Stoic Bags?

[Jason Cravens]

I am in the market for a new bag. I am looking at the usual suspects. I want a 30-35* bag and had narrowed down my search to the WM Highlite and the MB Spiral Hugger #3. I am really looking to save some weight compared to my current 41 ounce 6-7 year old bag.

With that in mind, I seen the Stoic Somnus 30 while browsing backcountry.com. Anyone have any experience using the bag and/or how it compares to the other two?

Jason

[Max Dilthey]

The Stoic merino wool shirt I got disintegrated. The Stoic TI pot I got is fantastic. Stoic seems to be an interesting mixed-bag of product quality. I can tell you the seams on thje t-shirt that tore to pieces were unimpressive… I was not a fan. I have not bought a down anorak from Stoic because of how unsuccessful I was with this technical garment.

If I were you, I would not trust an expensive item to Stoic. But, I could also see the bag being an incredible value.

[Jared Baker]

I missed out on a great deal on one a while back and am kicking myself for it. So, while I cannot speak from personal experience, I did find the following thread.

It seems that the general consensus is that it is a great bag, especially for the price.

Stoic Somnus

Also, if you decide to get it from Backcountry.com and don't like it, they have an excellent return policy.

[diego dean]

I have a stoic somnus bag, I think its rated to 20. Its a very nice bag and I find the quality excellent, especially for what they cost. It packs down small and the temperature rating seems spot on. I think that the stoic bags and golite quilts offer some phenominal value for what you get compared to some other high priced bags.

[Jason Cravens]

thanks for the replies.

It appears to be a very good value at that price. I have always wanted a WM bag, but could never pull the trigger at their prices. I can afford one now, although the prices are still fairly high, but the weight savings and positive reviews are substantial.

Decisions decisions….

[Jared Baker]

If money isn't really a concern, I was always taught to by the best quality you can afford.

Of course, you could always buy the Stoic and use the extra funds to upgrade other gear.

[Michael Gillenwater]

I have the 30 deg Somnus and used it over about 10 nights here in the Cascades down into freezing temps. Definitely needed some layers to be comfortable in it, but I was pushing the bag. It is an awesome deal, especially if you can get it for 50% plus on Steep and Cheep like I did. I like the center zip (actually I would not mind no zip). Quality is good. But note, mine came in well over the spec weight (by 4oz). 23.9oz rather than the 20oz listed by Backcountry.com for the regular (without stuff sack). I emailed noted this in a review but got no feedback. Given the price I paid, I did not return or complain, but do note that it is not as light as they claim.

[Jason Cravens]

I think I have decided. I have always wanted a WM bag and I think I will go that direction. Thanks for all the input.

[Scott Hayden]

Are the Stoic bags still available? They are out of stock on the website and I think I saw something that said the Stoic brand is being discontinued. I am just starting a sleeping bag search and this one popped up.

[Konrad .]

Max,

What went wrong with the stoic shirt?

I have 3 from the "backcountry.com" era of branding before they renamed themselves stoic, and all 3 are still ticking today.

The stoic Hadron down anorak kicks *ss man! Same quality as my montbell UL jacket. Also, backcountry should back their products if you really push the issue and tell them it's manufacturer's defect. What I find with stoic products is that they are generally high value for the money (I only buy them off steepandcheap or dept of goods though, when they are 40% off) but it takes them a couple reiterations before they dial fit in. I can remember some first generation products being sized extremely wonky. That includes the Stoic sleeping bags, which I believe only came in like a size long for the first generation.

[Ben C]

I have had great luck with stoic gear. I have 2 stoic light wool shirts. I like that the sleeves are long enough and the durability has been great. I also have the hadron. What a bargain!

[michael sellers]

the 2013 side zip 30 degree bags are 179 as of today on backcountry. Anyone have updated insight into true packed size or weight? It appears to be a good deal on 850 fill bag. Maybe even warmer than a WM highlite?

[Maris L]

Michael,

I mentioned the new bags in another thread a few weeks ago – Talked to reps thru both email and chat several times. Most times they said they don't have that information. I finally got these numbers via a chat, but they really don't look right to me.

Somnus 30 regular – 2.3lbs (36.8oz)
Somnus 30 long – 2.3lbs (36.8oz)

Somnus 15 regular – 2lbs (32oz)
Somnus 15 long – 3lbs (48oz)

One email I received mentioned 19oz. of 850fp down, but didn't specify which bag. Nobody else could confirm fill weights or fill power.

[michael sellers]

I was told 1lb 7oz by a chat rep for the Somnus sz 30

[And E]

Most of my stuff from stoic are great. I have the midweight 1/4 zip comp long sleeve shirt, 150 alpine merino blend LS shirt, and as Konrad said, the Hadron Anorak is awesome (just got mine this week from geartrade, a backcountry return). All are awesome and holding up great.

However, like Max said, it can be a mixed bag. I've had 3 different NEW Stoic Vaporshell jackets/anoraks and all of them had major DWR issues. Most reviews of the item said they shed water great, but a few, including mine, don't. Its as if somebody was spraying it with a DWR gun with their eyes closed and the jacket all folded up. There are ramdom, large sections of the face fabric that immediately soak in water while others repel water perfectly fine. Washing on gentle then drying does not help to refresh the DWR on the problem spots. During my 3rd/last return for the DWR problem, the backcountry gear "expert" claimed the Vaporshell line doesn't have any DWR to begin with….which I chuckled at. If that were the case, the jacket wouldn't look like a zebra/checkerboard after getting wet.

But thats off topic. The bag looks great though.

[michael sellers]

the Somnus 30 definitely does not weigh 2lbs 3oz. A friend of mine just received one and it tipped 1lb 6oz on my scale

[Maris L]

Thanks for the update. I was frustrated trying to gather info from BC themselves. At the time I quoted those weights to show that those reps couldn't get it together and gave me conflicting info, for whatever reason. But that sounds much more reasonable!

[Ozzy McKinney]

I just received my Somnus 30 SZ, and it weighs a whopping 29oz on my scale! that is a huge difference. I'm sending it back, as my Somnus 15 only weighs 33oz.

[Ian]

That's too bad. I almost ordered one but they don't advertise the weight and the end user reviews were all over the map.

[Michael Gillenwater]

Yep, finding weights for Stoic bags is like solving a mystery. I have the older 30deg bag with the half center zip. Ended up weighing just under 24oz. So they have added more than 5oz without adding functionality sans the full side zip. It was a great deal before.

[M B]

did you weigh the stuffsack?

bag wts dont include stuffsack weights.

[Michael Gillenwater]

i'm excluding stuff sack weight. it comes with overweight compression sack, at least the older version it.

[Dena Kelley]

I have a set of Stoic gloves that are great, a couple Stoic Merino wool tees that I've had no problem with (but I baby my Merino and hand wash/line dry). I like the quality. I saw that S&C had some superb deals on Stoic bags the other day, I think it'd be worth it.

[Bradley Attaway]

I bought a Stoic 15F center zip on Steep and Cheap in 2010. Amazing bargain, and a great bag all around. Long size at 31oz. As good as any other bag out there at the time.

They used to post the weights and I remember being shocked at the weight of the 30F. It was only a couple of ounces lighter than the 15F, and its top-of-the-line competitors are down around the 16oz mark.

I ended up going with the Mountain Hardwear Mtn Spd 32 to split the difference between my summer quilt and 15F bag because I had a 50% off coupon. I'm at the very limit of fitting but I've been quite happy with it.

If I were in the market today I'd look hard at zPacks bags if I had the scratch. Every one of the several items I've purchased for them has surpassed expectations, and the service has been top notch. The WM bags I've seen at my local shop have been pretty gorgeous too.

[Piney]

I have the current version of the Stoic Somnus 15 in the long size. It weighs 36 ounces with 21 ounces of fill.

If you read the comments on Backcountry, multiple people who have actually weighed their 2013 bags are reporting that the regular weighs 25.5-26 ounces. Ozzy is reporting his long weighs 29 ounces, which seems about right compared to the regular @ 26 ounces.

What is interesting is that the comments on Backcountry put the fill for the 30 degree bag at 11 ounces for a regular and 13 ounces for a long. That puts the shell weight at 15 ounces for a 30 degree regular and 16 ounces for a 30 degree long – obviously not accurate considering the 15 ounce shell weight on my 15 degree long bag. I suspect that the 30 degree bags probably have more like 13 ounces of fill for the regular and 15 ounces for the long, maybe more. This makes them more like 25 degree bags, which seems to jive with reports as to their warmth.

It should also be noted is that these are pretty much the roomiest lightweight bags on the market, in both width and length.

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