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Coleman Cloudcroft 40 Degree Down Mummy
Bag
Initial Report July 17, 2006
Tester's Information
Name: Liz Neely
Age: 38
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 145 lb (65.8 kg)
Email address: liz at armory dot com
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Tester's Background:
I've been day hiking for many years, and started backpacking in 2005.
My hiking and backpacking has been primarily in the San Francisco Bay
Area of California,
on designated trails, with occasional stream crossings. My backpacking
trips have ranged in length from two to four days and have all been in
state and national parks in the San Francisco Bay area. The
temperatures I encounter range from 25 F (4 C) to 80 F (27 C), the
elevations are between sea level and 7500 ft (2286 m), and my pack
weight is between 28 to 36 lbs (13 to 16 kg).
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Coleman
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.coleman.com
Note that weights and
measurements below are for size Regular.
Listed Weight: hangtag says 2 lbs 1 oz (936 g);
Coleman website says 2 lbs 2 oz
(964 g); Coleman press release says 2 lbs 3 oz (992 g)
Measured Weight: sleeping bag: 2 lbs 2 oz (964 g);
stuff sack: 1.75 oz
(50 g)
Listed Size: packed: 6 x 14 in (15 x 36 cm);
unpacked: 31 x 80 in (79 x
203 cm)
Measure Size: packed: 6 x 14 in (15 x 36 cm);
unpacked: 30 x 80 in (76
x 203 cm) at the shoulders, which is the widest section
Insulation Type: Gray Goose Down
Temperature Rating: 40 F (4 C)
Available Colors: I believe this only comes in one color, which is
orange on the top side, black on the bottom side, and gray inside.
MSRP: $120 (from Coleman press release)
Other options available: according to the press release, a Long version
of this bag will also be available, and temperature ratings of 20 F (-7
C) and 0 F (-18 C) will also be available.
Washing Instructions: 1. Send to a cleaner experienced in down
products. Should not be dry cleaned. Solvents in dry cleaning can strip
the natural oils from the down. 2. To machine wash: use only an
over-sized commercial, front-loading washing machine. Never use an
agitator style machine. 3. Use a mild soap and wash on gentle cycle in
cold water. Rinse multiple times to ensure all soap residue is removed.
4. Drip-dry or tumble dry at very low heat setting. Sleeping bag cover
and liner can melt if exposed to high heat. It may take several hours
for the bag to completely dry. Check your bag throughout the drying
process. 5. Never steam, press or iron the bag.
Product Description:
This is a goose down filled mummy style sleeping bag, which is rated as
being appropriate in temperatures down to 40 F (4 C). This sleeping bag
has the following features:
- 310 Invista Tactel® nylon cover and liner material
- Tactel nylon has a tight enough weave that no additional
coating (i.e. weight) is needed to make the fabric down proof.
- Tactel nylon is water and wind resistant.
- Tactel nylon feels nice to the touch.
- Warmth-retention features
- Goose down (600 fill power) has a high warmth to weight ratio.
- Fully sculpted hood naturally covers more of the head for
better heat retention.
- Full-length insulated draft tubes keep warm air in and cold air
out.
- Baffle box construction allows the down to fully loft, yet
keeps it from shifting.
- Side-block baffle keeps the down from shifting from the top of
the bag to the bottom.
- Insulated zipper gussets minimize heat loss at the zipper base.
- Ground-level side seams keep warm air in and cold air out.
- Which One draw cords for easy hood adjustment: there are two draw
cords, one adjusts the top of the hood and the other adjusts the lower
portion of the hood. The two cords are colored and shaped differently
so they can be differentiated even in the dark.
- Trapezoidal foot section is angled to allow for the foot's
natural position during sleep.
- Full length, double slider, locking zipper for ventilation;
zipper guard to prevent snags
- Interior utility pocket
- Small nylon stuff sack and 100 percent cotton storage bag are
both included.
- Foot loops are on the bottom outside of the bag for an
alternative long-term storage option.
Initial Impressions:
When I took this sleeping bag out of the box it arrived in, I could not
believe how light it was! After feeling how light it was I wondered if
it would be warm enough. Only field testing will tell me that, however,
I immediately got into the sleeping bag and it felt very warm inside.
One thing I noticed right away is how soft and puffy the down is; I can
squeeze a handful of the bag down to nothing, and as soon as I let go,
I see it immediately puff back up; I think that will help keep me warm
inside this bag.
The sleeping bag is very comfortable inside. The fabric is soft on my
skin, and the down is nice and puffy. The zippers and pull cords are
designed in such a way that they don't scratch me or hang in my face
when I'm inside the bag. While this is a mummy style bag, thus there is
some confinement inside, I find it plenty roomy. I am able to easily
move into different positions, and I can even bend one leg at a time
and bring my knee up to my chest, so I could reach my foot to put on or
take off a sock. Since I am often a side sleeper, I rolled on to my
side and was pleased to find that the bag stayed with me, so the face
opening stayed around my face.
The opening around my face closes almost completely when fully drawn,
leaving an opening just big enough for my nose. The cinch and cords are
located in such a way that they do not hang in my face, but are easy to
locate when I need to adjust them.
It took me a while to find the interior pocket because it is nicely
streamlined with the interior of the bag, however, now that I know
where it is I think it will be useful. It is conveniently located in
the area that is at the top center of my chest.
The full length, double slider zipper goes along the right side of the
bag, from the face opening at the top down to about 9 in (23 cm) above
the bottom of the bag. When the bag is fully zipped, a zipper pull at
the bottom of the zipper can be used to open and ventilate the bottom
section of the bag, while keeping the top of the bag zippered. This
lower zipper pull is on the outside of the bag only; there is no lower
zipper pull inside the bag. The upper zipper pull, which can be used to
unzip the bag from the top down, has a pull both inside and outside the
bag.
The stuff sack that comes with this bag is tiny, since the bag packs
down to 6 x 14 in (15 x 36 cm). I thought it might be difficult to get
the bag into this tiny stuff sack, but it was quite easy. It will be
really nice having such a small stuff sack to put in my backpack!
I have encountered three problems with this bag, which might turn out
not to be problems in the future, but they are definitely things I will
be keeping an eye on and I will report further on in my field report:
- I have found three down feathers at different times while trying
out this bag in my living room. The first two I found were inside the
bag, and I thought maybe they were just left over from the
manufacturing process. However, I later found one sneaking out through
the fabric of the sleeping bag:
- I accidentally managed to get the zipper pulls completely off one
side of the zipper. I was inside the bag, and unzipping it to get out,
and I guess when I unzipped it, I unzipped it too far or too forcefully
(although I didn't feel like I was using a lot of force), and when I
went to rezip it, I found that both zipper pulls were off one size of
the zipper. It was somewhat difficult to get them back on, but I
managed after a while. I hope this doesn't happen often.
- When testing the draw cords around my face, one of them got stuck
in the closed position while I was inside the bag. I was unable to get
it unstuck, so I had to get out of the bag and take a look. It turned
out that a thread has frayed from the cord itself, and gotten bound up
in the cinching mechanism, getting it stuck. Here's a picture of the
frayed cord:
Test Strategy:
I will test this sleeping bag in the Central California coastal and
inland areas on backpacking trips and possibly one car camping trip as
well. The elevations will range from sea level to around 6500 ft (1981
m) and I
expect the temperatures to range from 35 to 75 F (2 to 24 C), with the
nighttime low temperatures in the 35 to 55 F (2 to 13 C) range.
I will be sleeping in a tent with a Therm-A-Rest RidgeRest sleeping pad
under my sleeping bag. If I find that the RidgeRest does not
provide enough padding with this sleeping bag, I will use additional
padding or a different sleeping pad; I will report on what I use for a
sleeping pad in my Field and Long Term reports.
These are the questions I will focus on answering while testing this
sleeping bag.
Comfort
Is the sleeping bag warm enough? I will note the temperatures and what
clothing I am wearing with it each time I use it, and whether I was too
warm, too cold, or just the right temperature. I will also note if
there are differences in comfort in different areas, for example, if my
feet are too cold but the rest of me is
warm enough.
Is it too long? I am 68 in (173 cm) tall and the regular length bag is
80 in (203 cm) long, so there will be about 12 in (30 cm) of excess
space at the bottom of the bag. I am curious to see if this causes any
problems with
cold feet or with me slipping too far down into the bag.
Is it padded enough? I have not used a down bag before, nor have I used
a warmer weather bag like this one, so I am curious to see if it is
padded enough for my comfort. I will record what I use for padding
while testing this
sleeping bag, and any adjustments I have to make to my padding to be
comfortable sleeping in this bag. I will also be looking for
areas where the sleeping bag is uneven or lumpy.
Dampness
Does the condensation on the outside of my bag soak into the filling
and make the bag feel soggy or wet? Does the inside stay dry even when
the outside has
condensation on it? I understand down bags are much more sensitive to
moisture than synthetic bags, so I will not intentionally be getting
this bag wet, but I live and backpack in a very damp area, and tend to
have a lot of
condensation inside my tent, so the outside of the bag will get damp.
Durability
How well does it hold up during the test period? Does it get lumpy
after using it for a while? Does it get lumpy after washing it? Does
the stitching remain sound after use and after washing? Does any of the
down leak out of the
seams? Do the zippers remain easy to zip?
Care
I will follow the manufacturer's instructions for washing this bag. In
order to perform a thorough test, I will wash this bag whether it needs
it or not, in order to see how the bag holds up to washing. In
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, I will wash it in an
over-sized, commercial, front-loading washing machine. I will dry it on
a very low heat, checking it often so as not to over heat it. After
cleaning it, I will carefully examine it, looking for lumps, torn or
frayed stitching, and down sneaking out of the bag.
Ease of Use
I have already determined that this sleeping bag is very easy to get
into its stuff sack, despite the small size of the stuff sack. The
other questions I will aim to answer are: Does it easily fit in my
sleeping bag compartment in my backpack? Are the zippers and draw cords
easy to operate in the field? Do the "Which One" draw cords for hood
adjustment really help me know which one adjusts which part of the
hood, even in the dark? Are the cords easy to find in the dark? Is the
zipper easy to reach and operate when I'm completely inside the bag and
I need to unzip it? Is the interior pocket useful? Does the hook and
loop closure keep it secure enough that the things I put in there don't
fall out when I'm asleep?
In addition to the questions I will focus on above, I will report on
any other issues and features I encounter while testing this sleeping
bag.
Thank you to BackpackGearTest.org
and Coleman for giving me the
opportunity
to test the Coleman Cloudcroft 40 Degree Down Mummy Bag.
Read more reviews of Coleman gear
Read more gear reviews by Liz Neely
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