Initial Report: Mont Bell U.L. Alpine Down Hugger #3 Long
Date: May 8th, 2006 Manufacturer Name: Mont Bell Website: http://www.montbell.com	Product Information Manufacturer: Mont Bell Model: U.L. Alpine Down Hugger #3 Long Year of Manufacture: 2006 Temp Rating: 32 F (0 C) Inside Shoulder Girth: 48.2 - 64.2 in (122 - 163 cm) Inside Knee Girth: 38.4 - 51.2 in (97 - 130 cm) Max. User Height: 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) Stuffed Size: 5.3 x 10.4 in (13.5 x 26.6 cm) Insulation: 725 fill Fill Weight: 10.6 oz  (300 g) MSRP: $255.00 (US) Listed Weight: 1 lb 6 oz  (624 g ) Measured Weight:    Sleeping bag: 1 lb 5.1 oz (599 g)    Stuff sack: 0.9 oz  (25 g)

Tester Information & Background

Name: Andy Rad

Gender: Male

Age: 48

Height: 6 ft (1.83 m)

Weight: 165 lb (75 kg)

Email: arad1 at yahoo dot com

I started backpacking 21 years ago, most were short three-day trips, but are now generally five-day.  By backpacking, I’m referring to summer, winter camping, and fall hunting.  About half my trips are lightweight solo and the other half with my family.  I used to own a llama, thus allowing me to continue backpacking with my small children.  In recent years I’ve substituted a collie for the llama. When I’m not with the family I tend to take less-traveled trails or bushwhack the hard mountainous terrain in and around Idaho.  The majority of my trips are in central Idaho, with a few into northern Idaho, eastern Idaho, and eastern Oregon.

Initial Report

The sleeping bag arrived in good order, internally packed in an oversized cotton storage bag, and with the stuff sack tied on so as not to get lost.  There was one tag, briefly identifying the model, temp rating, nylon specifications, down fill, and construction.

If not for a picture on the MontBell’s web site, I would have never known what the color balsam was.  To me it looks like a dark turquoise, and is a pleasant color.  Both inside and out are of the same nylon material. With the sleeping bag unzipped and held up to the light, it is obvious where the down is concentrated and where it is minimal, such as next to the baffles.  From a marketing perspective, a dark colored lining instead of the balsam color would conceal this fact.  Not that this bag’s down distribution is different than other bags, it is just visible.

The most obvious attribute is the Gather Quilt™ system, as seen in the photo above, and as described on MontBell's web site.  The inner baffles have elastic sewn in, thus allowing the shell of the bag to retain its full shape/loft while drawing the inner bag close to the user.  This system allows the bag to be cut larger, and still maintain a close fit without having an excess of empty space/air to heat.  MontBell indicates this system is more efficient, a less restrictive feel, requires less down to achieve comparable temperature ratings, and ultimately results in a lighter bag.

Testing will indicate if this bag lives up to the temperature claims, but it is certainly generously cut.  I have never had a three season mummy bag with a girth of 64 in (163 cm), and it is great.  My other three season bags have 60 in (152) and 58 in (147 cm) shoulder girths, and what a difference these few inches make.  I don’t feel the quilting so much on my legs, but it is definitely noticeably in the torso area.  Already I’ve noticed that the bag turns with me when rolling onto my side, and requires less adjusting it to keep the hood in place.

The bag is rated for a maximum of 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) and it fits me nicely.  I’m 6 ft (183 cm) and if I stretch out with toes pointed I fill the bag.  The hood is sculptured larger than any bag I have and is extremely comfortable.  I can cinch down the opening to my nose/mouth and it is well positioned.  Even when rolling over the opening stays reasonably positioned, due to the gathered quilt and large hood.  Two draw backs of the hood are the cinch cords and overlapping closure.  Both draw cords are round 1/8 in (3 mm) cord (as per the photo), and it is not distinguishable which cord is the front and which is the back when lying in the bag.  I would have preferred one cord be round and the other flat. 

As for the overlapping closure, is it not the typical aggressive hook & loop type, but a type where the matting materials are identical and less aggressive (as per photo).  I understand the concept of not wanting an aggressive hook material that catches on everything, but I found this less aggressive hook & loop material to pull apart when cinching the hood around the face.

In order to accommodate shorter users, while still retaining a long bag, there is a bottom adjuster system.  There is a cinch cord 7 in (18 cm) from the bottom that allows pushing the extra length into the foot cavity and cinching it off.  This allows the bag to accommodate a short user and still retain a small foot cavity for heat retention.  A very clever idea when trying to purchase a bag that will accommodate the entire family.  For a meager 1 oz (28 g), the user can purchase a long over a regular length and gain full range usage from tall to short.  Additionally, the lower section can also be used as a make-shift stuff sack by stuffing the entire bag into the lower foot section and cinching it off.

Vertical-box construction in the chest area is a good design, and is generally only seen on winter bags. The concept is to keep the down from settling to the ground side when lying on one’s side.  For users that like a bag without a side baffle and shift more of the down to the top they are out of luck.  There is no shifting of down in this bag, as the down is boxed into predetermined areas.

Loft is accomplished via 10.6 oz (300 g) of 725 down, and is exaggerated by the gathered quilt.  Generally, I’m able to measure loft by fluffing the bag and drawing a straight edge over the top.  Due to quilting, the bag is drawn/gathered in and loft is difficult to measure.  When gathered, the shoulder girth is reduced from 64 in (163 cm) to 48 in (122 cm), thus exaggerating the loft.  Traditionally, U.S. bag loft for temperature ratings of 32F (0C) is approximately 4 in (10 cm), and for this bag the loft is 4.75 – 5 in (12 – 12.7 cm).  The loft would appear to be on the light side, but testing will determine the effectiveness of the gathered quilting and vertical baffles.  In addition to free loft, I tested the bag after compression.  I accomplished this by placing a long folding table on the bag for 15 minutes and then let it loft over night without disturbing it.  In this case the loft measured 2.75 – 3 in (7 – 7.6 cm).  My traditional 32F (0C) bags loft to 2.5 – 2.75 in (6.3 – 7 cm).  After just four months of use there shouldn’t be any difference in loft, and I’ll again note the loft on my Long Term Report.

Zipper is full length and without a stiffener or backing.  Instead they utilize five rows of stitching (as per photo) to accomplish the task of keeping the zipper from hanging up on the adjoining nylon.  For the few times I cycled the zipper it appears to be sound and didn’t hang up on the nylon fabric.  I prefer a ¾ length zipper for weight saving, but I know of many who prefer the longer zipper for venting.  

The stuff sack is a clever design, and comes close to the functionality of a compression sack.  As per the photos, there are two cinch cords that allow variable compression.  It is moderately difficult stuffing the bag to the first cinch cord dimensions of 14.5 x 5 in (37 x 13 cm), and then with considerably more force to the second cinch cord dimensions of 11.5 x 5 in (30 x 13 cm).  As per the photo on the right, the stuff sack is also reinforced with black nylon webbing around the V opening.  I would have preferred to see the initial/larger dimensions a little longer.  I generally do not use a stuff sack, but I now have a front loader pack that may require I begin using one.

Test Plan

Most of my backpacking is in central Idaho and eastern Oregon mountains.  Spring temperatures will often be just below freezing and I expect broken snow floors until early July.  Early summer conditions are often accompanied by early morning frost in the higher elevations of 9000 ft (2700 m).  Humidity in the spring is high due to wet ground conditions, but summer is generally on the dry side.

A bag is only as good as the ground pad, and I’ll be testing with several.  Additionally what is worn to bed, daily activity, shielding from wind, and what is eaten before bed heavily influences the effectiveness of a sleeping bag.  When temperatures are above freezing, I generally sleep on a 48 in (122 cm) long 3/8 in (9 mm) thick closed cell pad or a shortened 40 in (101 cm) Therm-a-rest™ Z-light™.  When the temperature is sub freezing or on snow I use a long pad and often back it up with a short pad on top.  In addition to testing on closed cell ground pads, I’ll also test on a short inflatable pad.

Although I tend to sleep on the cold side, I have found my other 32F (0C) and 40F (5C) bags will comfortably accommodate me the mid 20s (-4C), when used with a thick ground pad, down vest, thermal underwear, rain jacket, hat, wind pants, and all my clothing.  The problem with my other bags is that the smaller girths are so confining, and when wearing all my clothing I get claustrophobic.  Additionally, my down garments are unable to fully loft and the bag is pulled tight.  Even though I’m wearing a lot of clothing, their effectiveness is being impaired by the tight fit.  My philosophy is that if I’m not wearing all my clothing, then I brought too much gear.  I’m looking forward to determining the effectiveness of this bag in the sub freezing temperatures.

I generally use a single wall tent, thus I often have considerable condensation that contacts the foot of my bag.  Since this bag is a little longer than what I generally use, the DWR treatment of repelling water will get a good test.  My single wall tent allows wind to pass through, thus affecting the effectiveness of the bag.  Additionally I sometimes use a bivy.

As per the above mentioned items, I’ll be keeping a log of minimum temperatures, shelters used, types of sleeping pads, estimated winds, estimated humidity, daily activity, clothing worn, and how the bag accommodates me.  By using the same equipment as last year I will be able to do a good comparison against my other name brand bags.