• Manufacturer: Sierra Designs
• Manufacturer's website: www.sierradesigns.com
• Model: Cirque Men's Regular
• Year of manufacture: 2005
• Temp Rating: 0F/-18C
• MSRP 379.95 USD as of March 21, 2005 (When I started the test in November 2005 the MSRP was 339.95 USD)

According to the manufacturer's website:

"At three-and-one-half pounds, the Cirque defies logic, keeping you warm and protected against tent spills, condensation, high winds and safe during an open bivy—down to 0 degrees!"

My Initial Report describes this mummy bag in more detail, but briefly it is a winter-rated down filled mummy bag that weighs a skootch more than 3.5 lbs (1.5 kg) coming in at 3 lbs 10 oz (1.6 kg) on my scale at home. It is rated to resist spills & dew although it does not have taped seams to make it waterproof. It has both shoulder/chest and head (hood) baffles coupled with a side zipper baffle to keep cold air out once everything is snugged up. It also comes with a compression stuff sack, mattress/sleeping pad locking straps, a "snag-free" zipper and glow-in-the-dark pulls. Rated at 0 F (-18 C), I expected to stay warm and toasty for my normal winter camping.

FINAL IMPRESSION

My Field Report provides additional testing details and impressions after using it for a couple of months this winter. After another couple of months and an additional 3 trips (5 nights) in the snow, I can re-affirm my impressions. It still has not gotten nearly as cold as expected this year due to record warmth (7 F/4 C above normal in January) so the lowest temperature I've slept in the Cirque was 8 F (-13 C). I was expecting several sub-zero F (below -18 C) nights and never saw a single one. Usually in that scenario I add additional layers to sleep in (fleece jacket or vest & wool pants or even a down jacket). In my testing this year I never needed more than my normal long underwear at night (plus the ubiquitous fleece beanie & socks that I wear even in the spring & fall). I was never cold in this bag even when snowed on. In fact, it's not until temps reach about 10 F (-12 C) that, as my nose hairs freeze, I even bother to snug the chest/shoulder baffle. Until then, I'm happy with just snugging up the head baffle around my face - once my nose is the only thing exposed I know it's time to tighten up the shoulder baffle (or draft tube as Sierra calls it). So from a comfort and usability standpoint, the bag has performed flawlessly during this test phase.

From a durability perspective the results have been equally as good. There are no escaping feathers, the bag doesn't stink (I still haven't washed it), the Velcro tabs are still sticky, the pad locks snap tightly, and the cords all cinch properly. I've not had any problems with tears, cuts, stains, or abrasions of the fabric either. The only two issues I have is the loss of the "glow in the dark" zipper pull one night when I pulled too hard and it came off (I found it and have saved it but never found a need to put it back on the pull) -- this was due to the zipper catching on the baffle fabric and wedging it until the pull couldn't be pulled any farther. This is actually the only irritation I have with the bag - the zipper will catch the baffle fabric between the zipper teeth and the slider. Continuing to pull the tab brings the slider further up the zipper teeth and pulls the fabric further in until ultimately everything locks together. On other bags I own that would call for a tedious exercise in trying to work the zipper back down while pulling the baffle fabric out of the slider and away from the zipper. On the Cirque, the "snag free" zipper does away with that, allowing me to merely pull the tab back down the zipper track and after moving the baffle aside with my hand, zipping it back up. I've spent many minutes crouched over my bag in the light of a headlamp, shivering in the cold, trying to finagle a zipper back down when it caught on the fabric - I really appreciate the Cirque's ability to unzip & re-zip without having to go through those cold exertions. I don't know if it is the fabric, the material of the zipper teeth, the design of the slider, or what; but something in the Cirque's zipper/baffle combination makes for easy unzipping regardless of how much I've gotten the fabric wedged into the zipper. If I can't have a zipper that doesn't catch the fabric in the first place, this is the next best thing.

I did plan on looking at a few other items as I mentioned in my Field Report and this is what I found for each of them:

• Does it get stinky as the number of nights climb? A) Not so far. I've not really sweated a lot in the bag, but after more than a dozen nights on the trail nothing's smelly here - a whole season's use without the need to wash it. However, I do make a point of airing it out after every trip by hanging it up outside in the fresh air for a day or so before storing it in its pillowcase (supplied by SD with the bag).
• Does the compression sack offer benefits to outweigh its weight? (I usually squish the bag into my pack and find it takes up less room this way, filling all the nooks and crannies. However, if I need the internal space for clothes or food, I'll try lashing the compression sack to the bottom of my pack to see how it works.) A) Not for me. I tried this and found the bag took up too much room in my pack when stuffed into the compression sack or was ungainly when strapped to the bottom of my pack. That may be a factor of the size of my pack (3,000 cu in/49 L or smaller) and perhaps a larger pack would not have the same issue. But, I try to keep my pack volume down to prevent someone (like me) from putting lots of unnecessary stuff in it--if there's no room, it can't come. I'm much happier when I push the bag into the pack and fill all the nooks and crannies of the pack with squished bag than I am using the compression sack. Of course I use either a waterproof seam-sealed pack or a contractor grade plastic bag in the pack to keep the bag (and everything else) dry.
• How do the pad locks work when used with a wider and rectangular mattress versus the mummy shaped Air Core I've used to date? A) The pad locks have sufficient length to allow use of my Exped Down Air Mattress which is a more normal full sized rectangle. Either mattress remains nicely in place under me when I'm sleeping (although I did wake up with all of it ending up on top of me - skyward - when I was sleeping at a downhill pitch on a plastic groundsheet and I rolled over in my sleep).
• What's up with that zipper that it's not sliding easily all the way to the top? (Some late night investigation by headlamp is called for here.)  A) I've discussed this in some detail above and although the sticking of the zipper is irritating, it's the only issue I have and it's easily corrected and far better than the alternative of fabric snagging I've experienced with other bags.

TESTING CONDITIONS

Testing conditions experienced in the western Connecticut foothills (elevations to 2500 ft/762 m) and the southern Massachusetts Berkshires at elevations to 3000 ft/914 m had temperatures ranging from a low of 8 F/-13 C to highs of 38 F/3 C. It snowed on two of the trips and rained (freezing) on one (it also snowed on that one too). On only one did I experience any significant (more than 10 mph/16 kph) winds.