Name: Jeff Jackson
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 10” (178 cm)
Weight: 185 lb (84 kg)
Website: http://www.tothewoods.net/
Email: jwj32542 at yahoo dot com
Location: Monterey, CA, USA

Backpacking Background:
I have been a wicked backpacker for about eleven years. I started as a three-season overnight-only hiker (not very wicked) in North Georgia's mountains, and have since hiked in several states on both U.S. coasts. Weather has generally been mild (50-85°F / 10-30°C) with occasional winter conditions (-10°F/-23°C). Three years ago I switched to lightweight hiking and I keep my packweight below 30 lb (14 kg) for weeklong trips. I have used several ultralight sleep systems, including quilts, hammock underquilts, Speer PeaPod, and homemade systems. All systems have been used on the ground and in a hammock. Will this Wicked bag top them all?

PRODUCT INFO

Manufacturer: Sierra Designs (http://www.sierradesigns.com/)
Product: Wicked Fast - Men's Regular (2006)
Color: Orange/Gray
Fill: 800 fill power goose down
Listed Trail Weight: 23 oz (652 g)
Measured Total Weight: 24-3/8 oz (690 g) (5.8% over listed)
MSRP: $239.95 US

Product Description:

This ultralight sleeping bag has 12 oz (340 g) of 800 fill-power goose down, a half-zipper on the left side, and an overstuffed "jacket hood" to minimize air gaps around the face and neck. Unlike Sierra Design's Wicked Lite series, this Wicked Fast is insulated on both top and bottom, and continuous baffles allow down to be shifted based on preference. Two pad locks are designed to keep the bag centered on the sleeping pad, and a zippered foot box provides additional ventilation for warm nights.

Test Update

I have used this bag on backpacking trips in Los Padres National Forest and several nights hammock camping near my home. Weather has dry, humid, sometimes windy, with low temperatures of 40-60 F (4-15 C). I used it while sleeping in a hammock and while camping on the ground, and used it as a quilt and while completely inside the bag. I have a total of fifteen nights in this bag.

I evaluated the Wicked Fast on the basis of comfort, durability, and performance.

Comfort - The Wicked Fast feels very comfortable against my skin, fits well, and drapes nicely on my body. I would prefer an extra 12" (30 cm) on the main zipper to increase the ventilation, as I got clammy in temperatures above about 50 F (10 C).

Durability - During the long term test phase, some small feathers began to leak from the bag. This leakage was less than other down gear I have used, though, and I was able to pull most of them back into the bag. Besides this leakage and some small marks (but no damage) from snagged zippers, the bag has shown no signs of wear.

Performance - This bag performs well. I am most impressed by the jacket-shaped hood, which is very comfortable and extremely warm.
During the long term test phase, however, I tested the pad locks and found them to be unhelpful. When pulled tight, they compressed the bag. When left loose, they did not do much good, and even with loose straps I had a hard time reaching the zipper. More importantly, I could not roll with the bag to sleep on my side. When I rolled inside the bag, the hood did not work as designed - my face was halfway inside the hood, and half of my head was open to the breeze. The pad locks may work well if I stay on my back all night, but this is not my sleeping style. Luckily, they are removable so they do not really detract from the bag's performance.
I also tried shifting the down in the baffles during this test period. The down was easy to push into the underside of the bag, which helped with temperature regulation, but again I had to stay on my back to gain the benefits. I think an extra 12" (30 cm) on the main zipper would provide more temperature regulation than shifting the down inside the baffles.

Unfortunately, my testing temperatures did not approach the lower limit of the manufacturer's rating (30 F / -1 C), but based on how warm I was at 40 F (4 C) I expect the bag to keep me warm to about freezing. User impressions of a bag's ratings can vary based on many factors - metablism, hydration and energy levels, meals, clothing worn, etc - but I think Sierra Designs' rating for the Wicked Fast is generally on target.

What I Like

Lightweight
Comfortable
Very compressible

What I Don’t Like

Poor venting
Foot vent too small for both feet
Zipper too short to use bag as a quilt

In summary, the Wicked Fast is a great bag for cool weather. I'm impressed with quality of construction and the hood's performance outshines other mummy bags I have used. The short zipper somewhat limits the comfortable temperature range, but shifting the down can partially compensate for this. In the future, I may backpack with this bag if I'm sure the temperature will be between 30 F and 45 F (-1 to 7 C), but for warmer temperatures I will stick with my quilt.

I would like to thank Sierra Designs and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this bag.

Jeff Jackson

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Long Term Report

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