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Testing Location Overview:
The hiking environment of the south-west of Western Australia
allows for hiking and backpacking from coastal plains to forest.
Elevation ranges from 0 to 585 metres (0 to 1,920 feet). Within this
region, I hike in varying
conditions from forestry roads, to sandy tracks to single-purpose
walking
trails, to rock hopping, to beach walking to completely off-track
walking
through open and dense country.
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Weather Conditions:
During the summer period, daytime
temperatures average 30° C (86° F), whereas from March through to
December the daytime average temperatures range from 15° C to 26° C
(59° F to 79° F). During the
autumn, winter, and spring periods the normal weather pattern is fairly
wet with frequent heavy rainstorms evident. It does not normally snow
in
Western Australia.
According to The Times Atlas of the World
(Concise Edition - Revised 1997)
our weather is described as being "Mediterranean - rainy climates with
mild
winters, coolest month above 0° C (32° F), but below 18° C (64° F);
warmest
month above 10° C (50° F)." The atlas depicts the coastal area north of
Los Angeles as having the same climate.
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First Impressions of the
Sierra Designs Osage Sleeping Bag
The Sierra Designs Osage sleeping bag shipped with a
bright orange storage bag and a nylon stuff sack. The storage bag
was unexpected and the stuff sack was assumed. Neither item is mentioned
on the manufacturer's website. Other than that, the bag was as expected
after viewing the manufacturer's website.
That said, I do have one comment in respect of the girth
measurements given on the website. I attempted to measure these myself and
therefore confirm or vary that reported by the manufacturer. I was unable
to get a measurement that came close to those stated and therefore have
not given a measurement. I suspect that the manufacturer's measurements
are fairly accurate, if not on the small size, but without knowing how
they are determined it is difficult to get a verification measure.
I suggest the manufacturer's measures are on the small size as the shoulder girth is
tighter than I expected based on my rectangular shaped bag. This may be in
part due to the mummy shape of the Osage bag.
Moving on to the storage bag and stuff sack. The storage
sack appears to me to be adequately sized to allow the storage of the bag
without compressing the down. I say appears as I have no experience with
storage bags, preferring to layout my bags on a spare bed. That said, for
this test I will make use of the storage bag to see if it has any negative
effects.
The stuff sack is 100% nylon and is a nice size. It is a
nice to see a stuff sack bigger than what is needed! Not the other
way around. The Osage easily stuffs into the stuff sack allowing the sack
to be completely closed up without undue compression of the bag.
When closed up the Osage in the stuff sack measures 20 cm x 41 cm (8" x
16"). The stuff sack has a drawcord with a cordlock for pulling it closed,
a nylon flap to provide additional protection at the closure and a hold
handle at the closed end of the sack making it easy to hold the sack
whilst pulling the bag out.
As I am adverse to getting my sleeping bags wet, I always
carry them stuffed into a
Sea-to-Summit Lightweight Dry Sack and will be doing the same with the
Osage. This means the stuff sack will not be used.
Now to the bag itself. As previously explained the Osage
is a mummy shaped bag providing a snug fit for the sleeper. The bag has a
hood, which can be tightened around the head via a drawcord and cordlock.
This same drawcord and cordlock also tightens the bag around the chest,
thus combining the two areas often requiring closure into one single
operation. The cordlock is found on the right side of the bag, opposite to
the zipper.
At the foot end of the bag there is a foot box
approximately 35 cm (12") in diameter which provides space for one's feet.
There is no zip allowing for the opening up of the footbox.
 Running
down the left hand side of the bag is a YKK zip. The bag can be unzipped
from either the footbox end or the hood end, however, the zip only has a
Glow-in-the-Dark zipper pull at the hood end. Inside the bag the zip is
protected by two stiffened channels which close over the zip. the idea
being to eliminate the common problem of the bag material catching in the
zip. The effectiveness of this feature will be examined over the
test period. Also at the footbox end of the zip is a hanging loop made of
2 cm (0.8") wide webbing. Inside the bag running the full length of the
zip is a draft tube.
Located near the hood and on the left-hand side of the bag
is a small half-moon shaped zipper pocket (23.5 cm x 10 cm - 9.25" x 4").
Sierra Designs suggests the pocket is useful holding lip balm or a watch
and it does seem to be around this size. I will report on how functional
it is for me in later reports.
This leads me to the final feature of the bag, what Sierra
Designs refer to as the Pad Locks. The Pad Locks are in fact two thin
strips of webbing with ladder loc buckles on the outside of the underneath
of the bag. The straps are located at approximately the chest area and
waist area and seem designed to take a 3/4 length or longer sleeping pad.
Referring to the photo it can be seen that the pad slips inside the two
straps which are tightened to hold the pad and bag together. The
effectiveness of the pad locks for this restless sleeper will be examined
over the test period.
Finally an inspection of the seams shows no signs of loose
threads or poor sewing.
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Testing strategy
Over the next six months I will be undertaking a number of
scheduled weekend backpacks (one in May, June, August, September, and
October) plus a 17 night walk of the Larapinta Trail in the Northern
Territory. In addition, subject to work commitments I am aiming to fit in a
few extra overnight camps during the test period. The backpacks
are normally of a duration of one to two nights out. Camping is normally
tent camping or in three sided shelters.
The Larapinta Trail walk will allow me to use the bag over seventeen
continuous nights in a tent in a region where the average mean minimum
temperature is 4 C (39 F). This will be complimented with testing within
the south-west of Western Australia where the average mean minimum
temperature during the test period ranges from 4.5 C (40 F) to 7 C (45 F).
My testing will include a combination of tent camping (warmer conditions)
and three sided shelter conditions (colder conditions).
My testing will primarily focus on testing the ability of the bag to retain and
provide adequate warmth within its rated range in a range of sleeping and
weather conditions. I will be using a silk liner and also a
Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor liner with the bag and will test the
use of the bag with and without the liners. In addition I will also
examine the:
- Functioning of the "Snag-Free Zipper Track," i.e., is it
really snag free?
- Functioning of the Pad Locks. As a restless sleeper I am
sure I can put these to the test!
- Functionality of the Glow-in-the-Dark Zipper Pull - does
it really glow in the dark, does this make it easier to find in the
night, does it make exiting and entering the bag at night easier?;
- Functionality of the Chest Pocket. Is it really useful
for me as a restless sleeper; will I be able to keep things in it; find
those things during the night?;
- General durability of the stitching, locking zippers,
outer fabric and the down;
- Effectiveness of the draft tube in keeping warmth in and
drafts out;
- Durability and effectiveness of the baffle construction.
Do the baffles break loose? Do they keep in the down in place?;
- Compressibility and lofting of the bag, particularly
over 18 days of continuous use;
- Effectiveness of the shell material to repel
condensation and moisture;
- Effectiveness of the liner material to wick moisture
away from my body and to prevent static-build-up;
- Veracity of the claims of the shell material being quick
drying.
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Thanks to Sierra Designs
and BackpackGearTest.org for
the opportunity to participate in this test.
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