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Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Sierra Designs Echo and Electra > Gail Staisil > Field ReportField Report: Sierra Designs Electra Sleeping Bag By Gail Staisil, Marquette, Michigan February 06, 2006 Tester Information Personal
Data:
Name: Gail Staisil
Age: 53 Gender: Female Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m) Weight: 140 lb (64 kg) Shoulder Girth: 41 in (104 cm) Hip Girth: 37 in (94 cm) Email: woodswoman2001@yahoo.com Location: Marquette, Michigan USA Photo Album Website: http://community.webshots.com/user/isleroyalegirl Backpacking Background:
For the last 16
years, backpacking has become a passion. I am a
four-season backpacker and an off-trail navigator. Although I do take
yearly trips to the American West or Southwest, the majority of my
trips are in Michigan and Canada. My pack weight varies considerably,
but my base weight is below 20 lb (9.1 kg). I am primarily a tarp
camper who averages over 50 nights a year backpacking in a huge
variety of weather conditions, including relentless rain, wet snow and
sub-zero temps.
Sierra Designs Electra Sleeping Bag--Description Product Information:
Overview
The Sierra Designs
Electra Sleeping Bag is a women's-specific sleeping bag that is
temperature rated at -20 F ( -29 C). The dimensions of the
bag and the placement of extra insulation were configured
with women's body types in mind. According to their
website, the mummy-shape bag is made out of a combination of
materials that are designed to enhance the performance of the sleeping
bag. The Electra belongs to Sierra Designs' Adventure DriZone
Series. The manufacturer claims that all of the bags in that
series are constructed with a highly breathable waterproof shell
material called DriZone. The Electra also features Power-Fill 800 Goose
Down Insulation, Baffle Construction, Draft Collar, Dual Draft Tubes,
Ergonomic Hood, Glow-In-The-Dark Zippers and Pad Locks. For
more extensive description of the Electra, please see my initial
report.
 Specs
Field Testing Data Field
Locations/Conditions
During the field-test
period of two months, I have used the Electra on two multi-day
backpacking trips for a total of seven field nights.
Locations ranged from highly-deciduous forests to overgrown swamps and
lake shores in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Early winter
to mid-winter weather varied from overcast and rain to overcast and
snow. There are very few sunny days in these climes at this time of
year. Temperatures ranged from a high of 34 F (1 C) to a low of 8 F
(-13 C) with humidity in the normal range of 60 to 95 percent for those
areas. All of the trips were at low altitude ranging from 600 ft (183
m) to 2000 ft (610 m) with a moderate amount of elevation change.
Backpacking Trip-- Pigeon River State
Forest (December 2- 5 2005)
Conditions were
somewhat mild for this early-winter backpacking trip. I arrived at camp
rather late and quickly set up my tent shelter. It was snowing heavily
so I got everything in the tent as quickly as possible. I was the only
person sleeping in the two person tent so I shingled both of my
sleeping pads in the center of the tent. I brought two three-quarter
length pads of different
compositions. One was a Mt. Washington closed-cell foam pad and the
other
was a ProLite 3 inflatable pad. I arranged the pads so that both
ends would
be single in height (double in the middle). Because the pads were
shingled in such a manner, I
decided that I would await another time to try the Pad Lock feature of
the Electra. I
quickly pulled the Electra out of the compression stuff sack that was
provided by the manufacturer and placed it on the sleeping pads. The
Electra lofted quickly
which was
a good thing because I was mostly ready to go to sleep.
It was about 25 F (-4 C) when I retired to sleep. Being a cold sleeper, I hesitated to wear less clothing than I normally need at that temperature. There was also a high humidity factor which really comes into play with the snow conditions. I decided to wear my silk Capilene under layers plus an external layer of wool including wool socks. The lightly insulated jacket and pants that I had wore while setting up camp were removed. I zipped up the length of the side zipper on the Electra. This took a bit of starts and stops as the zipper seems to hesitate along its pathway. More accurately, the fabric of the Double Draft tubes got pinched in the zipper at regular intervals. The Snag-free zipper track keeps the adjacent fabric along side the zipper itself from snagging but not the extended 4 in (10 cm) baffle of draft tube fabric. In my initial report I mentioned that I was concerned that the Electra was shorter in length than any of my current unisex bags even though I am testing a Women's Electra Long. It measures 78 in (198 cm) at full length which is 2 in (5 cm) shorter than the comparable model in a Men's Regular at 80 in (203 cm). I wondered how that would effect my comfort level as when I stretched my feet or flexed them they almost touched the bottom of the bag. However, this hasn't been an issue for me as I quickly realized that I would never sleep in such a manner. I adjusted the draft collar cordage to fit semi-snug and fastened the Velcro tab. I decided not to wear the hood itself but rather to arrange my lightly insulated jacket as a pillow inside of the hood. I wore a light wool hat instead. This worked out very well as I was protected from the elements by the use of a tent and the weather didn't dictate that I needed more insulation surrounding my head. In the morning I checked the Electra for any signs of frozen or wet condensation. The bag felt remarkably dry so I quickly stuffed it back in the compression sack. I placed this in the bottom of my large backpack ( 5500 cu in/90 L) and it fit quite nicely. A lot of my gear at this time of year is quite bulky so finding the right arrangement in the pack is paramount to comfort and usability. The other three nights of this trip were colder than the first. In fact, one of the nights had a low of 8 F (-13 C). On the colder nights, I decided to stuff my lightly insulated pants inside the sleeping bag so that they would be warm when I wanted to put them on in the morning. It worked surprisingly well as there was adequate room for them even with the smaller dimensions of the bag itself. The Electra has a smaller circumference across the shoulders (60 in/152 cm) than I am used to but it in no way hindered my efforts to turn to the opposite side a few times during the night. The Women's specific fit also has extra down placed in strategic areas across the torso and the footbox. Since these are two areas that I often feel cold, I was happy with the extra insulation. I did not have to wear more clothing than the previous nights and my feet were happy clad only in wool socks. I did have my insulated Primaloft booties along in case I needed them but I didn't have to resort to wearing them inside the bag. Sledge Trip--Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (January 13-16 2006) Amazingly enough, the
conditions for this trip were still in the mild
range for winter. In fact the daytime high was above 30 F (-1 C) while
the night time low was about 20 F (-7 C). Needless to say, I was quite
content inside the Electra. The temps were so moderate that I didn't
even need to tightly adjust the draft collar. I again favored wearing
silk Capilene topped by a light wool external layer.
The Double Draft tubes on this bag have been a great asset. Normally even in mild temperatures most sleeping bags I have used overwhelmingly feel drafty around the zipper area. Not only does cold air leak inward but warm air has an easy door to escape, not so in the Electra. Several times I ran my hands up and down the double-baffled areas and I didn't find any cold spots. Usually I wouldn't of even had to do such a check in my other sleeping bags as I would have felt the cold through my clothing immediately. I am duly impressed with this feature. It certainly adds to the reason why I am staying so comfortable. Even though the draft tubes continue to snag on the zipper, the merits of the Double Draft tubes outweigh the inconvenience. The tightly woven DriZone Shell has also been remarkable for keeping cold drafts out of the bag. Even though I slept in a tent during this trip, I didn't close the tent's interior door itself. I did have the vestibule door closed but cold drafts could seep in underneath its edges. My feet were at the end of the tent nearest the vestibule and I didn't feel any cold air permeating through the fabric of the Electra. During this trip, the Electra was stuffed in its compression sack and placed inside of a waterproof bag. I was sledging my gear so it was very important that my gear stayed dry as I ambled through the wet snow conditions. I decided to pack the Electra each morning using my sticky-dot gloves as I wanted to see if I could easily pack it while having my hands covered. It packed very well and I didn't have to wrangle it into the stuff sack. This most likely will be an attribute when colder conditions are encountered during the long term testing period. The humidity remained rather high during the entire trip and again the Electra stayed nicely dry to the touch. When I had my tent door open, any snow that blew in was quickly brushed off and the fabric showed no signs of seepage. I brought and use two insulated pads during this trip. One was a full-length closed-cell foam pad and the other was a three-quarter length closed-cell foam pad (Mt. Washington). I stacked the pads so that they were even at the foot end. Even though the conditions were mild, I was still sleeping on a half-foot of frozen snow. So far, I haven't witnessed any stray goose-down fill escaping from the Electra. This is outstanding considering the leakage I have experienced with other down bags that I own. The exterior fabric and the lining fabric seem to be so tightly woven that they have prevented any loss of insulation. Overall Thoughts and Future Testing During the field-test
period I have been quite pleased with the performance of the
Electra. Although it was not subject to the temperatures that it was
rated for, it has performed admirably in the field. There are many
features that I love including the Double Draft tubes and the
women's-specific attributes of the Electra. During the long-term
testing period, I have two extended backpacking trips planned that
should be at temperatures that are more indicative of colder
winter conditions. I will pay close attention to the temperature
rating/comfort level matched with field conditions. In addition, I will
note the performance of the down-filled Electra
during many consecutive days in the field.
Likes:
Dislikes:
Comments:
Thanks to Sierra
Designs
and BGT for this great opportunity to test such a neat product.
( Photo courtesy of Sierra Designs) Read more reviews of Sierra Designs gear Read more gear reviews by Gail Staisil Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Sierra Designs Echo and Electra > Gail Staisil > Field Report | |||