Field Test Report - Sierra Designs Cirque Sleeping Bag

Andrew Claus

January 10, 2006

Tester Information:

Tester: Andrew Claus (Trail name “Garlic Man”)

Age: 48

Gender: Male

Height: 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)

Weight: 150 lb (68 kg)

Email: andrewclaus@yahoo.com

 Home region: Evergreen, Colorado (Front Range foothills of the Rockies)

Backpacking Background:

I live and play in the Colorado Rockies.  I have been backpacking, backcountry skiing, and bicycle touring for over twenty five years.  I have recently begun through-hiking and fast-packing.  I through-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2004.  I’m not quite a fanatic ultra light packer yet but my pack base weight is as low as 10 lb (5 kg) if I don’t bring a stove and pot.  I use a tarp, a bivy, or no shelter at all.  I get out year-round on day-trips in all kinds of weather, especially weekly backcountry ski trips.

Product Description: 

Manufacturer: Sierra Designs

Product: Cirque sleeping bag (men’s regular)

Listed weight: 3 lb – 10 oz (1.64 kg)

Tested weight: 3 lb – 12 oz (1.70 kg)

Year of manufacture: 2005

MSRP: US$339.95

URL: www.sierradesigns.com

Please see my initial report for a more detailed product description.

Listed packed size is 9 in x 19 in (23 cm x 48 cm) (in compression sack provided).  The stuff sack weighs 6 1/4 oz (177 g).  Tested packed size is as listed. 

Listed and tested length and girths are as follows:  80 in (203 cm) length, 62 in (157 cm) shoulder girth, 57 in (145 cm) waist girth, 43 in (109 cm) toe girth.  I measured the length from the toe box to the draft collar as 64 in (163 cm).

Brief Summary:

The Sierra Designs Cirque sleeping bag provides sufficient insulation when used with no other shelter in 0 F (-18 C) temperatures.  The DriZone shell functions as advertised.  The hood portion of the bag seems proportionately large, and the position of the draft collar may make the bag a tight fit for taller people.

Field Test Report:

I just survived a -8 F (-22 C) night in the Cirque bag.  It wasn’t a real challenge since I spent the night in the wilds of my back yard.  But it was cold, and at 7,800 ft (2380 m), it was harsh.  I was sleeping on a layer of fresh snow, too.  It was a good test, though I wasn’t out backpacking this time.

I stayed warm enough to survive, and to verify that the Cirque has sufficient down insulation for its 0 F (-18 C) rating.  I also verified a few minor issues that have bothered me in a handful of nights out in above-zero F (-18 C) temperatures:

1)      The hood really doesn’t work very well.  It’s too large and bulky to seal well around my head.

2)      I was plagued again with a case of cold, though not frozen, feet.  I’ve noticed that I have a cold feet problem in this bag when the temperature is below 20 F (-7 C).

3)      It seems difficult to close the zipper.  There’s some minor snagging on the dual draft tubes, despite the snag-free zipper tracks.  It also seems hard to get the right leverage on the single zipper pull from inside the bag for the last 12 in (30 cm) or so.  Last night the zipper got caught on a “pad lock” strap, which I wasn’t using.

4)      It’s hard to reach my feet while inside the bag.  I wrapped a fleece jersey around my feet, and it was very difficult.  There seems to be enough room in the girth, but I get in a bind when I try to bend at the waist.

5)      It’s not possible to shift down around to the top of the bag.  The side-blocked baffles prevent this.  Last night I would have liked to have fluffed some more down to the top.

Here are the good features I’ve noticed:

1)      The DriZone shell has been water repellant so far.  I’ve watched heavy frost melt and the water bead up and run right off.  Some cold, light snow has shed off very well.  I have not had the bag outside in wet snow.

2)      The shell has allowed me to confidently carry the bag on packing trips without a shelter, at least in this season in my climate.  Any precipitation is generally snow and is quite light.  This feature offsets what I consider to be the extra weight of the laminated shell.

3)      The shell appears to breathe well in cold, dry conditions.  I have not noticed any condensation of any type inside the bag.  Even when I had to breathe inside the bag in extreme cold there was no frost inside the bag.

4)      The shell has performed well in moderate winds.  I was comfortable in wind strong enough to blow sand in 18 F (-8 C) temperatures.

5)      I’ve seen absolutely no down loss through the shell or liner.

So far, I have used a ¾ length accordion-fold closed-cell foam pad (two in snow) as a sleeping pad.  I wear medium weight long underwear bottoms, a Polartec 200 fleece sweater and a Windstopper fleece cap.  I have not yet used a tent, tarp, or bivy.  Now that I’ve tried the bag to its rated limit I’ll start using various shelter and pad combinations. 

I have used the pad lock straps only once.  It seems a little cumbersome to thread my accordion-fold pad through them.  I’m a sound and still sleeper and have never had a problem staying on a pad.  In my opinion they could be a nice feature for some people.

I have not carried the bag in the provided stuff sack.  I checked the fit upon receipt of the bag, to make sure it would work and to verify the listed dimensions.  It is a heavy compression-type stuff sack and I save over 6 oz (170 g) by leaving it at home.

Detailed trip notes:

1)      October 30, 2005, Great Sand Dunes National Park:  Camped at 8600 ft (2620 m) in sand, using Z-rest and Tyvek, no shelter, wearing summer weight long underwear bottoms, Polartec 200 fleece top, thin damp socks, no hat or gloves.  Temp at dawn was 18 F (-8 C).  I had cold toes, warm otherwise.  I put heavier socks on and this was very difficult in the bag.  There was heavy, hoary frost on bag and dunes.   It was very windy all night, enough to blow sand.  I saw light cloud cover at nightfall, with light snow, but it was clear by dawn.  No major precipitation overnight.  No noticeable moisture in bag.  As the frost melted, the water easily beaded off the bag, no noticeable soaking in.

2)      November 10, 2005, Mt Evans Wilderness:  Camped at 11,000 ft (3350 m) at treeline.  I found a small area free of snow to camp on.  I used my reflective bivvy bag as ground sheet (forgot Tyvek) and Z-rest pad, no shelter.  I wore long underwear bottoms and Polartec 200 fleece top.  Got windy and warm overnight, low temp at dawn around 25 F (-4 C).  It got too warm in the bag.  My feet were cold in early evening, warmed up overnight.  No frost, even from breath.  Winds strong, but camped in sheltered spot, felt little wind.  Light cloud cover near dawn, clear at sunset.  No noticeable moisture in or on bag.  I attempted a climb of 14,250 ft (4,343 m) Mt Evans on this trip, but got turned back by first mud and then snow in this unusually wet autumn.

3)      November 18, 2005, near Mt Evans Wilderness:  Camped at 7,900 ft (2400 m) on snow, 10 F (-12 C) minimum temp, clear, calm winds.  I used two Z rests, Tyvek ground sheet.  I wore long underwear bottoms and Polartec 200 fleece top.  I had cold feet, especially in contact with ground.  There was frost around the hood area only, from breath, with no moisture in bag.  It’s noticeably hard to reach my feet in this bag.

4)      November 27, 2005, near Mt Evans Wilderness: Camped at 7,900 ft (2400 m), 18 F (-8 C) minimum temp, partly cloudy, expected moderate snow, got just a dusting, with moderate winds.  I used two Z rests, Tyvek.  I wore long underwear bottoms and Polartec 200 fleece top.  I had cold feet again.  I had frost around hood area only, from breath.  No moisture in bag. 

5)      December 3, 2005, in back yard, 7800 ft (2380 m), -8 F (-22 C), calm.  I used two Z rests, Tyvek.  I wore long underwear bottoms and Polartec 200 fleece top.  I had cold feet, chilly core.  There was moderate frost all over on top of bag.  I had to bring my head inside the bag.  Surprisingly, there was no apparent moisture in bag.  I was disappointed in hood performance, hood seams too large and bulky to seal effectively around head.

Other Conclusions:

I think this bag would be better with a more effective hood.  The hood seems way too big and bulky.  I can pull it completely over my head to close off the opening.  This may sound good, but it doesn’t work well with the draw cord.  It forms a loose-fitting bunch of material in a type of snorkel.  It seems like a waste of fabric and down.

The hood issue may be exacerbated by the position of the draft collar.  The draft collar seems to be a perfect fit for me and I’m only 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) tall.  This tends to place my feet right against the foot of the bag and may be contributing to a chronic cold feet problem in this bag.  The bag is rated for a 6 ft (183 cm) tall person and it may be a tight fit for that person. 

Ongoing testing strategy:

I’m looking forward to more winter trips under the night sky with this bag.  I do intend to try it out in a shelter and see how the bag handles condensation.  I will try it in snow with a pad made of reflective duct insulation.  I will make another attempt at a winter climb of a 14,000 ft (4,270 m) peak, with a night near treeline (11,000 ft/3350 m).

Thanks to Sierra Designs and BGT for the opportunity to test and use this sleeping bag.