Moonstone 800 Lucid sleeping bag

Owner Review
March 5, 2006

Tester Information

Name: Raymond Estrella
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (187.5 cm)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Email address: rayestrella@hotmail.com
City: Huntington Beach
State: California
Country: USA 

Backpacking Background: I have been hiking for over 30 years, all over the state of California. I have also hiked in Washington, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierra Nevada, and put 555 miles (888 km) on my boots last year.  As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller packs.

The product

Manufacturer: Moonstone Mountain Equipment
Web site: www.moonstone.com
Product: 800 Lucid 20 F (-7 C) down sleeping bag.
Size: Long
Year manufactured: 2003
MSRP: $ 270.00 (US).
Weight listed: 2 lb 5 oz (1068 g) Actual weight 2 lb 3 oz (990 g)
Inside length: 78 in (198 cm) My measurement
Torso girth listed: 63 in (152 cm) Actual measured 62 in (155 cm)
Loft: 4 in (10 cm) Actual measured 4.5 - 5 in (11 - 13 cm)
Insulation type: 800+ fill power premium goose down.
Fill weight: 16 oz (456 g)
Stuffed size listed: 7.5 x 11.5 in (19 x 29 cm) Verified accurate
Warranty: (from company web site), “Moonstone products are guaranteed to the original owner against defects in materials and workmanship for the expected lifetime of the product (industry standard 8-10 years).”

Product description

The Moonstone Lucid 800 sleeping bag (hereafter referred to as the Lucid, or the bag) is a mummy style down filled sleeping bag. It is on first glance, white in color, with two black stripes running down either side of the bag. A black trimmed drawstring surrounds the hood as well. Here is a picture of the Lucid. The lovely model is my daughter, Emma.

The outer shell is made of Pertex X-Ray 1.1, this is how Moonstone describes it. “Moonstone's X-Ray shell material is built from the strongest yarn available, a 30D high tenacity parachute yarn.
· 30D x 30D Nylon 66 High Tenacity
· 1.1 oz/y2, 37gr/m2
· Calendered for total downproofness
· DWR finish on the shell, wicking finish on the liner
· Air permeability less than 3 CFM”

The X-Ray fabric is actually translucent. Hence the name “Lucid”. I can actually see the down clumps under the surface of the shell. I think it is pretty cool. Centered at sternum level, the Moonstone logo is embroidered on the shell. On the bottom of the foot box the Moonstone name and crescent-moon logo are also embroidered. To either side of the foot box is a hang-loop, and at the bottom are two attached tags. One is the standard consumer tag, which interestingly informed me that my 2004 bag was delivered from China on March 31, 2003. That is some lead time! The second, smaller hang tag has materials information, and cleaning instructions.

It is recommended to wash the bag in a large capacity machine, and dry on low. After fully drying they say to let it loft for 24 hours before storing in the net storage sack. As I bring a pair of light-weight long underwear to sleep in, I have kept the bag very clean, and have not had to try these instructions out yet.

According to the web site, the inner lining is made of Poly Taffeta 1.9. Again here is Moonstone’s pitch. “Our polyester taffeta liner feels great on the skin and has a wicking treatment for quick moisture movement.
• 50D x 50D Polyester
• 1.9 oz/y2, 65gr/m2
• Calendered for total downproofness
• Wicking finish”

With just visual inspection, and by feel, I cannot tell any difference between the two fabrics. They are both translucent, have a tiny ripstop pattern, and are very soft. I have a suspicion that the liner is X-Ray, and the sentence about the Taffeta liner is meant to be used with their other bags. Because it is used on their heavier bags.

The bag has a 2-way, white nylon YKK zipper running pretty much full length. It stops 9 in (22 cm) short of the bottom. It sits very low on the bag from the bottom to about shoulder level, then the zipper climbs and curves in to its ending point at the side of the hood. The zipper is placed on the left side of the bag, the only option on a long size. (The regular size only comes with the zipper on the right side).

The Lucid does not have a separate draft tube sewn next to the zipper. Instead they attached the zipper to the body of the bag 2.75 in (6.9 cm) away from the edge, on what is the outside of the shell. When zipped closed, this piece of body acts as a draft block. They added a 1.5 in (3.75 cm) nylon snag guard to each zipper half on the inside of the bag.

Trapezoid baffles are used throughout the body of the bag to retain the down. The only place I can find straight baffles used is on the hood portion. Moonstone uses a variable fill ratio with this bag to keep the weight down. They say they put “more concentration of insulation in areas of greater heat loss”. My guess is that means they put less down is put into the pad side of the Lucid.

A black nylon stuff sack was provided, although I use a Granite Gear Air-Compressor sack in the field. It also came with a netting-style storage bag. Moonstone refers to it as an “Easy ID storage sack”. That is because the name, size, temperature rating, and pertinent information are printed on the end of the sack. It is a great idea, but I keep it in an after-market cotton storage sack to keep dust out of the bag. Here is a picture of the sacks.

Field Conditions

The highest point the Lucid was used was in the Sierra Nevada at a camp site by Consultation Lake, at 12,000’ (3,600 m) elevation. It got down to 27 F (-3 C) on that trip. The coldest night that I can recall in the Lucid was a very windy night at Little Round Valley at almost 10,000’ (3,000 m) elevation. It got down to 25 F (-4 C) that night.

The Lucid has seen action during spring hiking in the Domeland Wilderness, and surrounding areas. Fall hiking in the eastern Sierra, the San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Wilderness, and a lot of early summer use throughout the Sierra Nevada.

Field Use

Until I purchased the Lucid in February of 2004, I had always used synthetic fill sleeping bags. As part of a complete overhaul of my gear, with weight and volume reduction in mind, I parted ways with my The North Face Cat’s Meow. The Lucid was my first down filled bag. And I can say that it made a favorable impression.

Not only was the 11 oz (308 g) difference in weight quite noticeable, but I was in awe of how small it packed down. And when using a compression sack it packs to the size of about three 1 qt (1 l) Nalgene bottles. My old bag was twice the size when stuffed. This has helped me drop my pack size quite a bit.

I was concerned that something so light would not be warm enough. But although I can’t recall ever hitting the low it is rated for, I have never been cold during the times that I documented it coming close. It is very comfortable to sleep in.

I normally sleep in my own tent, but shared a two-man tent on a spring hike to the Kern River, on the east side of the Domeland Wilderness. I ended up with quite a bit of condensation on the bag. I was worried, as I had always heard the horror stories about getting a down bag wet. (Much of the reason I had never bought one earlier) It did not soak into the bag though, and was easily wiped off.

The zipper does not impress me. It grabs quite a bit along the length of the body. And where it starts its curve up to the hood is horrible. It is almost impossible to work it from inside the bag. I have to zip it from the outside, and then pull my arm back in through the face opening. I do not know if it is the zipper itself, or the way they placed it to create the draft-stop.

If the evening is warm enough I quite often unzip the Lucid all the way and use it as a comforter. If and when it gets cold, I zip it back together, and climb inside.

The hood is nicely sculptured and fits well. It has a cord on the right side of the opening with a cord lock. A single cord runs around the opening, and by pulling it, both the hood and the neck opening will be closed. By pulling just one side or the other, I can control them independently, but it is not very intuitive or easily accomplished. It would be simpler if there were two separate cords. I do not often have to use it though.

The anatomic foot box is comfortable. I do not feel cramped, or overly confined. As I am usually on my side, this is not as big a deal to me as a person that sleeps on their back.

Over all I have been very satisfied with this bag. Enough so that I was comfortable buying another of Moonstone’s bags a year later.

Pros: Light weight, highly compressible, warm.
Cons: Zipper mediocre at best, hood closure design.