Owner's Biographical Information:

Michael Wheiler
Male
46 years old

Height:  5'10"  (1.8 m)
Weight:  175 pounds  (80 kg)

Description:  The top-shell or quilt part of the Fierce system zips on and off.  The zippers run along both sides of the down mummy style bag and come off at the foot box.  The shell attaches to the upper portion of the down bag by way of dual zippers and Velcro spots along the opening of the bag and near the bottom of the foot box.  Only the bottom of the foot box is not covered with the waterproof shell.  The hood/collar on the Fierce down bag is not protected by the waterproof material of the shell.

I purchased the Fierce sleeping system about one month ago because the design intrigued me and because I was very impressed with the quality of GoLite's Hex 2 system.  Given my height, I normally would not choose a long size bag but that was the only size I could find on sale.  The Fierce came already assembled with no instructions for use.  Of course, figuring out how to use the Fierce wasn't exactly rocket science either.  The top shell zips off and on by way of two zippers located on top of the down bag.  According to the postal scale, the shell weighs almost 15.6 ounces (442 g) and the down bag weighs 2 pounds, 11.2 ounces (312 g).  The stuff sack weighed 1.8 ounces (51 g).  The total weight of the Fierce as determined on the postal scale was slightly less than GoLite's specifications which did not include the weight of the stuff sack.  Upon inspection, I found no flaws in the construction of the Fierce.  It appeared to be well constructed.  The zippers all worked easily but also snagged frequently.  Another nice feature of the Fierce is a zipper in the foot box.  Once the zipper is opened, the user can walk with the Fierce pulled up around his or her knees.  I plan to experiment with this feature as a method of getting in and out of my hammock while already in the bag!  The hood can be closed by a single draw string located on the left hand side which I found to be a little difficult to operate once inside the bag.

 

I did notice that the Fierce system would not be as compact as my regular summer weight bag.  The Fierce easily stuffs into an over-sized stuff sack.  I measured the stuffed bag to be approximately 15" x 8" (38 x 20 cm).  In my opinion, the Fierce would compress even smaller if a compression sack were used but since I don't own a compression sack, I wasn't able to see just how small it would compress.  I did stuff the mummy bag portion of the Fierce system into an extra small Marmot stuff sack.  There was no way to get the shell into the stuff sack.  As stuffed in the extra small sack, the Fierce measured approximately 11" x 7" (28 x 18 cm).

 

I typically use a light-weight down bag during most of my late spring through early fall outings.  I tend to need a little more insulation to keep warm and there have been plenty of times when I wished for a little more insulation.  I have always liked down bags for their warmth to weight ratio but have yearned for some type of protection from moisture--especially condensation from the sides of the tent.  As such, the combination of down and waterproof top shell/foot box in the Fierce system raised my curiosity.

 

I've now used the Fierce on three separate occasions in temperatures ranging from 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) to 12 degrees Fahrenheit (-11 Celsius).  On the first two trips there was snow on the ground.  We were camping near Henry's Lake (not too far from West Yellowstone, Montana).  According to my Brunton Sherpa, we were camped at an elevation of 6,949 feet (2,118 m).  There wasn't much snow (approximately 3 feet (91 cm)) and it was melting rapidly.  The temperature at bed time was 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius)--unbelievably warm for the first weekend in February in this part of the country.  We dug down to within an inch or two (2-5 cm) of the frozen ground and pitched our tent in the hole.  I placed a tarp under the tent.  Given the fact that two of our companions forgot to bring sleeping pads with them, I loaned out two of the three closed cell foam pads I brought with me.  It was warm enough that I wasn't too concerned about the cold.  I wore wool socks and thermal underwear to bed.  The Fierce system work very well until about 4:00 a.m. when my backside began to feel chilled.  I was, after all, sleeping with nothing but a thin layer of down in the Fierce bag and 1/4 inch (6 mm) of foam between me and about 2 inches (5 cm) of snow--which I suspected was turning into ice.  I pulled out my other summer weight down bag, placed it underneath the Fierce (on top of the pad) and went back to sleep.  I was toasty warm the rest of the night.  We were sleeping in an older model Eureka three person, three-season tent which had no vents and we did not open the door at all during the night.  We had no condensation build-up in the tent and there was no moisture on the Fierce when I awoke.

 

The second outing took me back to the exact same location as the first outing--only this time with a bunch of Boy Scouts.  We built one snow shelter for the Scouts who had never slept in one before.  The snow levels had not changed.  The temperature was another story.  My shelter set-up was nearly identical to the first trip except that I had two closed cell foam pads under the Fierce.  By the time we went to bed, the temperature had dropped to 12 degrees Fahrenheit (-11 Celsius).  My Assistant Scoutmaster slept in the tent as well.  We forgot to open the vents in the REI Half Dome.  Given that the temperature was already below the rating on the Fierce, I confess that I whimped out and decided not to even try and tough it out in just the Fierce.  I put my summer weight down bag inside the Fierce.  I wore dry wool socks, thermal underwear, and a wool stocking cap.  I was able to sleep comfortably warm all night.  Sometime during the night, a storm blew in and we woke up to about 3 inches (7 cm) of new snow.  The temperature had not risen significantly.  However, the condensation had caused some moisture to drop onto the Fierce near the foot box and around the collar.  The top and end of the foot box is covered by the Pertex shell and the water just rolled off.  However, the hood/collar doesn't enjoy the same protection and I found the collar slightly damp.

 

I used the Fierce next in my backyard.  The elevation here is 4,672 feet (1,424 m). We had no snow on the ground but the weather conditions consisted of rain, cold temperatures and a prediction of snow mixed with rain.  I pitched my REI Half Dome Plus 2 on a tarp which was covering the wet grass.  I adjusted both of the top vents in the fly to the maximum open position.  I put two closed cell foam pads under the Fierce.  I wasn't able to get to bed until about mid-night.  At that time the temperature was 28 degrees Fahrenheit (-2 Celsius) with a slight breeze.  This time my plan was to test out the temperature rating on the Fierce but I did have the summer weight down bag handy--just in case.  I wore wool socks, light-weight fleece pants, an REI mid-weight fleece jacket, and a wool stocking cap.  My companion for the evening was our 1 1/2 year old yellow lab--Abby.  She got to sleep on an old army surplus wool blanket.  Except for the fact that Abby woke me more than once by barking at every little sound she heard, I slept quite comfortably in the Fierce.  By 6:30 a.m. the temperature was 24 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 Celsius).  The weatherman's prediction of mixed snow and rain (with quite a bit of wind) came true about 8:00 a.m.  With the vents opened completely and directly in line with the prevailing wind, there was no condensation inside the tent and the Fierce was totally dry.

 

Under the circumstances, I have not yet tried using just the top shell as a quilt.  On the two trips when the temperatures remained above 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius) the complete system kept me comfortably warm.  With a couple of good closed cell foam pads under the Fierce, I did not notice any cold spots.  The Fierce is flexible enough to allow me to roll onto my side and not rotate the lighter insulated bottom of the bag off the foam pads so as to maintain the heavier insulation on top where I am more exposed to the cold.   The hood and wind collar fit snugly and provide additional insulation from cold drafts.  Thus far, I am impressed with the Fierce system and can hardly wait to use it during the warmer months when I can play with using just the quilt top or just the down bag with the quilt top as the "once desired extra insulation."

 

Additional Biographical Information:

 

Mike Wheiler