Sleeping Bag for wife to match REI Magma 10

The men’s Magma is rated at it’s lower limit of 10 degrees F, while the woman’s Magma is rated at it’s comfort limit of 17 degrees F. Why they did that, I don’t know. The woman’s bag is actually the warmer bag of the two.

The REI Joule 21, or the Mountain Hardware Heratio 15, may also work for you as well. In the right price range, temp range, and price point.

I was also looking at the joule. The limit/comfort difference makes more sense now – is this something most manufacturers do?

There really is no consistency to how manufactures rate and/or name their products. Sometimes they use the comfort rating, sometimes the lower limit rating, and sometimes a general rating. It’s frustrating to say the least.

Another thing to be aware of, is that woman tend to “sleep colder” than men. Often times the woman’s bag produced by a company as a companion bag to the men’s equivalent ie., the REI Magma 10/17, can be slightly heavier, do to more insulation, which in turn may also make it more expensive than the men’s bag. This is not always true, but is fairly consistent across the industry.

I’m aware of this phenomenon. I’d say my wife does sleep cold compared to me but not substantially colder than the average woman. The need for extra insulation at the feet of women’s bags is no joke…

Based on fill weight, the women’s bag looks significantly warmer.  I was going to guess they had the same down fill and just adjusted the EN rating for women but that is not the case.

Women’s Long vs. Men’s Regular

• Fill 695 g vs. 550 g
• Length: 72 inch
• Shoulder: 60
• Waist: 57

That’s almost 7 ounces more for the same sized bag.  I’m not sure what other factors are causing the rating to be 17 instead of 10 but I’m surprised 7 extra ounces of down doesn’t make them the same warmth.  I’d guess that, unless your wife is a much colder sleeper than you, then the woman’s bag would work fine.