ultralight sleeping bag reviews

The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35-Degree sleeping bag.

Review: Sierra Designs Cloud 35 Sleeping Bag

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Ultralight Sleeping Bag
Sierra Designs Cloud 35
$300, 1 lb. 7 oz. (men’s regular)
Sizes: men’s regular and long (35- and 20-degree), women’s 20-degree (one size)
sierradesigns.com

Mummy-style sleeping bags deliver high warmth efficiency for their weight because they trap heat so well—but can sometimes feel like they’re trapping you inside, too. Backpacking quilts mimic the feeling of sleeping under a comforter at home, but may too easily let cold air underneath on chilly nights outdoors. With its zipperless design and integrated comforter in the bag’s upper half, the Sierra Designs Cloud 35 bag achieves the strengths of mummies and quilts without their weaknesses.

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The Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32 sleeping bag.

Review: Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32 Sleeping Bag

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Ultralight Sleeping Bag
Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32
$400, 1 lb. 9 oz. (regular)
Sizes: unisex small, regular, and long
moosejaw.com

It was an amazing spot to sleep under the stars for our last night on an early-April backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon: perched on a plateau high above the Inner Gorge of the Colorado River, gazing across the canyon at the Tonto Plateau and South Rim. We waited until dusk had nearly faded to darkness to lay out our sleeping bags atop our completely exposed, flat cowboy-camping ledges, hoping the relentless, strong wind would abate with evening’s arrival and not threaten to launch our bags to New Mexico—but it didn’t. So I burrowed inside my Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32 for warmth—and only opened my eyes once or twice briefly during the night, enough to glimpse the brilliant glow of the Milky Way.

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Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 sleeping bag.

Review: Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 Sleeping Bag

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Winter Sleeping Bag
Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0
$680, 2 lbs. 9 oz./1162g (regular, 72-inch)
Sizes: short, regular, long
backcountry.com

The forecast made me sit up and wonder: Will my bag be warm enough? For the three nights in late December that I planned to spend in a tent in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, lows would drop into the teens and single digits Fahrenheit—slipping below the “comfort” rating and approaching the “limit” rating of my Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0. And this on my maiden voyage with the bag; I had not used it yet. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about with this extraordinarily warm and packable, ultralight winter sleeping bag.

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The Sierra Designs Nitro Quilt.

Review: Sierra Designs Nitro Ultralight Backpacking Quilt

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Ultralight Backpacking Quilt Sierra Designs Nitro Quilt 35/20 35-degree: $250, 1 lb. 5 oz. 20-degree: $280, 1 lb. 11 oz. Women’s 20-degree: $340, 1 lb. 11 oz. One size in each model sierradesigns.com For some backpackers, taking a quilt instead of a sleeping bag for multiple nights in the backcountry may seem risky—what if it’s not warm enough? In reality, …

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Feathered Friends Hummingbird UL 30 sleeping bag.

Review: Feathered Friends Hummingbird and Egret UL Sleeping Bags

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Ultralight Sleeping Bags Feathered Friends Hummingbird UL and Egret UL 30/20 $609, 1 lb. 5 oz. (men’s regular 30-degree) Sizes: men’s regular and long, women’s small and medium featheredfriends.com Sleeping bags often look very much alike—until you spend a night inside one and carry it in a backpack. That’s when the differences emerge, and besides price, those differences generally fall …

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