Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Valandre Shocking Blue > Carol Crooker > Field Report

Valandré Shocking Blue, Field Report

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Backpacking background: For the past 8 years, I've backpacked about 30 days each year. Most of my trips were three to six days long, and were in Arizona, the mountains of the western states, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and New York. Weather has varied from 107 F to a low of 0 F (42 to -18 C). My three-season base pack weight varies from 10 lbs (5 kg) to 5 lbs (2 kg), depending on the weather. My winter base pack weight is about 18 lbs (8 kg). I normally use a tarp for shelter all year round.

PRODUCT SYNOPSIS

The Shocking Blue is a 49 oz (1389 g) down, mummy-shaped sleeping bag rated to an extreme rating of -13 F (-25 C). Notable from the Valandré website claims, is the use of very high quality down and fabric, a unique collar to lock in warmth, and differential construction with down chambers shaped to fit the human body. (See my Initial Report for a more detailed description of the Shocking Blue.)

Contents

SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS

The Shocking Blue has been more than warm enough (once warmed up) in the cool conditions I've had it in from a low of 17 F (-8 C) to a very soggy 25 F (-4 C). There is plenty of room inside for me to wear insulating clothing to add even more warmth. It takes longer to get toasty warm in this bag than closer fitting, less lofty bags I've used, but once warm, I've been cozy the rest of the night even as temperatures dropped. The collar slows heat loss out the "mouth" of the bag but it took me a few trips before I got the knack of closing it by feel alone. The bag itself holds warmth well - once I'm warm in the bag, it still feels warm after an extended bathroom/snow-shoveling break.

The shell of the Shocking Blue is water resistant, but will wet through if subjected to enough moisture. The bag kept me nice and warm to 17 F (-8 C) - the lowest temperature I experienced - even with about 4 oz (g) of moisture on the surface of, or in the bag. After the bag was compressed in a stuff sack for many hours with this moisture content, loft decreased significantly.

On the warmer side, I didn't overheat with the bag fully zipped up in the mid 40s F (7 - 9 C) until mid-way through the night. To put this in context, I live in the desert and sleep best when I'm quite warm.

OBSERVATIONS

I've had the Shocking Blue in the field for six nights since my Initial Report.

Field Conditions

The break-in trip was an overnighter at 10,000 ft (3050 m) in Lockett Meadow in the San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona. I used the sleeping bag under a floorless pyramid tarp (Oware Alphamid) for a 25 F (-4 C) late afternoon nap, then in a hammock overnight with low humidity and calm winds. The overnight low temperature was 21 F (-6 C).

My second trip was three days on snowshoes along the Red Pine Lake trail in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Elevation was about 8600 ft (2600 m). The first night was cool and clear with an overnight low of 22 F (-6 C). It snowed much of the second night. Winds were calm both nights with a low the second night of 17 F (-8 C). I used a silnylon tarp as a ground sheet and did not use a bivy sack. My pyramid tarp (and the Shocking Blue) collected lots of condensation encouraged by keeping the tarp completely zipped all night and staking the edges close to the snow.

I was disappointed by the mild conditions in Utah and had high hopes and expectations of being in some really cold weather on my third trip, which was in Yellowstone National Park. Especially when a front creating lows of -30 F (-34 C) came through Montana a week before my scheduled trip. Even the morning of the trip, lows were predicted to be around 10 F (-12 C). Instead, the weather was so warm (low of 21 F/-6 C the first night and 25 F/-4 C the second night with an accumulation of about 8 in/ cm of snow during the second night) that sleeping bags got soaked from condensation or other factors and my party decided to cut the trip short by one night. The Shocking Blue looked to have enough loft to have kept me warm a third night because it was significantly overrated for the conditions, whereas my companions' warmer rated bags didn't have much "oomph" left.

I slept in the Alphamid pyramid tarp once again, this time using a bivy sack with silnylon floor and breathable fabric top, with no other ground cloth. I'd planned on using a floored tent for this trip to see how the Shocking Blue did with condensation - assuming that more condensation would form in a tent than under a tarp. However, with the still nights in the Wasatch, the Shocking Blue has already seen plenty of condensation so I stayed with the pyramid tarp in Yellowstone.

Since most of the moisture accumulation I'd seen in the Shocking Blue to date was due to external sources, I spent another night in the Shocking Blue in my backyard in Phoenix, Arizona to get an idea of how much moisture the Shocking Blue retained from what came off my body. The low was 43 F (6 C). I slept with the hood cinched around me all night (with one bathroom visit) and weighed the bag immediately in the morning. Air humidity was very low. I overheated in the bag of course, but was surprised how comfortable I was. I slept about three hours and then went into my house for a bathroom break. I sleep best when I'm very warm, and I was only just starting to feel too hot in the bag. The rest of the night (when the air temperature was actually getting cooler) I felt more uncomfortable. Possibly because the bag was retaining the heat I'd built up, or maybe it was my body that had reached its warmth limit. If I hadn't wanted to measure moisture accumulation, I would have undone the hood and unzipped the bag and may have then been comfortable.

Warmth and Moisture Accumulation

The Shocking Blue has been more than warm enough (once warmed up) in the conditions I've had it in from a low of 17 F (-8 C) to a very soggy 25 F (-4 C). There is plenty of room inside for me to wear insulating clothing to add even more warmth. It takes longer to get toasty warm in this bag than closer fitting, less lofty bags I've used, but once warm, I've been cozy the rest of the night even as temperatures dropped. The collar slows heat loss out the top of the bag and the bag itself holds warmth well - once I'm warm in the bag, it still feels warm after an extended bathroom/snow shoveling break.

Details

When I took a nap at 25 F (-4 C) in the Flagstaff Peaks of Arizona, I slept on my side with my back towards the zipper. My back was cool until the bag warmed up, but then I stayed warm. I thought the zipper may have been the culprit, but discovered that this phenomenon repeated on other trips independent of which side I slept on. I often went to bed with damp clothing on my snow camping trips and some of the warm up period was likely due to drying my clothes with body heat. However, on the occasion of this nap and on another occasion, my clothes were quite dry and I still experienced the warm up period.

During an all night snow in Utah's Wasatch Mountains, the Shocking Blue got quite wet from brushing against the sagging head and foot of the pyramid tarp I was in. Although the shell fabric was wet, the loft did not appear to degrade and the bag was warm and cozy at 17 F (-8 C) without the collar done up. I was wearing a thin wool shirt, mid-weight top, thin softshell jacket on top and mid-weight tights with wind pants on the bottom.

I did not experience winds while sleeping during the test period so I can't comment on whether the zipper and draft flap do a good job of keeping drafts out.

Once the Shocking Blue warms up it retains heat very well. I took long breaks in the middle of the night to shovel snow off my tarp and just to loosen up my muscles and the bag was always warm when I climbed back in.

Valandré appears to have gone to great lengths to keep the down stable and it worked for me. I never felt cold spots after the initial warm up period.

I packed the Shocking Blue in a plastic bag the last morning in camp on each trip and weighed it as soon as possible afterwards to try to gain an understanding of how it dealt with moisture from my body and from external sources.

In Yellowstone, the moisture the Shocking Blue collected came from several known sources. A constant, moisture-laden snow was falling the second night and collected on my jacket and pants when I was outside the tarp. The hood of my jacket in particular got soaked through. I crawled into the "sack" wearing the jacket and pants. I used my sleeping pad as a sit pad directly on the snow inside my tarp and the pad had spent the day bungeed to the outside of my pack so had moisture on the surface. I put this pad inside the bivy and under the Shocking Blue. Condensation collected on the inside of the tarp and sometimes rained down on the bivy sack, and spindrift drifted into the tarp and landed on top of the bivy sack. Lastly, I camped in a sheltered spot among the trees on a slightly sloped spot. I leveled the sleeping area and built up a berm to keep me from sliding downhill in case I hadn't leveled exactly. The sides of the Shocking Blue (through the bivy sack), were in contact with portions of that berm much of the night.

Conditions were similar in the Wasatch - relatively warm, snow falling, lots of condensation on the inside of the tarp. Without a bivy sack, the hood and foot of the Shocking Blue got soaked resting against snow loaded and sagging tarp walls. (I pitched the tarp tighter and spent more time keeping snow off the walls in Yellowstone after seeing how wet the Shocking Blue got from sagging tarp walls in Utah.) A different source of external moisture in Utah was snow that ended up on the silnylon ground sheet melting once it drifted under the sleeping bag. The Shocking Blue didn't appear to have lost any loft when eyeballing it in camp on the final morning and it kept me nice and warm down to the low of 17 F (-8 C). It did look less lofty when I removed it from the stuff sack hours later and weighed it.

Returning from Yellowstone, I weighed the Shocking Blue back at base camp, Montana. Then I made a couple of rough loft measurements. The area of lowest loft was at about chest level and was about 3 to 3.5 in (7.6 - 8.9 cm) as compared to about 10 in (25 cm) normally. Loft in the middle of the bag was about 5 in (13 cm) as compared to 6 in (15 cm) fully lofted. And loft elsewhere was higher. Hence my estimation that I would have been warm for a third night in the bag since conditions were mild and I had dry insulating clothing to wear to bed. The bag had been stuffed into its stuff sack for about 10 hours when I weighed it. My guess is that the chest area was so low in loft from being stuffed next to the hood which got soaked on the inside from my jacket hood and the outside from the tarp wall, and also from my breath condensing on the top of the bag near my face.

So, what did I learn from these measurements and observations?

• Although the shell fabric on the Shocking Blue is water resistant (I'll do some "lab" tests to better quantify how resistant during the remainder of the test period), it will wet out eventually if in contact with enough moisture.
• In dry air, the Shocking Blue does a good job of allowing vapor from my body to pass through the liner, down, and shell fabric.
• The "loft killer" is being packed into a stuff sack with damp spots on the shell and no chance to dry out. Loft degradation seems to get more pronounced, and "spread" when the bag is crammed into a stuff sack along with some moisture. I laid the Shocking Blue out to dry after weighing it in Utah and Montana and the loft looked restored by the next day.
• A water weight gain of 10% of the total weight of the Shocking Blue (about 4 oz/113 g), has a significant impact on loft if the bag has been stuffed wet.

These observations do not imply that the Shocking Blue performs differently than other, similar down bags. In wet conditions, it is probably simply a matter of time until any down bag loses enough loft so that it sleeps cold.

Hood

The hood draw cord is a single cord with toggles at both ends. The toggles clip together so both cords can be pulled at the same time. I liked this feature to keep track of the cords, but stopped using it because it was hard to pull apart in colder weather. The hood lofted very nicely around my head. I could cinch it down so that it covered my forehead and left my mouth uncovered. When I slept on my side - my normal sleep mode - it was hard to get the hood adjusted so that I wasn't breathing into the insulation. It was harder to keep my mouth free than with some other bags I've used because the hood on the Shocking Blue is so puffy and has such good head coverage. That is, it's easier for me to keep from breathing into a skimpier hood.

Collar

It took me a couple of trips to master the collar. There are lots of things to hook and fasten. From my Initial Report, "The collar looks like the stock of a guillotine. The bottom of the collar is a simple down filled draft tube. The top of the collar is shaped to fit closely around the occupant's neck. The side furthest from the full-length zipper closes with a zipper, while the other side is secured with three hook and loop strips. There is a draw cord that closes the neck opening further if desired."

The zipper on the collar can be left zipped all the time since it's opposite the left-side zipper and doesn't interfere with bag egress. I found that the best way for me to do up the other collar features was to start at the bag's zipper side and work right towards the interior of the bag. First, I engage the hook and loop patch to secure the top, left edge of the collar to the interior of the bag. Then, I press the longer (about 4 in/10 cm) hook strip to the loop strip sewn to the lining on the bottom of the bag. Then, I secure the second set of long hook and loop strips closest to my neck. Finally, I can cinch the draw cord on the collar to pull the collar closer around my neck if I want to. Closing the collar starting from my neck and working outwards just didn't work for me. It was frustrating and I needed a headlamp to see what I was doing. Once I started working from the outside, in, closing the collar became a snap and I didn't need a headlamp.

Engaging the collar helps keep warmth inside the bag, and it also helped to keep my hands from reaching out. I often reach out of my bag to adjust whatever I'm using for a pillow. I can't do that with the collar fully engaged. I can slip my hand out just by loosening the bungee that tightens the collar (like a noose around my neck - hmmm another image of death by collar), but I usually rip apart a set or two of hook and loop strips when I reach my arm all the way out to adjust my pillow. Since the nights I've spent in the Shocking Blue haven't been that cold, I solved this problem by not closing the left side of the collar.

The collar does not interfere with turning from side to side and keeps heat sealed in whether I am on my back or side. It became second nature to quickly rip open whatever hook and loop strips I had connected on the collar to get out of the bag. I did sometimes confuse the hook and loop strip at the top of the zipper with the one on the edge of the collar, which made it harder to find the zipper. And undone hook and loop strips sometimes caught on my jacket.

Zipper

I'm not one to open a zipper to vent my feet, but the Shocking Blue double slider zipper came in handy when I discovered a Platypus full of water in the foot of the Shocking Blue after I'd already stuffed most of the bag into its stuff sack. Instead of having to unstuff the whole bag, I was able to unzip the foot and remove the Platy - handy.

Mating hook and loop strips at the top of the zipper kept it closed during the night.

I had to be careful not to snag fabric outside the stiffener when zipping/unzipping the zipper. Luckily, in every case where I caught fabric, it came out of the zipper easily.

Interior Room

The Shocking Blue has plenty of room. I've had trouble with bags for 6 ft (183 cm) tall people not feeling long enough for my 5'10" (178 cm) body - I like to stretch out. The Shocking Blue feels long enough and even has a couple of inches (5 cm) to spare.

It's roomy enough to wear insulating clothing inside without lose of loft. (I wore an Integral Designs Dolomitti jacket to sleep in Yellowstone.) There was enough room in the foot box for my shoes and neoprene overboots and also enough room to shift them up under my knees. The bag is wide enough that I can shift my leg position to ease aches from long winter nights.

I didn't notice my feet feeling cramped for space when I slept on my side - a question since the foot box is carefully shaped to provide vertical space.

Fabric

The Asahi-KASEI shell and liner fabric both have a pleasant feel and drape well. I have not seen any down escaping through the seams or fabric (with the exception noted in my Initial Report where there was a small opening in a seam.

Hammock Use

I was nice and warm with the Shocking Blue on top of me in a hammock at 21 F (-6 C). The Shocking Blue mates well with a hammock - I just unzipped the full-length zipper far enough to form a foot or leg box, and draped the bag on top of me. One nit is that the hook and loop strips on the collar and top of the zipper sometimes hooked together with the hood draped open.

Compression

I voiced my skepticism in my Initial Report about ever using the provided stuff sack since it really compresses the Shocking Blue. However, when it came time to pack my gear for a winter trip, I resorted to the compression stuff sack to fit everything into the 2900 cubic inch (48 L) packbag of the Gossamer Gear Mariposa pack. I was surprised to see how quickly the Shocking Blue expands once out of the stuff sack. After observing the quick recovery (which I'll take a closer look at during the Long Term testing phase) of the Shocking Blue a few times, I've become comfortable that the compression sack is not damaging the sleeping bag.

I am pleased that the Shocking Blue and the rest of my winter gear for three or four day trips fits into the 17 oz (480 g) Mariposa pack.

Customer Service

I mentioned a small seam opening in my Initial Report. I sewed it closed rather than contacting the manufacturer since my window for cold weather testing was limited. A Valandré representative contacted me quickly after my Initial Report was published to find out more about where the opening was. She indicated she would have gladly replaced the bag if the opening had been brought to her attention. There have been no further quality problems thus far in my testing.

What I like:

• Very nice looking bag - gorgeous color.
• Extra loft in hood and foot box.
• Long enough.
• Roomy enough to wear extra layers and to shift position.
• Quick response from Valandré customer service.
• Retains heat.
• Incredibly compressible.

What I don't like:

• Opening in seam.
• Takes a while to warm up the bag.
• Learning curve to master the collar.
• Have to be careful not to snag zipper.
• Once cord locks are snapped together, it's hard to disconnect them.

TEST PLAN

My cold weather testing opportunities for the Shocking Blue are probably over since I don't have any travel plans to cooler locations right now, and Phoenix is already getting warm. I'll use the Long Term Testing period to perform some at-home testing on the Shocking Blue.

The following are particular areas I'll be checking out:

• How well extra clothing works with this bag. I will try different thicknesses of insulated clothing, both down and synthetic, to see what garments I can wear without the loft being compromised.
• How water resistant is the shell fabric?
• Loft restoration one hour after being removed from a stuff sack.
• Netting storage sack - big enough for the Shocking Blue?

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Valandre Shocking Blue > Carol Crooker > Field Report