I have been searching for a bag in the 50-60 degree range to use on those cool evenings when you need something but a warm bag is way too much. Most bags have two main problems- they are made for people "up to 5'11'" with a listed size of usually 75'' x 33''. and the second problem is flimsy crap zippers that snag often or just outright fail. A couple of years ago I bought a new cool weather bag from REI called the Frostbite 5 degree Long. I thought it would be the answer to my prayers for fall and spring camping in the Casa. Until I used the zipper. I couldn't pull it more than a foot or too before it jammed, pinching the fabric and being difficult to back off. This was not a newbie thing, I have been sleeping on the ground since 1948 and have had sleeping bags since the early '50's. This was the worst ever. I took it back to REI and with the bag laid out flat on the counter it worked fine but with a body in it the jamming was immediate. I still have it but don't know anyone I dislike enough to give it too.....
Bag length is also problematic with the average bag seemingly sized at the 75'' x 33'' parameter and having read dozens and dozens of reviews of such bags the consensus is that most of those bags are barely adequate for someone that is 5'9''. Beyond that size the next size up seems to be about 86'' x 40''. I bought one of those big bags a few years back allegedly for temps down to 10 degrees but at 5'11'' and 165 pounds I didn't have near enough body mass to warm that thing up and just suffered in it. Finding a lightweight bag that will fit someone over six feet is being very difficult. A couple of weeks ago I bought a Naturehike lightweight bag for summer camping that only weighed 20 ounces and was a bonafide 75 inches long, perfect as a bag or comforter on a summer evening. But it had a fatal flaw in that it has some new kind of zipper where the tab has to be either inside or outside and it would not open freely. Unzipping a bag shouldn't be an event, especially in the middle of the night when getting up to pee is a priority. I found myself trapped in the damned thing and had to slide it off lengthwise to get out. I am returning it although it seemed perfect for my needs apart from the troublesome zipper.
So this begs the question-why can't the zippers in expensive bags be as good as the ones in a $30 Coleman? I have a decade old flannel lined rectangular bag that I have used hard over the years, primarily because of the zipper. It has never once failed and doesn't need any special attention to make it work. I have two other Coleman bags with the same zippers and they have always been flawless. With over 100 years of development the zipper should be foolproof by now, are bean counters just cheaping these things out or what? Enough of this cute shit of only using one tab and having to fumble for it in the dark, make something that works and stick to it.
Bag length is also problematic with the average bag seemingly sized at the 75'' x 33'' parameter and having read dozens and dozens of reviews of such bags the consensus is that most of those bags are barely adequate for someone that is 5'9''. Beyond that size the next size up seems to be about 86'' x 40''. I bought one of those big bags a few years back allegedly for temps down to 10 degrees but at 5'11'' and 165 pounds I didn't have near enough body mass to warm that thing up and just suffered in it. Finding a lightweight bag that will fit someone over six feet is being very difficult. A couple of weeks ago I bought a Naturehike lightweight bag for summer camping that only weighed 20 ounces and was a bonafide 75 inches long, perfect as a bag or comforter on a summer evening. But it had a fatal flaw in that it has some new kind of zipper where the tab has to be either inside or outside and it would not open freely. Unzipping a bag shouldn't be an event, especially in the middle of the night when getting up to pee is a priority. I found myself trapped in the damned thing and had to slide it off lengthwise to get out. I am returning it although it seemed perfect for my needs apart from the troublesome zipper.
So this begs the question-why can't the zippers in expensive bags be as good as the ones in a $30 Coleman? I have a decade old flannel lined rectangular bag that I have used hard over the years, primarily because of the zipper. It has never once failed and doesn't need any special attention to make it work. I have two other Coleman bags with the same zippers and they have always been flawless. With over 100 years of development the zipper should be foolproof by now, are bean counters just cheaping these things out or what? Enough of this cute shit of only using one tab and having to fumble for it in the dark, make something that works and stick to it.
