Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Snugpak Softie Chrysalis > Thomas Vickers > Field Report

Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag Field Test Report

December 12, 2005

Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.

Testing:
I have spent 8 nights in the Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag since the testing began.   The winter here in Texas has come very late and all but two of my nights in this bag were between the temperatures of 55 and 65 F (13 and 18 C).  It was a last minute drop in temperature that allowed me to really push the bag to its limits and I spent two nights at 36 F (2 C) near the end of the field test portion of the test. Right now I am looking forward to a more rigorous schedule and conditions for the next phase of this test.

Fit:
The first thing I tried with this bag was to see how I fit into it without using the baffle. This was a simple test that took place on the bedroom floor. I unzipped the bag, crawled in and zipped it all the way up. I even cinched the hood tightly around my head to make sure that I would be able to cram all of me inside if the weather ever became extreme enough to warrant this.  The good news is that I fit into the bag. It is long enough and wide enough that I don't feel trapped when zipped up inside.  The even better news is that I almost never zip myself all the way up.

The next step in my little plan was to figure out how I was going to get this sleeping bag to work in my preferred sleeping mode; lower body in the bag and upper body poking out of the bag. The hood on the Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag is not very bulky and it also facilitated my use of the bag. When I zip it up and leave my upper torso and head sticking out, the hood does not form a huge lump in my back.  When using a normal bag in this manner though, it leaves me with a long empty stretch of sleeping bag where my feet should be. The Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag  solved this problem by providing this bag with a variable length system.  It took a while, but I realized that if I folded the end of the bag under and snapped the latches in place, the Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag was just the right length.  Not only did I stick out the right way, but my feet were comfortable in the new bottom of the bag.  Even better was the fact that my feet got extra padding from the folded under end of the bag, which was going to come in helpful later. 

Comfort:
The Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag turned out to be a really comfortable bag once I got settled into it.  I spent all but two nights in shorts and a long sleeved top, upper torso sticking out, and the bag zipped all the way up to my chest. This was fine in the mild winter we were having and made using the bag in my hammock a cinch.   Even when I slept in a tent, it was easy to turn on my side and take the bag with me in this configuration. I wasn't cramped, the zippers worked smoothly and I was generally happy.  One thing that came apparent as I had this sleeping bag out in the field was that the variable length system had its benefits.  Not only do I prefer to sleep with my torso hanging out, but in my hammock, my feet tend to get cold on some nights because of the entry slit in the bottom of the hammock is directly under my feet.   When the bottom of the bag was folded under and clipped in place, the extra sleeping bag material under my feet and over the entry slit was huge boon.  It was almost as if Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag had made this bag for me and my hammock. 

My coldest nights took me down to 36 F (2 C) in the Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag.  These were the most serious test of the bag so far and everything came out good.  I started the nights off in my hammock, wearing a pair of long, nylon pants, Merino wool socks, a long sleeved shirt, and a short sleeve shirt.  As usual my torso was sticking out and my lower body was snuggly tucked into the bag.  I was fine like this for a about two hours (I was reading and dozing) and then my upper body got cold.  Now this isn't a bag problem since that part of my body was uncovered, but it was nice to know that as the temperatures dipped, I was toasty warm from the chest down with only a minimal amount of clothes on.  As my upper body got cold, I put on my jacket over the sleeping bag, and zipped it up in order to cover my upper torso.  I was so warm and comfortable, I don't even remember dozing off again.  My hope is that I get more cold nights like this and if so, I am going to bite the bullet and just zip up in the Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag to see how warm it will keep me. 

Construction:
I am very pleased with the way all the zippers and cordlocks work on this bag. They are easy to use one handed and while I am in the bag.  If it works while I am fiddling with it, then it is probably going to work for most everyone else.  There have been no snags or tears in the Snugpak Softie Chrysalis Micro Sleeping Bag so far.  Since I have been keeping the end of the bag shortened, I am paying close attention to wear/strain on the hooks that help shorten the bag and hold the end in place as well as material wear on the "new" footbox of the bag.

Final Notes:
I haven't kept this bag compressed that much so I can't tell how well it relofts yet. At some point I am going to have to stuff it in the stuff sack and let it sit for a few hours, then shake it out and see what happens.  The other thing that I have noticed is that the outer shell is not too overly slippery.  This is nice because I don't want to slip too easily into or around the interior of my hammock. Of course I have only tried this bag on one sleeping pad and in a hammock with no pad, but I don't think it is suddenly going to become the luge of sleeping bags anytime soon and shoot me out of a shelter.  

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Snugpak Softie Chrysalis > Thomas Vickers > Field Report