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Marmot Arroyo Sleeping Bag,
Long
30 degree rated 775 fill down sleeping bag
Personal Biographical Information:
Name: Dennis Gass
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 217
Email address:
dgass1@directvinternet.com
City, State: Marietta, Georgia
Date: July 6, 2002
Backpacking Background:
I have been involved in backpacking since 1976. I grew up in East Tennessee
within an hour's drive from the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and was
active in scouting where I was introduced to backpacking. I typically go
backpacking with my son, now 13 years old, and either a good friend of mine or
with my son's Scout Troop. All of my backpacking has been done within Georgia,
North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina or Alabama. Most of my trips are three
to five days.
Product information:
Manufacturer: Marmot
Year of manufacture: 2000
URL of manufacturer: www.marmot.com
Listed weight: 2 pounds 1 ounce
Weight as delivered: 2 pounds
Weight after down added to bring bag into specification: 2 pounds 7 ounces
Field information:
I have owned the Marmot Arroyo long sleeping bag since June 2000 in a
variety of backpacking and car camping trips from 27 degrees to humid warm
nights in the upper 60's. The Marmot Arroyo has been redesigned since I
purchased the model represented in this test.
I am a medium to cool sleeper and prefer a bag that really lives up to its
temperature rating. I rarely sleep on my back. I generally sleep on both sides
and my stomach at some point during the night. When backpacking I tend to
twist and turn more as remaining in one position too long reminds me how sore I
am.
Description:
The Marmot Arroyo is a mummy style sleeping bag with 775 fill down and a
ripstop nylon outer shell offering limited water resistance. The long
sleeping bag is stated to fit users up to 6 feet 6 inches tall. I chose the long
bag in order to have a shoulder girth of 65 inches; a full two inches more than
the regular bag.
The right side zipper extends the full length of the bag and has a velcro cover
over it at the top position, holding the zipper in place and away from your
skin. An oversized baffle runs the entire length of the bag. The bag has a small
baffle located above the shoulders for colder nights to keep the cold air out.
The Arroyo has two loops at the foot from which you can suspend it for storage
or airing out after a trip.
There are two drawcords, one integrated in the shoulder baffle and the other
allows you to draw the bag tightly around your face on the coldest nights.
The Arroyo came with a small black stuff sack and a white large sack for long
term storage. My first impression of the small stuff sack was not good. I didn't
think there was any way the bag would fit into the sack. Once I started stuffing
the bag went easily into the small stuff sack.
When I first used the bag, in summer and early fall, I fell in love with it. The
bag offered warmth on the cooler nights with temperature adjustments available
by opening the zipper from either the top or bottom. The zipper and drawstrings
were easy to use in the middle of the night and have not hung.
On one fall trip to Alabama in late Fall I took the Arroyo. Temperatures at home
in Atlanta had been close to 80 during the day and comfortable low 50's and high
40's during the night. It was my fault for not checking the weather forecast
before leaving on the two night car camping trip. As I drove to the camping area
the temperatures kept dropping, dipping one degree below the Arroyo's rating of
30 degrees by 11pm. I regretted not having brought a heavier bag, but that's why
I buy name brand high quality equipment. I put on long underwear, long pants and
a mid weight long sleeve shirt as well as my mid weight polartec jacket to add
insulating value. I was also in a small one man tent that eliminated the wind
and would retain a few degrees of warmth. I felt that I was at the bag's rated
limit on this trip.
I was so cold I couldn't sleep more than one hour the entire night. It got down
to 27 degrees the second night and I added my Gore-Tex jacket and pants to my
nighttime clothing. I managed to sleep in a few short half hour segments
before getting up to the warmth of a fire someone built at daybreak.
I had established that the bag did not keep me close to comfortable at its 30
degree rating. I used the bag in late spring on a one night backpacking
trip with a nighttime low of 39 degrees. Without adding several layers of
clothing I was very cold and shivered. After adding capilene I was able to
sleep a few cold hours.
I became concerned that the down might have lost its loft and contacted Marmot
to inquire about products to wash the Arroyo in. Customer Service at
Marmot immediately asked me to return the Arroyo so they could inspect it. A few
weeks later they returned the bag to me with a note indicating that they added a
full 6 ounces of down to the bag to reach the proper loft for a 30 degree
rating. Marmot customer service did not indicate the fill rating of the
additional down that was added. I did some limited research with other
Arroyo owners via face to face discussions and email. After communicating
with three other owners I learned that all three had experienced similar results
and down had to be added to bring the bag within specifications. The bag
is now somewhat difficult to stuff into the small stuff sack provided with it.
I appreciate the design of the Arroyo bag and the added girth it provides.
The zippers are easy to use and adjust for a comfortable night's sleep when you
get too warm. The construction is good, with the exception of the bag being
delivered significantly under its necessary loft for a 30 degree rating.
If the Arroyo delivered what its marketing materials promise I would highly
recommend the bag.
I did not desire a 2 pound 1 ounce 40+ degree bag, nor did I desire a 2 pound 7
ounce 30 degree bag with limited water resistance. For the price of the
Arroyo, I would prefer to pay a few extra dollars and would contact a
manufacturer that will make a custom bag to my specifications. I expect to
get similar quality to the Arroyo for more than a hundred dollars less than its
street price.
Read more reviews of Marmot gear
Read more gear reviews by Dennis Gass 'Trailwind'
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