Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Speer Hammock Frog Sac > Thomas Peltier > Long Term Report

I have been a professional river guide and kayak instructor for the last 11 years; however, I currently work at a family establishment in Bakersfield, California. Working a "Real Job" keeps me away from the outdoors a bit more than I would like. My summers are busy between city work and river guiding. Much of my packing is done on the river in the summer. This has driven me to long winter trips and short summer trips for the last several years. I took up snowshoeing to help get into winter packing. I have found that less is often more in my backpacking and my summer trips I find myself as happy in a pair of Chacos carrying my pocketknife as I do with a heavy pack and big boots.

Product information:

ffffff the sunt	Manufacturer:	Spear Hammocks	fff the sunt
ffffff the sunt	Year:	2004	fff the sunt
fffffff the sunt	URL:	http://www.speerhammocks.com	fff the sunt

	Size:	Medium	Large
	Listed Weight:	1 lb 10 oz (0.74 kg)	1 lb 14 oz (0.74 kg)
	Packed Size:	11 by 7 in. (28 x 18 cm)	11 by 7 in. (28 x 18 cm)
	Listed Girth:	60.5 in. (154 cm)	64.5 in. (164 cm)
	Listed Length:	84 in. (213 cm)	90 in. (229 cm)
ttfunin the sunt	MSRP:	$99.00	$109.00

My Medium

fffthe sunt	Weight	1 lb 10 oz (0.72 kg)
fff the sunt	Packed Size	11 by 7 in. (28 x 18 cm)
fffffff the sunt	Center Line Length	82 in. (208 cm)	fff thffffffe sunt

Introduction:


Since my Field Report the weather has become colder and in fact many of my camping days never saw a high of 45 F (7 C) let alone the low. I have however, found many excellent uses for the Frog Sac. Because of the Frog Sac's versatility I wanted to try and incorporate the Frog Sac into my winter camping system. My theory was that the Frog Sac could become one of my camp layers. I could use the Frog Sac as a liner while sleeping and a robe while in camp. That the Frog Sac would make a warm changing room while getting in and out of my hiking clothes or putting on or off layers for camp or bed and that I could carry a lighter sleeping bag if I used the Frog Sac as a liner. I learned many interesting things as a result of my winter testing.

Frog Sac and Winter Use:


I have been using the Frog Sac in the Sierra Nevada Range for the last six months. This year brought early storms and cold weather to the mountains, since mid October the Sierra Nevada's have lived up to their name. As a result of these early storms, I have had many opportunities to camp in the snow and cold weather during the last part of my testing and I have found a new companion for winter camping.

I generally would wear the Frog Sac with polypropylene underwear and fleece pants and vest while in camp. I like the way the Frog Sac would hold in the warmth. I could retreat my hands inside near my torso and keep them warm, darting them out to pick up my coffee or perform some other task around camp.

I used the Frog Sac as a liner for two types of sleeping bags. The first, while car camping, was a large canvas and flannel bag. I found that the Frog Sac would bind up and twist around as I moved during the night. As a solution for this problem, I would simply unzip the Frog Sac and use it like a blanket inside of the large canvas bag.

The second sleeping bag I used the Frog Sac with is my 20 F (-7 C) mummy bag. The fabric inside my mummy bag is nylon and the Frog Sac slid around as I moved inside the sleeping bag without binding or twisting up around me. I often sleep with a knee up even with my hips inside my sleeping bag, with the Frog Sac as a liner I was able to comfortable accomplish this. I slept comfortable at 5 F (-15 C) using the Frog Sac as a liner to my sleeping bag.

I have also worn the Frog Sac under a blanket while sleeping in a hammock. I have found this very effective in cold weather conditions. I have done this using both an under quilt design and a sleeping pad inside of the hammock. I found that this set up works very well for me. During warmer weather months the Frog Sac was all the insulation I needed while sleeping in my hammock, but as the weather grew cold I found that I needed something extra like a blanket to keep me warm.

I found that using the Frog Sac in cold weather was like having a detachable sleeping bag. Half of my sleeping bag would get up with me whenever I had to get up. I find this makes it much easier to get up on those frozen cold mornings. It also helps while changing, especially when there is a cold wind blowing. The Frog Sac is a bit narrow as a portable changing room goes but I found that with some practice and strategic zipper placement I could change my clothing inside the comfort of the Frog Sac.

The Failure:


It took me a little while to figure out what was wrong. The morning was cold and clear, (The low that night had been 8 F (-13 C)) and when I got up and started walking around something didn't feel right and I could not get the Frog Sac to stay in place. I finally took the Frog Sac off to inspect it and found that the draw string around the hood had pulled out of the stitching. This caused the Frog Sac to rest at a funny angle on my head and the hood to flop over kind of funny. This was a real downer on such a beautiful morning, but what can you do when these things happened. I dressed for the day, packed up the Frog Sac and stowed it safely away until the trip was over. I immediately notified the Speer company and they replaced the Frog Sac under warranty immediately. Within about five days of sending the Speer company my address I had my replacement. It turns out that the stitching did not have a large enough bit on the fabric. In other words they didn't get quite enough material when the put the tube together. I'm not a seamstress and could not tell you by looking at yourself but Ed Speer was very knowledgeable and informative about the problem. I have long believed that the measure of a company is not in how well they handle their business under ideal conditions but how well they handle business when something goes wrong. In this case Speer Hammocks replaced the bag in a very timely manor, I was very impressed.

I tested and used the Frog Sac for five months ,before it failed, and I tried to put the Frog Sac through the paces. I have asked a lot of the Frog Sac while always trying to treat it with care and respect. When the Frog Sac failed there wasn't even a question it was simply replaced. The service from Speer Hammocks was exemplary.

Final Thoughts


My Theory was right. I could use the Frog Sac as one of my layers summer or winter. On lazy summer trips with warm weather and long days the Frog Sac was all I needed for extra insulation. It was my jacket, pants, sleeping bag and robe all wrapped up into one package. Once the weather turned cold I was able to adapt the Frog Sac to work as a part of a larger system to stay warm. The Frog Sac makes an excellent layer while around camp as well as an excellent layer in my sleeping system. With the exception of the draw cord ripping out near the end of the test, I have enjoyed using the Frog Sac. I have incorporated the Frog Sac into all of my backpacking over the last six months and it has performed marvelously. I am still getting used to using it as a liner in my sleeping bag but since I tend to sleep in a hammock while backpacking this has not been that big of a problem. I feel that the Frog Sac is an excellent backpacking tool and I will continue to use it in the future.

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Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Speer Hammock Frog Sac > Thomas Peltier > Long Term Report