Reviewer Information

• Name: Cora Hussey
• Age: 22
• Gender: Female
• Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
• Weight: 155 lbs (70kg)
• Email address: cahhmc "at" yahoo "dot" com
• City, State, Country: Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Date: May, 2003

Basic Product Information

• Year of Manufacture: 2002
• URL: http://www.thenorthface.com
• Listed weight: 45 oz (1276 g)
• Weight as delivered: 49 oz (1389 g)
• Size: Regular
• Advertised Temperature Rating: 15'F (-9.4'C, Endurance style only)

Product Description

+ General:

The Cats Meow Delta Endurance is a mummy-style sleeping bag insulated with Polarguard (R) Delta, and covered with a waterproof-breathable fabric called Pertex Endurance. It has a near-full-length side zipper, an "anatomical" hood, separate one-hand adjustments for the top and bottom hood cinch, and a mesh watch pocket on the velcro closure flap. It also has a non-adjustable insulated tube around the neck to keep out drafts, as well as a similarly constructed tube along the zipper.

+ Dimensions:

All of these measurements were performed by me using a measuring tape, and were not obtained from manufacturer information. The inner bag length was measured to be 68" (173 cm) from the foot to the base of the hood opening, with an additional 8" (20 cm) of linear inner hood space, for an inner length of 76" (193 cm) . The outer length, from foot to the top of the hood, is 81" (206 cm). The bag has an inner girth of 56" (142 cm), and an outer circumference of 60" (152 cm). The hood opening, also when lying flat, is 18" (45 cm) across by 5" (13 cm) from chin to forehead. The mesh watch pouch on the velcro closure measures 4" x 3" (10 cm x 7.6 cm). The stuffed size, in the provided sack, is a tube measuring 15"x8" (38 cm x 20 cm).

+ Details:

The bag has small loops, two on each side, for attaching to sleeping pads which have attachment hooks. It also has a larger drying loop at the foot end of the zipper. This large loop is big enough to fit over the tip of a ski or similar drying post. It also has a small loop at the foot for line drying or hanging. It has an adequate no-zipper-snag webbing strip on the zipper draft tube. The main zipper pull has a glow-in-the dark spot, and the zipper has double sliders so it may be opened from the foot for venting when the top is shut. The bag seams are not taped or seam-sealed to my knowledge, and also seem not to be in my experience. The inner lining is black non-ripstop nylon.

Field Testing

I have slept in the Cats Meow Endurance for ten continuous weeks while working as a camp counselor in Washington, including two five-day trips to Mt. Baker in the Cascades. I have also used it while hiking the Wonderland Trail for twelve days in August.

Trip Details:

The trips saw temperatures from 75'F to 37'F (24'C to 3'C), windy conditions up to 35 mph (56 kph), rain, sleet, and snow. Elevations where the bag was used ranged from sea level to 8,000 ft (2,438 m). The sleeping bag was used in tents, under tarps, in a tipi, and directly outside, even sometimes when raining.

Important Usage Points:

+ The point where this bag failed me: Inside a tent, 37'F (3'C), 5,000 ft (1,524 m) elevation, sleeting, camping on snow, using a Z-rest pad and every available piece of clothing and my pack as added insulation.
Comments: I was extremely disappointed, since I had only used the bag for about three weeks and the temperature was nowhere near 15'F (-9.4'C). Although I was camping on snow, I had taken many cold-weather precautions (doing sit-ups in the bag, eating three energy bars before bed) and felt that a bag which actually could perform at that temperature would have kept me warm. At that point, I had to fashion an emergency Vapor Barier Liner out of my space blanket to keep from getting hypothermia. For comparison, on the Wonderland trail I also encountered 37'F (3'C) temperatures while sleeping on dirt under a tarp, and although I was not nearly as cold as when sleeping on snow, I was still cold and would not trust the bag to keep me warm at much lower temperatures.

+ Windiest Situation: 35 mph (56 kph)
Comments: The Pertex Endurance cut the wind quite well. I felt well-protected in all windy situations (especially those encountered while sleeping under a tarp). This is my favorite part about the bag.

+ Wettest Situation: Sleeping directly under a rainstorm
Comments: This bag is not waterproof. I did not expect it to be, but I thought I would test it. I slept directly under the rain for two hours on two separate occasions. At the end of two hours, the bag would be soaked completely, but two hours is obviously quite longer than most bags would take to soak. Thus, the Endurance fabric kept me significanly drier, but I think it should mostly be counted on to fend off wind and dew.

+ Bag reaction to stuffing: Poor.
As much as I admire the lightweightness of Polarguard Delta, after three weeks of use the bag was significantly flatter, and also significantly less warm. The Pertex Endurance shell retained its windproofness when stuffed repeatedly, and made up for some of the loft loss. In addition, the bag itself was not particularly hard to stuff into its sack.

+ Bag reaction to sweating: Excellent, especially considering the shell.
I never felt like I was damp or unnecessarily wet from sweat, and I this surprised me due to the fact that I was essentially sleeping in a marginally breatheable shell. When weather conditions wettened the bag, it dried quickly, usually on the order of an hour when placed in a sunny and dry location

+ Durability of Bag: Outer shell and workmanship -- Excellent. Insulation durability -- Poor.
The outer bag shell and inner bag lining (other than being dirty) still look and perform like new fabric. The insulation, however, after twelve weeks of use has become clumped and almost flat in places. My attempts to re-shift and re-distribute the insulation have failed.

Personal Comments

+ Comments on Fit:
A thin-to-medium fit. I toss and turn a lot at night, and I also dry out a lot of my gear by placing it in the bag with me. The bag barely had room for these hard requirements. The hood was decent, but lifts in weird ways when cinched -- the top pulls away from the top of my head, and the two hood-opening edges bunch and push inwards. This was okay, however, since the hood offers almost as much warmth uncinched.

+ Trips that I would bring this bag on in the future:
Anytime I needed a reasonably lightweight summer bag on a trip where I did not expect to meet up with much more than wind and dew. Right now, I would not trust the bag lower than about 40'F (4.5'C).

Summary

The Cats Meow Delta Endurance is a relatively lightweight synthetic bag with a shell that does a good job of cutting the wind and light moisture. The durability of the insulation has some issues, but the overall workmanship of the bag is solid. The bag also has some well-thought-out extras like a glow-in-the-dark zipper pull and a watch pocket.

My overall rating for this bag: Fair. It served me decently for twelve weeks but went flat, which is okay, but if I wanted a bag that I can say "wow" about, I would keep looking.

Upsides for me:

• Windproof and reasonably water-resistant
• Lightweight for a synthetic bag
• Dries very quickly
• A hood that keeps me warm without cinching

• The insulation did not last long
• The draft collar cannot be cinched tighter

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > TNF Cats Meow > Owner Review by Cora Hussey