I bought this after I went to South America. I was using sleeping bags from my parents for the longest time, and I figured it was about time that I get my own.

I did some research on synthetic vs. down, and I decided to get this one. Synthetic can handle getting wet better, but it’s not as efficient at keeping you warm, whereas down is much lighter and compact for the equivalent warmth rating, but you need to be careful about keeping it dry. I figured the pros of down outweighed the cons. If I recall, it was about $130, and it is rated to 20°F / -7°C.

Even though it’s down, it still takes up a bit of space, and I have always wanted to get a compression sack to make it pack smaller, but I just have never gotten around to it. It would likely pack in half the size if I did that. That being said, if I had bought a synthetic sleeping bag that was also good to -7°C, it would take up even more space, and I recall reading that synthetics don’t pack down with compression bags as well.

I have used this in some chilly areas. I would say the best testament was when I was in Norway. Granted, we were there in August, but we camped fairly high up a couple nights. It was no glacier, but there was a small field of snow right next to our tent, and it was definitely below freezing, and I didn’t have any issues staying warm.

After so much usage, I eventually had to wash it. After taking it on one trip which was very dusty and warm, which meant I sweated a lot, it went from tolerable to repulsive in one weekend. I washed it twice in just water, and that didn’t seem to help too much. It still reeked. I then bought some down-specific soap and washed it twice more. The down has also gotten a little clumpy, and I had to beat and ruffle it up quite a bit to get it fairly well spread again. But if I hold it up to the light, it still just doesn’t quite seem right. Apparently, the best way to dry down sleeping bags (or jackets or any down for that matter) is to tumble dry them in a dryer with a few tennis balls, which will bounce around and fluff it up as it goes. I have neither tennis balls nor a dryer, so I just let it air dry while manually ruffling the sleeping bag.

I haven’t extensively used it since washing it, but I have slept on my bed with it, and it seems to keep me warm enough, yet not as warm as before. I will keep using it for a while, but when I buy another sleeping bag in the future, I think I will opt for a synthetic sleeping bag, just because they are more resilient to getting wet, and I don’t care for the idea of animals dying for my products.

Pros:

Very warm

Has lasted many years

Cons:

Have to be careful about not getting it wet (which applies to any down jacket)

Washing it didn’t turn out so well