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ZPacks Sleeping Bag 40* and 20*


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Home Forums Commerce Reader Reviews ZPacks Sleeping Bag 40* and 20*

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  • #1292328
    Stephen Barber
    BPL Member

    @grampa

    Locale: SoCal

    This is the side sleepers dream bag!

    The bags are filled with 900 fill power goose down, outer shell is green .95 oz/sq yd Pertex Quantum ripstop nylon, and the liner is black .67 oz/sq yd nylon. The bag comes with a cuben dry bag for a stuff sack.

    Joe lists the zipper as being on the back, under a back sleeper, but I consider it to be on the front, running from my chin through my navel. I am a confirmed side sleeper, and most bags have the zipper on one side, which means I'm either laying on it (uncomfortable), or it's on the top leaking warmth. I asked Joe to put two draft tubes on mine, which do a great job of sealing the zipper from either side.

    The bag does not have a draft collar; instead it just cinches down with a thin bungie. The toggle for this is at the back of the neck, as I use it. This was a minor problem to tighten or loosen it, but I usually just leave it at the same level of snugness, so there wasn't any real problem. With the separate down hood (see below) there was no perceptible warm air leakage.

    I've observed that while sleeping on my side, I'm usually in a semi-fetal position. This seems to eat both bag length and width, so while I am 5' 10", I choose a wide&long model, which was ideal.

    The bag does not have a hood. Instead Joe offers a down hood in the same fabrics and fill as the bags. I really like this arrangement! In every hooded bag, I seem to end up with my face in the hood, breathing through the nylon and down – not good! Now the hood always turns with me, even when I rotate inside the bag (doesn't happen very often, but it's irritating when it does).Even with my large head (7 1/2), the hood slips on and off easily, though never accidentally. It also has a cord to tighten it around the face.

    Finally, while this is technically a bag (the zipper thing), it's easily unzipped to function as a quilt. Yes, the hood still works!

    I have a 40* bag, and a slightly overfilled 20* bag – I think of it as a 15* bag. I've had the 40* bag out in 40* nights and slept toasty warm. It's perfect for summer hikes in the Sierra – a down sweater would take it down another 10* easily, if needed. I haven't tested the 15* bag to its limits, but I have no worries about it.

    I am very happy with these bags, and expect to be using them for years to come.

    #2205002
    Jeffrey Wong
    BPL Member

    @kayak4water

    Locale: Pacific NW

    I have the 20 deg bag, wide, regular length (I'm 5' 8"), no draft tube for the zipper. It comes with a Cuben fiber roll top stuff sack. Fill power for the down is 900 in^3 per ounce. AT the time I ordered in April 2015, I couldn't get it with water resistant down. Mine weighs about 20 oz. A cord-locked shock cord brings the top around my neck, keeping the warm in.

    Pretty much as written above. Mine has a center release buckle at the top of the zipper to keep it from unzipping on its own during the night. I sleep with the zipper centered right under me–I'm aware of the need to keep the zipper in place when I turn during the night. I had made my own synthetic fill hood for use with a Ray Jardine quilt, so I know how to use this sleeping bag–I wear the hood while breaking camp in the a.m. The temperature rating is quite accurate for me. I even took it down to the teens one night, but my toes got a little cold, because the bag doesn't have a foot box. If I jam myself into the bag, my toes tent the sleeping bag, reducing the insulation. The next cold night, I shoved a reflective mylar emergency blanket into the bag. That made my feet toasty warm, and as a vapor barrier, kept the bag completely dry and free of any condensation from insensitive water loss. I'd deduct a half star for lack of a foot box, but the mylar blanket worked well.

    I like this bag far better than the weightier Marmot Hydrogen, which really didn't keep me warm to 30 degrees.

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