Field Information:

Location(s) where test was conducted:
I have used this sleeping bag for the last three summers for backpacking and car camping trips in the Southern Appalachians, and during a Christmas birding trip to Florida. Low temperatures have ranged from the mid-40s to mid-80s F (7-30 C), and elevations from sea level to over 5000 ft (1525 m).

Similar products used/owned:
We have six sleeping bags in the house, covering temperature ratings from 10 F (-12 C) to 45 F (7 C). All but one is insulated with down.

Description:
The Kelty Light Year 45 Down Sleeping Bag is designed as a lightweight, warm-weather, mummy-style sleeping bag rated to 45 F (7 C). It has a 34 in (86 cm) half-zipper without a draft tube, and a 13 in (33 cm) zipper at the foot end to allow ventilation in warm weather. The bag is much larger than anything else I have used, measuring 34 in (86 cm) wide at the shoulder, and 87 in (221 cm) long from the top of the hood to the bottom of the foot section. The bag tapers to 20 in (51 cm) wide at the foot. There is a hook-and-loop closure at the top of the zipper, and a drawstring closure at the hood. The continuous down chambers run crosswise (perpendicular to the user),and down can be shifted from one side to the other for varying weather conditions. The bag uses a sewn-through design common to warm-weather bags; there are no baffles between chambers to maximize loft.

The bag comes with a cotton storage bag and a coated nylon stuff sack. The stuff sack is generously sized at 7 in (18 cm) in diameter and 11 in (28 cm) long when filled, but the bag can easily be compressed to half this size. I replaced the original stuff sack with a homemade silicone-nylon sack in a slightly smaller size.

In Use:
I have used the Kelty Light Year sleeping bag for about 50 nights over the last three seasons, in every kind of shelter: my Hennessey Hammock, our big car-camping tent, various Appalachian Trail shelters (lean-tos), a Tarptent, a sil-nylon tarp, and out under the stars.

The bag has performed reasonably well, and proven durable. As long as the nighttime low temperatures don’t get much below 50 F (10 C), the bag is warm enough for comfort. Below that, the bag just doesn’t have enough down in the chambers to keep me warm. Even in normal use, the bag tends to get flat spots where there isn’t any down on the top, which can lead to chilly nights. The continuous chambers allow me to shake more down from the bottom of the bag (where it’s compressed uselessly under my body) to the top of the bag, where it can keep me warm. In warm temperatures, I find the half-zipper prevents me from opening the bag far enough to ventilate well, though otherwise it doesn't bother me.

The bag has a nicely designed hood, and the chambers in the hood are well filled with down. The unusually large opening at the top of the bag is difficult to close with the cinch cord – I have to really pull hard on the cord to close the hood enough on colder nights. Last year the cinch cord broke off in my hands, but I was able to replace it with a new cord. There is no draft collar.

The foot section has a 13-inch (33 cm) zipper, which can be opened on warm nights for ventilation. I appreciate this feature in theory, but I have to admit that I’ve never used it – I just keep forgetting that it’s there. Perhaps writing this review will help me remember in the future. Like the main body, the down chambers in the foot section aren’t particularly full.

Since I use the bag so much in warm weather, I’ve had to wash it twice (it got pretty funky after two weeks on the Appalachian Trail in June). Using down soap and a large industrial washing machine not only got out the funk, but it restored the loft and didn’t seem to damage the bag at all. (With its sewn-through construction, there are no baffles to be damaged in the wash.) The bag dried quickly in an industrial dryer on the no-heat setting.

The shell fabric is a tightly woven nylon that doesn’t show any wear after three years of use. I certainly don’t baby my equipment, and I don’t feel the need to be particularly careful with the shell fabric on this bag. Whatever water repellancy the fabric might have once had is gone; spraying water on the bag leaves the fabric damp and wet streaks along the seams.

The Kelty web site lists the current model at 33 oz (795 g), with 12 oz (340 g) of down fill in the long version. If I recalle correctly, this is more down than they put in my 2001 model, so perhaps my biggest complaint has been remedied (though I wouldn’t know for sure unless I put them side by side.)