|
| Home | Guest - Not logged in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
» Register
» Login
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
» Contact
|
Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Sierra Designs Wicked Fast > Andrew Mytys > Long Term Report
Tester's Biographical Information:
Backpacking Background: I live in Michigan and have been hiking seriously for 15 years, although I've camped since I was 6 years old. I consider myself a lightweight hiker. I carry the lightest gear I can get my hands on which will provide a comfortable wilderness experience and adequately support the goals of my trip. Unless my goals are time/distance oriented, my overall pace is always slow. I generally walk at a 3-4 MPH (5-6 KPH) pace and take long breaks at scenic vistas, swimming holes, etc. This brings my average pace down to 2 miles (3 km)/hour. I like to hike long days and enjoy whatever nature throws my way.
Product Information:
Accessories Included:
Product Description: Part of Sierra Design's "Ultralight" series of sleeping bags, the Wicked Fast is a 30° F (-1° C) rated sleeping bag boasting such features as a fitted hood for better insulation and decreased heat loss, an opening in the foot box for ventilation, removable pad locks to help keep the sleeping bag affixed to the pad, and a snag free zipper track to prevent the bag's lining from becoming entangled in the zipper. The Wicked Fast also has a half-length zipper to help keep its weight to a minimum while continuing to provide the user with "easy-in, easy-out" access. Field Conditions: During the Long Term Testing period, the Sierra Designs Wicked Fast sleeping bag was used for a total of seven nights in Michigan. Nightly low temperatures ranged from 22 to 45 F (-5 to 7 C), with humidity levels ranging from 45% to 100%. I focused my long-term testing on sleeping under a tarp, as I had already experienced temperatures down below the bag's rated 30° F (-1° C) while using a tent in my Field testing. A Drafty Night: As the Wicked Fast lacks a draft tube along the length of its side zipper, I found it was best to face the zipper side of the bag away from the wind while sleeping under a tarp. At the same time, I made sure my tarp was pitched into the wind at a sharp angle and close to the ground, allowing as much wind as possible to be blocked. In the end, I didn't find a noticeable amount of cold air entering the bag through its zipper. What I did find, however, was that my movement inside the bag caused a bellows effect to occur, which pumped warm air out the hood and sucked cooler air inside - for conditions where the Wicked Fast needed to be zipped up completely, I found myself wishing that the bag contained a draft collar in its design. Tackling the Elements: On one occasion, I left my camp set up and went out for a hike. During my time away, rain fell that changed to sleet, and then to snow. The weight and consistency of the snow was too much for even the steep pitch of my tarp to shed and the additional load quickly pulled my stakes out of the sandy soil, collapsing my tarp on my bag. When I returned from my hike, the bag was covered in moisture. The loft was preserved however, and it seemed that only the exterior of the bag was soaked. While I was not able to dry the bag completely, I was able to wipe off the excess moisture from the shell with my pack towel, and the bag was able to provide enough insulation for me to get through a night of near-freezing temperatures (albeit while wearing every dry piece of clothing I had with me). Overall, the bag performed at about the same level as I had experienced when its shell was dry.
Temperature Rating: I found my comfort level - or perhaps I should say "trust level" - with the Wicked Fast to be about 40° F (4° C). What I mean by this is that I feel confident that the bag will keep me warm down to 40° F (4° C), even if I put in a very high mileage day, eat relatively few calories, go on little sleep, or have damp, humid conditions. When in a tent, this meant that outside temperatures could be at 30° F (-1° C), as the micro-climate inside the tent translated into the ambient temperature inside being a solid 10° F (5° C) warmer than those outside. Now, under ideal conditions the bag will keep me warm without any extra layers in even lower temperatures... it's unfortunate that I rarely find myself in such conditions, however. I also feel that my stated comfort rating is more indicative of my own lack of heat-generating ability than the bag's ability to affectively insulate. For example, on one night the temperature was 30° F (-1 ° C), with humidity levels at 98%. I went to sleep after eating a very filling meal, and slept warmly for a few hours until a fellow hiker returned from a night hike and decided he wanted to start a campfire, then proceeded to chop wood. I woke up due to all the chopping, and decided that I would join in on the campfire rather than complain about the noise. A few hours later, I returned to my sleeping bag. The temperature was still the same, yet I couldn't stay warm. I put on an extra fleece pullover, gloves, and a heavy wool hat - I was still cold. I tried wearing my down jacket inside the sleeping bag, but I still couldn't win against the chill that I was feeling. In the end, I fired up my alcohol stove, brought 16 ounces (0.5 L) of water to a near boil, and poured it into my Platypus bottle. The bottle was then placed inside the sleeping bag, giving me a warm enclosure that my body simply had to maintain, rather than create. The lesson here is that there is a host of field conditions and personal characteristics that can make a bag effective or ineffective in near-identical environments. In my opinion, it's best to look at a sleeping bag as part of a system when using it at or near its temperature rating. In my case, that system starts with my being well fed and not totally drained of energy, as well as having dry clothing to fall back on (e.g. a micro fleece pullover, gloves, hat, and sleeping socks). These are items I carry while backpacking in near/sub freezing conditions anyway, and as a weight-conscious backpacker I'm more interested in making the items I already carry work together rather than carrying a bag that might have more loft but add significant weight to my pack. I also found it to be important that any clothes worn while inside the sleeping bag were dry, especially when using the bag near the low end of its temperature rating. For the most part, this didn't present a problem as I tend to pack a pair of sleeping socks, a fleece pullover that, when used on the trail, is always worn as a mid-layer, a wool hat, and a pair of gloves. I did find that the gloves were hard to keep dry, particularly on cold, damp days where I found myself wearing the gloves both on the trail and in camp. As a result, I now carry a 1.3 oz (37 g) pair of fleece gloves that are dedicated for sleeping in when venturing out in near/sub-freezing conditions.
Durability: Outside of the small rip in the footbox that occurred while Field Testing - damage that was quickly repaired - the bag held up without incident and continues to appear in "like new" condition. I have not noticed any loss in loft, and the shell material proved itself to be completely "down-proof" - I didn't lose a single feather or down cluster.
Closing Thoughts: In my opinion, the beauty of the Wicked Fast is that it weighs just 26 oz (737 g), is roomy enough to allow for layering, and can be an effective solution at near and even below freezing temperatures. In my case, I'm even using a bit of fuel to "turbo-charge" the bag's temperature rating. It costs me perhaps 0.5 oz (14 g) of fuel per night to get the same level of performance that I would expect to see in a bag that weighed 1/2 pound (227 g) or more than the Wicked Fast. The fact that I can stretch my investment in a single, lightweight solution across three solid seasons of backpacking - four in some parts of the world - makes the Sierra Designs Wicked Fast a very attractive option for me.
Read more reviews of Sierra Designs gear Read more gear reviews by Andrew Mytys Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Sierra Designs Wicked Fast > Andrew Mytys > Long Term Report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||