Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Sierra Designs Van Winkle 15 degree > Clifford Haynes > Initial Report

Sierra Designs
Van Winkle Powerfill 600 Flex
Men's Long Sleeping Bag

Initial Report
October 4, 2004

Personal Stats:

Backpacking Background:
I am from and live in Maine. I have been hiking, backpacking, and canoe camping for over 45 years. I average 2 to 3 days a week in the woods year round.

I can't really say that I have a backpacking style. I take what I need or want, depending upon what I plan to do on the outing. Even before my knees became a problem, I could never see being in a big rush. It is my opinion that camping is part of backpacking, and should be enjoyed at least as much as the hiking. In areas where there is a lot of hiker traffic, I tend to pack heavier in order to minimize impact. I just like being out in the woods, and exploring.

When I applied for this test, I applied for the men's long Van Winkle instead of the regular. The regular was the proper bag for my height, but I wanted the addition girth of the long Van Winkle. I also normally bag and keep my boots inside the foot of my sleeping bag during cold weather, so needed the extra length for my boots.

Product Information:

*The two girth measurements are unstretched / stretched.
** as determined by tester on test bag

Product Description:

The Sierra Designs Van Winkle Powerfill 600 Flex sleeping bag is a goose down filled mummy style sleeping bag.

Features: (quoted from web site)

• Full length, packcloth trimmed, zipper draft tube to ensure warmth and snag-free zipping.
• Patented Flex construction, which adds inches of girth to the bag., which adjusts to meet the needs of belly, back and side sleepers.
• Nightcap Hood, Color coded, night touch drawcord adjustments for the hood: Black flat lace for the forehead, Grey round cord for the chin.
• Locking zipper sliders to ensure warmth.
• Pad Locks to keep you on your pad all night long.
• Cotton storage sack and a polyurethane coated stuff sack.
• Quick drying, highly wicking, black polyester lining.
• Durable, Pertex shell with DWR.
• Easy-grab zipper pull loop.

Initial Report:

My Sierra Designs Van Winkle sleeping bag arrived on 9/24/2004 in a large cardboard box. Upon opening the box, I found the Van Winkle packed in it's orange cotton storage sack. I removed the Sierra Designs Van Winkle from the storage sack for inspection. There was a hang tag attached to the top zipper pull. The hang tag highlights the features of Sierra Designs Flex sleeping bag series. The Van Winkle has a burnt orange front and dark blue back and hood. I carefully inspected the seams they were straight and could find no loose threads or snags. I ran the zippers up and down several times, they operated smoothly and I didn't experience any snags. The Van Winkle appears to be well made of quality materials.

The first thing to catch my attention was the Nightcap Hood and zipper arrangement. The hood appears to be huge. The Nightcap hood is designed to allow the user to sleep comfortably is various positions (on the back, side, or belly). The hood has two pucker strings. A round lace Face Adjustment which can be cinched up to reduce heat loss (similar to that found on most hooded mummy bags), and the flat-lace Crown adjustment which puckers the crown of the hood, reducing its volume (when the flat-lace pulled up tight the hood fits similar to a normal mummy bag hood). According to the Sierra Designs web site, the Nightcap Hood pucker laces are color coded, the round lace Face Adjustment being gray and the flat-lace Crown adjustment being black, both laces are gray on my Van Winkle. 

The Van Winkle has two zippers. The main zipper is a #8YKK 2 way separating zipper, approximately 66" (167 cm) long, located on the left side and turns in to the throat of the Van Winkle. There is a second non-separating zipper, approximately 8" (20 cm) long, running diagonally from the throat to the right side of the Van Winkle. Both of the zippers have draft tubes witch are trimmed with packcloth (for snag free zipping). 

The exterior shell of the Van Winkle has small elastic gathered puckers running around the bag between the baffles (Flex Construction). This allows the Van Winkle girth to expand and contract. The body of the Van Winkle can expand approximately 6" (15 cm) throughout the leg and body and 2" (5 cm) at the ankles. There are two black 0.5" (1.3 cm) wide nylon straps (Pad Locks) attached to the back of the Van Winkle, one at the shoulders, the other at the hips. The Pad Locks are adjusted to the desired length (in order to anchoring the Van Winkle to the sleeping matt) with plastic buckles. The maximum length of the Pad Lock straps is 32" (81 cm).

First Impressions:

As I mentioned earlier the hood of the Van Winkle appears to be huge. After inspecting the bag, I had to try it out. I laid out the Van Winkle on the living room floor and got in. The Taffeta lining material felt soft and very comfortable against my skin. Upon zipping the Van Winkle, I was surprised when the zipper slid closed easily and  without snagging. I'm fat and I generally have a hard time zipping sleeping bags (generally only part way). The main zipper of the Van Winkle easily zipper right to the top. Frankly given my girth and the advertised girth of the Van Winkle I expected it to be much tighter than it is. Even though the Flex Construction is fully stretched, the Van Winkle doesn't feel like it is squeezing me. The Flex design seems to relax, rather than stretch, in order to accommodate my girth. I can actually be comfortable with my arms inside the bag. I unzipped the short diagonal zipper on the right side of the Van Winkle, rolled on my side, and slipped my arm into the Nightcap Hood and under my head. With my head nestled into the left corner of the Nightcap Hood, I was very comfortable (and very hot). The Van Winkle was just too warm to continue playing with indoors, I decided I needed to get out for a quick overnight.

A couple of days later I managed to get out for a local over night outing. As a campsite, I chose a local hilltop at about 2300' (700 m) elevation. The hill top is open and usually quite cool. I used an MSR Hubba Hubba tent fly as shelter (with the vestibule rolled open) to stay as cool as possible. The lowest temperature I recorded was 43 F (6 C) at about 3:15 AM. Wearing shorts and a light cotton tee-shirt I was too hot with the Van Winkle zipped up. I needed to open the zippers to cool the bag enough to sleep comfortably. It was cool enough for me to appreciate the Nightcap Hood. I'm a side sleeper and usually sleep with my arm under my head. I woke a couple of time during the night with a cold left side due to the open main zipper, but as soon as I rolled back to my left side I warmed right back up and went back to sleep. I was very happy with the Van Winkles' performance. I found it very comfortable and even though it was snug, it wasn't as restrictive as my other sleeping bags.

When I applied for this test, my plan was to use the Van Winkle with the Sierra Designs Down Stretch Addition, a Flex Construction panel that zips into a sleeping bag's main zipper and adds 6" to 10 " to the sleeping bags girth. I have been using a down Stretch Addition for about a year and a half. Unfortunately I left my original Stretch Addition at out camp in Nova Scotia for the summer and didn't have it for  the beginning of the test. Since I am very happy with my old Sierra Designs Stretch Addition, I ordered a new one to use for testing the Van Winkle. It arrived before the weekend, so I was able to get out for another overnight before writing this report. For this outing I canoed to a campsite on the river bank at an elevation of about 400' (120 m), about a mile (1.6 km) below small lake. I used the MSR Hubba Hubba fly as a shelter again with the vestibule rolled open. The lowest temperature I recorded was 35 F (1.5 C) at 4:10 AM. I was comfortable sleeping in shorts and cotton tee-shirt after I got the zippers adjusted for the temperature. With the Stretch Addition I wasn't awakened during the night with a cold side. Sometime during the night I did snug up the Nightcap Hood's Face Adjustment.

I found on the first outing that the Sierra Designs Van Winkle was compatible with my girth, but the addition of the Stretch Addition improved my comfort level. I plan to use the Van Winkle with the Stretch Addition through the majority of the test period (especially in cold weather conditions). I will be submitting an Owner Review of the Sierra Designs Stretch Addition to BackpackGearTest.org in the future.

I have not yet tried the Van Winkle's Pad Locks in the field. I'm a bit concerned that due to my girth, I might rip out the seam where they are attached to the Van Winkle. They don't appear to have been designed for the stress that a user of my girth will exert on them.

Test Plan:

I will be using the Sierra Designs Van Winkle as my primary sleeping bag throughout the test period. My primary interest will be warmth, comfort, reliability, and durability. Given the expected normal winter temperatures here in Maine, I expect to test temperature rating of the Van Winkle. I plan to be out for overnight outings weekly and have several multi day trips planned for this winter. These outings are planned for Northern Maine and the Western mountains of Maine. I will be camping using an MSR Hubba Hubba tent (or just the fly) through most of the test period, but plan to get in some hammock camping by the end of the test.

I would like to thank Sierra Designs and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to participate in this test.

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Sierra Designs Van Winkle 15 degree > Clifford Haynes > Initial Report