Tester
Bio |
Name: |
Bob Dorenfeld
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I'm an active hiker,
snowshoer, skier, and backpacker.
Home base is the Southern Colorado
Rockies, where I'll hike from 7000 ft
(2100 m) to alpine tundra, with desert
trips at
lower altitudes. Six to 12 miles (10 to
20 km) daily is my norm, with elevation
gains up to 4000 ft (1200 m). Many of
my backpack trips are two or three
nights, other trips are longer, and I
usually carry about 30 lb (14 kg). My
style is lightweight but not obsessively
so - extras like binoculars, camera, and
notebook make my trips more enjoyable.
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Email: |
geartest(at)sageandspruce(dot)net
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Age: |
56
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Location: |
Salida, Colorado, USA
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Gender: |
M
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Height: |
5' 6" (1.68 m) |
Weight: |
140 lb (64 kg) |
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Product Overview
Manufacturer:
MontBell Co., Ltd Website:
www.montbell.com MSRP: US$299.99 Fabric:
20-denier Ballistic Airlight® rip-stop nylon
Insulation: 800 Fill
Power Goose Down Weight:
1 lb 8 oz (687 g) Measured
Weight (with stuff
sack): 1 lb 8 oz (687 g)
Fill weight: 11 oz (310
g) Compressed size:
5.9 in x 11.7 in / 15 cm x 30 cm (4.2 L)
Sizes: Regular,
to 6 ft (1.8 m) [item tested] Long, to 6 ft 6 in (2 m)
Color: Green outside, black
liner Zipper: Right
or Left [right tested] Included:
Nylon stuff and cotton storage sacks EN
Tested Ratings:
40 F (4.5 C) Comfort
31 F (-0.5 C) Lower Limit
3 F (-16 C) Extreme
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Photo: MontBell
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The MontBell Down Hugger 800 is a
down-filled sleeping bag with a
twist - actually a spiral twist in the
way the baffles are sewn.
MontBell's patented invention, what they
call their "spiral-stretch™
system", uses fabric "cut on the
bias" (the fabric's warp and weft
threads are oriented at 45 degrees to
most seams) along with elasticized
thread to give an unusual stretchiness
to the entire bag. This
lightweight bag is intended for mostly
above-freezing temperatures.
According to the included label,
EN
(European Norm or EN13537) warmth
testing rates the Down Hugger 800 at 40
F (4.5 C) "Comfort" level (for women),
and the 31 F
(-0.5 C) "Lower Limit" level for
men. (More information about EN
testing is available on the web.)
For both inner and outer shell MontBell
uses a nylon that they claim is very
lightweight, downproof, compressible,
and wind resistant.
The
long side zipper has a double-handled slider at
the head end, and a locking
slider at the foot. Draft
protection at the zipper is
provided by a down-filled tube, and a
stiff narrow nylon strip helps keep the
zipper from snagging in the thin fabric.
A hook-and-loop flap
at the top of the zipper helps keep the bag
connected when the zipper is
open. The hood can be tightened
around the head by
the cord-locked draw string. The
Down Hugger's shape is modified mummy -
tapered from head to foot, but not
tightly curved. A trapezoidal foot
gives extra vertical room for feet, and
there are two small nylon hooks at the
outside of the foot end for hanging the bag. The
zippers are designed to mate with
another Down Hugger bag to double its
capacity. Included with the Down
Hugger are a non-waterproof nylon stuff sack and a
cotton storage bag. A nice touch
is a printed label on the outer shell
listing the EN ratings as a reminder of
where most campers would find this bag
best deployed. |
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First Impressions
Upon
opening the delivery box, I was pleasantly
surprised to find the Down Hugger bag not
stuffed into the stuff sack, but rather
rolled into the cotton storage bag. This
is good, because it keeps the
down uncompressed during storage before the
sleeping bag finally gets to an eager backpacker
like me. The
intensely bright green of the rip-stop nylon outer shell really
pops, and is brighter than the photos can show
here. The shell fabric is almost
metallic-shiny and has a very soft and pliable
hand, but feels durable nonetheless. The
inner black lining feels like the same fabric,
just not as shiny. With a new item like
this, the first function I test are
the zippers - do they start and slide easily?
Do they avoid getting snagged in the fabric?
For this bag, I answer "yes" to both questions.
The hood draw cord seems easy to operate while
pulling tight and loosening.
Sliding into the bag for the first time I
like the feel of the soft nylon (at least at
room temperature), and yes, MontBell's "stretch
system" does seem to work on first try - it
allows some extra maneuverability in all
directions. I see that there is no
draw-corded draft collar across the chest, as is
often found in bags rated for colder
temperatures; it remains to be seen if I will
miss that feature in this sleeping bag.
So what's it like to stuff
this bag? Turns
out, very easy. The non-waterproof stuff
sack is tapered wider at the top and has
elasticized seams along the sack's length and
width, so the bag
stuffs in quite nicely. An unusual aspect
of this sack is the double draw cords - the
lower one is about 3 in (90 cm) below the top
cord. But since there's not the usual dust
flap at the open end, I figure that MontBell
intends the lower cord to be drawn tight at the
bag, leaving the
drawn upper cord to provide additional
protection for the open end, as well as a handle
if needed. As the photo
shows, the Down Hugger compresses to quite a
small package.
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What's Next?
I'm eager to
get the Down Hugger out into the field, and have
lots of trips planned. I'll be mostly in
the higher mountains of Colorado, but will also spend some
time at lower elevations and perhaps some desert
environments too. I'll be paying particular
attention to my comfort at various temperatures
- when it goes down towards freezing and below
I'll be prepared with extra clothes to wear if
necessary. Will the Hugger be comfortable and
roomy enough in both bare skin and clothed?
I expect that the stretch system will help when
wearing clothes in the bag. I'll see how
easily the zippers work while fumbling in
the dark, and how well the hood keeps my head
covered and warm. I'll be looking for cold
spots and draftiness as well. Lately I've
been using a single-wall tent, which can be subject
to condensation, so if I do find extra moisture in
the tent I'll check the water resistance of the
Hugger's outer shell. Since any new
sleeping bag will be part of my existing
"sleeping system", which includes a pad, tent,
pillow and clothes, I'll be testing how the Down
Hugger integrates into the gear I already use
for backpacking.
- Field Report -
It's been two months since my Initial Report,
and I'm pleased to announce that the Down Hugger
has performed at least as well as expected, and
in some ways better. After a brief summary
of field conditions in which I used the sleeping
bag, I'll describe my experiences in sections,
starting with MontBell's spiral-stretch system.
Range of Field Conditions
Up
to this point I've slept in the Down Hugger for
12 nights on backpack trips. Nighttime low temperatures ranged from
freezing to about 50 F (10 C).
Elevations, all in the Rocky Mountains of
Southern Colorado and Southern New Mexico, varied from 7500-11,700
ft (2300-3560 m). Other weather conditions
included damp and rainy, clear and dry, still
and windy - in short, quite a variety of
conditions. As this photo shows, I use a
tarp-tent style of shelter with a full wall of
no-see-um netting at the front of the tent and
netting around the base perimeter, all
integrated with a single-wall roof; an insulated
air pad for comfort and warmth underneath the
sleeping bag completes my sleep
system.
Some nights were quite cool and breezy, while
others remained still and warm.
The inside of my tent walls gathered some
condensation when it was raining and humid, but
not enough to penetrate the water-resistant
sleeping bag when it
touched the tent wall.
Spiral-Stretch System
This is easy to summarize - I like it!
Although I was skeptical at first, I found that it's great for a restless
sleeper like myself who usually tosses and turns
throughout the night. I felt like I could
curl up or stretch my legs without stressing the
bag's delicate seams. I'm of average build
for my height of 5' 6" (1.68
m) height, and I feel like I still have a good
amount of wiggle room in this bag even without
the stretch seams. However, I can see how this bias-cut
feature could be especially beneficial for a
larger person who fills out the bag and doesn't
have a lot of extra room to start with.
Zipper and Drawcord
Another great feature is the zipper...I
can think of only one time when I snagged it,
most likely due to carelessness on my part.
It just works very smoothly, both
up and down using the inside or outside zipper pull. I haven't yet used the
locking slider at the foot end, although I have
opened the foot during a couple of warm nights
for ventilation and found that the zipper there
hardly moved during the night; actually I found
that the zipper didn't move much at all from any
position I left it at. Likewise,
the drawcord for the hood worked well for me, no
problems there. The hood was snug if I
wanted it to be, but allowed enough room to move
my head and to breathe.
Warmth
Now to the
nub of the issue - how warm did the Down Hugger
keep me? Most of the time, warm enough within the range of
temperatures
indicated by the Comfort and Lower Limit ratings
as described above in Product Overview.
There were a couple of times when, given my
open-netting tent, the cool outside breeze made me draw up the hood to stay warm
(air blows at head level across the bottom of
the tent and exits at the top to reduce
condensation).
On one night the outside temperature was just above freezing,
inside the tent a couple of degrees F warmer.
Given a warmer tent (double-wall with less
netting) I'd probably have been warmer in the
sleeping bag. But I was never
uncomfortable, and am happy with the EU rating
of the Down Hugger that assigns a "Lower Limit"
of just about freezing to this bag. I do
wear long underwear (top and bottom), both for
warmth and to keep body oils off of the inside
of the bag, and I'm sure this adds to my
comfort at the temperatures in which I've been using the
bag. I also found it easy to reposition
the bag during the night when it inevitably
twists so that the zipper ends up below me, or
the hood is no longer below my head.
Slippery Fabric
The rip-stop nylon that MontBell chose to use
for the Down Hugger exterior and interior is really slippery stuff.
Inside it feels smooth
and silky on my skin, very comfortable.
But before using it in the field I was concerned
that it would slide too easily on my air
mattress, and unfortunately that proved to be
the case. When I could pitch my tent on a
level or nearly-level site, there wasn't much of
a problem. But if the tent was sloping
appreciably (perhaps half of all my camp sites) I would be constantly fighting to
keep from sliding down to the tent end and off
of my pillow. I
don't see any benefit to such a
slippery fabric for the bag's exterior. I
wonder if there's an alternative nylon that
offers the same light weight and durability but
with more inherent surface friction?
Regardless, I'll probably need to fix the
problem by applying caulk dots onto the top surface of my
air mattress, adding friction to keep the Down
Hugger from slipping down.
Down
Stability, Moisture, and Loft
I've noticed just a few feathers
and down pieces floating about during use, but
really nothing out of the ordinary for a down
bag. So far I'm not concerned, but I'll be alert to any increase in this regard.
Fortunately the bag (and down) hasn't gotten wet during
use. During the rainy nights, some
condensation from the tent rubbed off onto the
top of the bag, or blew in from the tent margins
onto the bag bottom, but as far as I can tell
no down got wet at this time; the moisture beaded up and either wiped off or
evaporated within a couple of hours,
demonstrating good water repellency of the bag's
nylon exterior.
The bag has
continued to feel as fluffy as the day I
received it. When arriving at a new
campsite, I always unpack the sleeping bag and
shake it out as
soon as the tent is set up, and
it takes perhaps at most ten minutes for the
down to regain its original loft.
Durability
So far
during my test I have not seen any issues with
stitching, the zipper, or seams. All look
as good as new, and the drawcord and zipper are
working flawlessly. I can't see any
fraying at the stretch seams along the body of
the bag.
Odor and Dirt Issues
I haven't yet noticed any odor build-up
inside the sleeping bag yet; using long
underwear helps that situation. It's way
too soon to think about washing the bag, as I'm
also careful about keeping my tent clean.
Any dirt I've encountered has brushed off
easily, or wiped off with a damp cloth
(including the inevitable paw prints from my
dog).
Packability
I
love the way the Down Hugger stuffs and packs -
so quick and easy! I also like the
two-level drawcord on the stuff stack - it makes
the package just a bit shorter, and the tapered
sack makes it easier to get the bag in.
Where my previous sleeping bag took up almost the
entire lower compartment of my backpack, I can
now fit in the Down Hugger, stuffed air
mattress, pack rain cover, rain jacket, and
other small stuff. And I definitely like the
only 1 lb 8 oz (687 g) that it adds to my
backpack!
Storage
Starting
this summer I'm now hanging all of my sleeping
bags (including the Down Hugger) from a rod near the
ceiling using the two nylon hooks provided at
the bag's foot. This will provide better
airing out of the bag and less down compression
between uses, more so than using the large
cotton bag that came with the Down Hugger.
This is in addition to my normal airing out for
a couple of hours in the sun immediately on my
return from a camping trip, when I'll turn the
bag inside out onto the clothes line.
Evaluation Highlights So Far
Good points: warm, comfortable, easy zipper,
water repellency, good loft-to-weight ratio
Bad point: exterior fabric too slippery on my air
pad
Since
publishing my Field Report (above), I've
used the Down Hugger on four additional
backpack trips over seven nights. Temperatures
outside my tent were as low as
25 F (-4 C). Winds varied from almost
still to about 10 mph (16 kph), and humidity
was low to moderate, but probably never more
than 50% relative humidity at night while
sleeping (normal for the Rocky Mountains in
summer and early fall). I camped at
altitudes from 10,500 to 11,300 ft (3200 to
3440 m) using the same tent and pad
described above in the Field Report.
I still consider this sleeping bag to be a
good product - it continues to keep me warm
using my insulated air pad on the tent
floor. The bias cut and stretch
construction is quite nice for a sleeper
like me who tends to roll over many times
during the night. It was especially
good for when I tented with a companion and
space was limited, which I did for two of
these final seven nights of the
test period.
The zipper continues to
operate flawlessly, as long as I pay just a
little attention to the angle at which I
operate it in order to keep the draft tube fabric
free of the zipper teeth.
I had a
chance to further test water repellency on a
below-freezing morning of moderate humidity when I had
extra condensation on the tent walls due to
two people plus a dog - water droplets both fell and
rubbed off onto the Down Hugger. It
was enough moisture to not bead off right
away, but as far as I could tell no
significant water
made it past the nylon exterior, and the bag
dried off quickly after I laid it outside,
even before it received full morning sun.
During one night while camped alone I
did become cold due to some drafty air
through my tent, and wished then that the
Down Hugger had a shoulder draft tube (plus drawcord) in
addition to the hood closure. During
the coldest nights that I tested the bag
(temps around 25 F (-4 C)) the shoulder
drawcord would have added more
insulation for my body while not requiring
me to draw up the hood so tight around my
face. (I did wear a light polyester
cap part of the night.) Since
below-freezing temperatures are below the EU
"lower limit" rating assigned to the Down
Hugger, I won't fault the bag's design so
much as point out that this is my experience
of its lower limits. Of course, a
shoulder draft tube would add more weight to
this very light sleeping bag. Nonetheless, I
still like the bag's upper-body and hood
design: it's comfortable, and I rarely felt
like my face was unduly restricted.
The hood's cordlock was conveniently located
for adjustment when needed, at the left
shoulder.
As I mentioned in the Field Report, the one
substantial drawback for me with the Down
Hugger is the slippery nylon exterior
fabric. It continued to slide down my
air pad when camped on any ground that
wasn't level or almost level. For my
final two outings of this Test, the top
surface of my air pad featured small dots of
seam sealer (SilNet) that I applied along
the bottom two-thirds of the air pad.
SilNet dries with a tacky finish, and it
somewhat helped keep the bag from sliding
down during the night. So, for now I'm
happy with this workaround to the
slippery-fabric problem.
I have been
able to keep the Down Hugger quite clean
throughout the Test period. Occasional
dust and dirt wipes off easily, either by
shaking it out, or wiping with my hand or a
damp cloth. The interior fabric is
still odor-free and clean (I sleep with long
underwear to minimize transferring body
oils) so I haven't needed to wash the bag
yet. To help deodorize it, after each
trip I lay the bag inside-out in the sun and
fresh air for an hour or two.
This
completes my Test Report on the MontBell
Down Hugger 800 sleeping bag. It's a
great bag, and I really like its light weight
and small packed size. I'll be using it
regularly on most of my three-season
backpack trips where nighttime temperatures
are expected to be 25 F (-4 F) and warmer.
Pros
- EU rating is accurate for me: fair to good
heat retention at below-freezing
temperatures, excellent retention at above-freezing temperatures -
comfortable: both bag body and hood fit well
- zipper rarely snags, runs smoothly both
directions
- good exterior water repellency -
excellent loft-to-weight ratio -
fits well into its stuff sack
Cons
- slippery exterior fabric can lead to
sliding down tent pad if pitched on
non-level ground - no shoulder
draft tube to help keep warmer (with or without using the
hood)
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Acknowledgments
A big thanks to
MontBell and to BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test
the Down Hugger 800.
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Reviewed By
Bob Dorenfeld Southern
Colorado Mountains
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