 toes 6 inches
- Guarantee: Restricted lifetime
Execs
- The tallest sleeping bag in our take a look at
- Surprisingly light-weight
- Nice guarantee
Cons
- Narrower than different choices we examined
- Tear within the 7D shell occurred throughout testing
Even above treeline, with a constant breeze operating throughout the remaining snow patches within the Cascades, the Kuiu SuperDown Altai was too heat for OL editor-in-chief Alex Robinson. However he was nonetheless impressed with some key particulars. A glow-in-the-dark pull was helpful for getting out and in of the bag at evening. The hood was plush and cozy. And the tall was fairly tall — when 6-foot-1 Robinson confirmed us how a lot additional room there was above his head within the lengthy, it was clear it will undoubtedly match a consumer as much as 6-foot-6. (When you’re even taller than that, try our greatest improve picks, which fits as much as 7 toes tall).
Sadly, the Kuiu SuperDown Altai was the one sleeping bag in our take a look at to endure a tear, at one of many snap-button connection factors.
Learn how to Select the Greatest Ultralight Sleeping Bag
The R Worth of Your Sleeping Pad
Many sleeping bag customers don’t fear concerning the R worth of their sleeping pad, assuming that the pad is there for consolation, and that it’s their sleeping bag preserving them heat. However the sleeping bag insulation that’s beneath your physique is just not offering the identical stage of heat as the remainder of your bag. That’s as a result of it’s not the insulation itself that’s preserving you heat a lot as the nice and cozy air trapped inside the insulation (the “loft”), which serves as a buffer to the surface temperature. The insulation that you’re mendacity on has no loft (your physique is squashing it), and so gives considerably much less heat. It doesn’t present no insulation, in the identical manner that an unlofted puffer jacket isn’t precisely nugatory, but it surely’s nowhere close to as efficient.
Learn Subsequent: What Is R Value? It’s Why Your Sleeping Bag Doesn’t Keep You Warm
The R worth of a backpacking sleeping pad refers to its capability to “resist” temperature transference from one aspect of the pad to the opposite. Larger R values imply higher resistance, with an R worth of 1 usually referring to little to no resistance, 4 being the extent of resistance essential to benefit from the full temperature score of your sleeping bag, and seven+ being what most individuals ought to carry for winter tenting.
Learn Subsequent: The Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads
That is particularly essential for shoulder season and alpine backpacking because the temperature of the bottom at altitude will are inclined to lag behind the surface air temperature. So even when the air temperature round you is, say, 40 levels, that doesn’t imply that’s the temperature of the bottom. A 4 R worth is right for prime elevation summer time actions.
Temperature Ranking
Sleeping luggage sometimes promote their “restrict” rankings — the temperature at which they are often safely used, however not the temperature at which you’ll nonetheless be heat (the “consolation” score). Within the above story, we handled all diploma rankings as in the event that they have been restrict rankings for standardization functions after which supplied our tackle whether or not they ran sizzling, chilly, or true to temperature.
Most individuals ought to select a restrict score for his or her sleeping bag that’s 20 levels decrease than their lowest anticipated temperature. So, in the event you anticipate in a single day lows to achieve 50 levels, order a 30-degree ultralight sleeping bag. When you anticipate they are going to hit 30 levels, order a 10-degree ultralight sleeping bag. (Be aware that if a sleeping bag lists a consolation score, that’s often 10 to fifteen levels hotter than the restrict score.) With expertise, you’ll study in the event you run hotter or colder, and may regulate accordingly.
Fill
Ultralight sleeping luggage are created from down for one easy purpose: It nonetheless has superior warmth-to-weight ratios in comparison with artificial fill. With down, the upper the fill energy the much less you’ll want to achieve your required temperature score, and thus the much less your ultralight sleeping bag will weigh. The distinction between, say 850 fill energy and 950 fill energy for an ultralight sleeping bag would possibly solely be a few ounces, however price upwards of $100. Contemplate your priorities when selecting which one is the precise choose for you.
Ultralight sleeping luggage are by no means created from artificial insulation as artificial is just not capable of obtain the heat for weight properties of high-grade down. The perfect artificial insulation is about 600 fill energy, whereas the ultralight sleeping luggage we checked out began at 800 fill energy.
Materials
The vast majority of ultralight sleeping luggage use nylon to encase the down, typically with a DWR (sturdy water repellent) end on the a part of the sleeping luggage that’s uncovered to the surface air (the shell). The place most differ is within the thickness of the nylon — measured in denier (D) — which may be anyplace from 7D as much as 20D. Thicker supplies will are usually extra sturdy over time (and will lead to much less pure down loss), whereas thinner supplies will contribute to an general decrease weight. Which one is best for you is a matter of non-public choice.
Storage
Ultralight sleeping luggage sometimes include stuff sacks for journey, but it surely’s not needed to make use of this characteristic. In actual fact, you’ll be able to skip the stuff sack totally and squash your ultralight sleeping bag to the underside of your bag earlier than piling different gadgets on high (simply watch out that you just don’t snag something in your bag). It’s greatest to place your ultralight sleeping bag in a bigger storage sack at dwelling, as compressing the down long-term will shorten its usable lifespan.
FAQs
The mum model of sleeping bag — so referred to as as a result of it seems to be a bit like a sarcophagus — is the simplest form for locking in heat and preserving the burden down. It minimizes additional house across the footbox and throughout the size of your physique and blocks drafts from escaping on the face opening. For some folks, this can be a comfy sufficient approach to sleep; others discover it much less so. One other challenge with this model of sleeping bag is that it sometimes doesn’t provide sufficient width to accommodate massive people. We’ve famous above which sleeping luggage provide vast sizing choices or naturally run vast.
Ultralight sleeping luggage are ridiculously costly — the “most cost-effective” choice we checked out was $500. That’s a whole lot of {dollars} greater than you’ll spend on the very best ultralight tent or ultralight backpack. So what provides?
Learn Subsequent: Down vs. Synthetic Sleeping Bags
It’s the down. Goose and duck down are rated by fill energy, which measures how a lot quantity a single ounce of down takes up. That’s essential as a result of the explanation down is heat within the first place is that it traps air inside its plumes, making a barrier between your physique and the chilly exterior air. The extra air a plume of down can seize, the higher it will possibly protect you from the chilly, and the much less of it it is advisable keep heat. And it’s at all times down we’re speaking about relating to ultralight sleeping luggage; a minimum of for now, synthetics don’t have the mandatory heat to weight efficiency.
Learn Subsequent: Primaloft vs Down
Most down utilized in industrial merchandise is within the 550 fill energy vary, which signifies that an oz. of down will refill 550 cubic inches when absolutely lofted. This high quality of down is usually harvested from geese and geese after they’ve been slaughtered for consumption. The down utilized in ultralight sleeping luggage is usually within the 800 to 900 fill energy vary. This down is usually solely discovered on mature geese, saved as breeding livestock. As a result of the down can solely be ethically harvested on the finish of the animal’s life, high-fill energy is significantly rarer — and thus extra a lot costly — than decrease fill energy down.
How heat a 20-degree sleeping bag is will rely upon a number of issues. The primary is what the sleeping bag producer means by 20 levels. Some imply that you’ll survive temperatures down to twenty levels; others imply that you can be heat and cozy at that temperature. The previous is described as a restrict score whereas the latter is described as a consolation score. For extra doubtful producers, such as you would possibly discover at Walmart, 20 levels is extra aspirational (and virtually definitely not third-party examined). The opposite essential issue is you: Some folks run very chilly and can want extra insulation to remain heat at 20 levels than others.
Remaining Ideas
An incredible ultralight sleeping bag is usually a lifetime funding, if handled with care. The beneath picks have been all path examined side-by-side with an skilled crew of backpackers. We’re assured that any of them would serve you properly for years to come back.