The Greatest Ultralight Sleeping Luggage, Examined on the Pacific Crest Path

Greenback for ounce, no a part of an ultralight backpacker’s equipment is extra pricey to chop down on weight than the sleep system. Premium down — we’re speaking 800 and even 900 fill energy — prices exponentially greater than the usual 550 fill energy down utilized in typical sleeping luggage. That can assist you make the suitable selection earlier than you drop half a grand, we examined choices from the likes of Feathered Buddies, Stone Glacier, Western Mountaineering, Rab, and extra to seek out which of them carry out the very best out within the subject. 

How We Examined the Greatest Ultralight Sleeping Luggage

Choice

Greater than some other class in ultralight backpacking, the smaller corporations making ultralight sleeping luggage are setting the bar for high quality. Outside Life was lucky sufficient to have the likes of Western Mountaineering and Feathered Buddies ship us loaners for our testers to take a look at.

We pitted them towards ultralight searching manufacturers Stone Glacier and Kuiu in addition to premium mainstream manufacturers Sea to Summit and Mountain Hardwear. Ultralight backpacking mainstay Zpacks and UK-headquartered Rab rounded out our testing checklist. 

The Testers

Outside Life conducts an annual backpacking gear testing journey that focuses on progressive light-weight and ultralight backpacking gear. These testing journeys happen on America’s nationwide scenic trails, together with a 30-mile stretch of the northernmost part of the Oregon Coast Path (the place we examined the finest backpacking quilts) and a 40-mile stretch alongside the Pacific Crest Path within the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

• Adam Tycaster: Over 4,000 miles of backpacking expertise, together with the PCT 2014 and CT 2017. Runs chilly. 
• Alex Robinson: OL editor-in-chief; a backcountry huge sport hunter and fair-weather path runner. Runs heat.
• Ashley Thess: OL affiliate gear editor. Over 600 miles of backpacking expertise. Runs chilly. 
• Diana Helmuth: Writer of How one can Endure Exterior (Nationwide Outside Ebook Award winner). Over 1,500 miles of backpacking expertise. Runs chilly. 
• Jac “High Shelf” Mitchel: Over 11,000 miles of backpacking expertise together with the PCT 2014, CDT 2016, AZT, 2017, and GET 2017. Runs chilly. 
• Laura “Chop Chop” Lancaster: OL workers author. Over 4,000 miles of backpacking expertise, together with the PCT 2014 and CT 2017. Runs heat. 
• Patrice “Regular” La Vigne: Gear reviewer, Denali information, and writer of Between Every Step. Over 7,000 miles of backpacking expertise, together with the AT 2011 and Te Araroa 2014-2015. Runs chilly. 
• Sven “Magic” Anderson: 1,350-mile LASH (PCT) 2022. Climbing with Parkinson’s illness. Runs chilly. 

Scoring

Every tester was assigned a sleeping bag primarily based on their measurement and whether or not they ran sizzling or chilly. Whereas most sleeping luggage in our check have been rated between 10 to fifteen levels, a pair have been within the 25 and even 30 diploma vary. After taking copious notes within the subject, the testing staff then spends a day filling out scoring sheets for every merchandise within the check, together with their ultralight sleeping luggage. Testers then offered to the group the sleeping bag they examined, together with their expertise. The group then mentioned which sleeping bag most impressed them. 

Ultralight sleeping luggage have been rated on the next metrics.

• Consolation: This consists of the texture of the material towards testers’ pores and skin, and whether or not there was sufficient area for them to comfortably sleep contained in the bag. 
• Heat: Testers evaluated whether or not the acknowledged temperature score matched their expectations for a restrict score. The restrict score — what is usually used for backpacking sleeping luggage — describes the bottom temperature {that a} sleeping bag can be secure to make use of. 
• Inside House: Our testers got here in all sizes and styles and offered suggestions as as to if the sleeping bag they slept was too huge, too small, or simply proper. 
• Water Repellency: Did moisture, together with condensation occurring throughout the tent and throughout the sleeping bag, compromise the flexibility of the all the way down to loft? When it did get moist, did it dry shortly?
• Worth: Was the sleeping bag definitely worth the price ticket?

Testers additionally described their expertise with the hood of every of the under sleeping luggage, which was considered when figuring out the highest picks. Weight was measured independently, and consists of the offered stuff sack. Lastly, we took worth into consideration. 

Comparability Desk

The consumer rankings describe the relative expertise every of our testers had with the sleeping bag they examined. An effort was made to offer people with sleeping luggage that appropriately matched their physique sort and inner thermostat. The spec comparisons desk drills down on the relative variations in worth and weight, which fluctuate considerably relying on measurement and the fill energy getting used for every sleeping bag. 

Consumer Rankings

Spec Comparisons

Greatest Ultralight Sleeping Luggage: Opinions & Suggestions

Greatest for Males: Stone Glacier Chilkoot

15-degree bag examined by Adam Tycaster within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 5
• Inside House: 4
• Water Repellency: 4
• Worth: 3
• True to temperature score
• Measured Weight of the 15-Diploma Bag: 2 kilos, 8.6 ounces (5.6 ounces greater than marketed)
• PFAS free in 2025

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 0F and 15F
• Value: $600 (15F) to $650 (0F)
• 850 fill energy 
• Shell: 15D Pertex
• Size: Suits individuals as much as 6 toes 5 inches
• Guarantee: Restricted lifetime

Execs

• Delicate materials 
• Pillowy draft collar with a mild magnetic closure
• Beneficiant invoice on a roomy hood 
• Loads of room for aspect sleepers
• Nice guarantee

Cons

• Complicated zipper 
• Noticeably heavier than marketed
• No choice accessible for hotter circumstances
• Just one top accessible that isn’t applicable for shorter people

Too typically ultralight sleeping luggage compromise inside area to chop ounces. Not solely is that this annoying for aspect sleepers, however it could make it robust for heftier people to squeeze inside in any respect. So the testing staff was impressed once they noticed simply how a lot further inside area was within the Stone Glacier Chilkoot, simply the widest choice we checked out.

Tycaster was additionally impressed by how snug this sleeping bag was. “It felt silky and smooth,” he stated, noting that it had a, “full hood that encircles the face and felt pillowy on the forehead.” One element that stood out on the Stone Glacier Chilkoot was the magnetic closure for the draft collar, which made it straightforward to open and shut.

The one confounding a part of the Chilkoot sleeping bag for our tester was the two-way zipper. Whereas sleeping bag zippers sometimes run up alongside the left or proper edge, on the Chilkoot, it types extra of an arc, beginning nearer to high middle of the bag close to the consumer’s knees, arcing out to the aspect, after which curving again in the place it zips as much as the neck. Within the subject, Tycaster discovered that he was struggling to zip and unzip the bag — particularly when he had rolled onto his aspect and gotten snarled in the course of the night time. 

Males who’re on the shorter aspect must also notice that the Chilkoot is simply accessible in a single size. Sleeping luggage which can be excessively lengthy might really feel colder, as there may be extra extra air within the bag that must be warmed up. 

Greatest for Ladies: Feathered Buddies Egret UL

20-degree medium bag examined by Patrice “Regular” La Vigne within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 5
• Inside House: 4
• Water Repellency: 4
• Worth: 4
• True to temperature score
• Measured Weight of the 20-Diploma Bag: 1 kilos, 13.3 ounces (2.1 ounces greater than marketed)
• Free from deliberately added PFAS (some PFAS within the paint on the zipper pulls at current) 

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 20F and 30F
• Value: $589 to $609
• 950 fill energy 
• Shell: Pertex
• Size: Small suits individuals as much as 5 toes 3 inches; medium suits 5 toes 9 inches
• Guarantee: Restricted lifetime

Execs

• Smaller measurement means a greater match, much less expense, and fewer weight for smaller people
• Made within the USA
• Nice guarantee

Cons

• Slipped off of the sleeping pad simply 
• Misplaced a couple of feathers throughout our testing journey (not from a tear)

Regular raved in regards to the Feathered Buddies Egret after our Goat Rocks Wilderness testing journey. She was greater than impressed with the 20F temperature score — overkill, because it turned out, for our mid-season alpine trek.

“The 20-degree Egret was cozy and cushty,” stated Regular. “I favored that the two-way zipper allowed for temperature regulation. I slept with it unzipped from my toes to my waist most nights.” Regular famous that, despite the fact that it wasn’t a roomy bag, there was nonetheless loads of room for aspect sleeping. “I slept comfortably inside even with my tossing and turning, and didn’t get all twisted within the bag.”

Smaller particulars have been additionally appreciated on the Feathered Buddies Egret. The hood was “type becoming and tremendous snuggly,” and the zipper was draft free, even on the windiest night time of our check. It packed all the way down to the dimensions of a loaf of bread.

“I’m extraordinarily impressed,” concluded our tester. 

Greatest Improve: Western Mountaineering AlpinLite

20-degree medium bag examined by Diana Helmuth within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 4
• Inside House: 4
• Water Repellency: 5
• Worth: 3
• Runs barely chilly
• Measured Weight of the 20-Diploma Bag: 1 pound, 15.1 ounces (0.1 ounce greater than marketed)
• Free from deliberately added PFAS 

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 20F 
• Value: $670 to $730
• 850 fill energy 
• Shell: 12D nylon ripstop
• Size: Small suits individuals 5 toes 6 inches; medium suits 6 toes; massive suits 6 toes 6 inches; XL suits 7 toes
• Guarantee: Restricted lifetime

Execs

• Accessible in a variety of heights
• Comfy width for customers throughout a variety of physique varieties
• Made within the USA
• Nice guarantee

Cons

The costliest ultralight sleeping bag we checked out greater than delivered the products so far as our tester was involved. “I may instantly inform I used to be sleeping in a premium bag,” Helmuth stated. “Like a high tier quilt — silky, lofty, deliciously heat.” 

Helmuth did expertise some condensation, contained in the Zpacks Free Duo, on our trek via the Goat Rocks Wilderness, which impacted the sleeping bag close to the footbox. This was particularly noteworthy, as Western Mountaineering doesn’t use hydrophobic remedies on the down of their merchandise. Right here’s their rationalization for not treating down:

“We have now present in our personal testing that the efficiency enhancements of hydrophobic remedies on prime quality down are broadly overstated. Prime quality untreated down already has naturally water repellant oils on it left by the geese (is sensible since geese spend lots of time in water). These oils assist repel water and preserve down lofted. Extra importantly is that these oils final indefinitely. Hydrophobic remedies wash out like a DWR and take away the pure oils in the course of the software course of. Due to this, and the water-proof functionality of our shell materials, we really feel that hydrophobic down doesn’t present a substantial influence on efficiency and will really inhibit efficiency over the lifetime of our merchandise.”

Whereas precise submersion could be a special story, our tester was impressed with how the Western Mountaineering AlpinLite dealt with condensation. “I by no means felt it,” Helmuth reported. “It dried within the solar in lower than a minute.”

Actually the one problem with the Western Mountaineering AlpinLite is that, per our tester, it ran barely colder than anticipated — extra according to the 25 consolation score it has per the EN check Western Mountaineering had run on it (scroll down on their FAQs for more information on this). On our coldest night time of testing, Helmuth shook out the bag to redistribute the down, saying it made the bag really feel 10 to fifteen levels hotter.

Greatest Hoodless: Zpacks Basic

10-degree medium broad examined by Ashley Thess within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 5
• Inside House: 5
• Water Repellency: 4
• Worth: 4
• Runs chilly
• Measured Weight: 1 kilos, 11.2 ounces (1.6 ounces greater than marketed + 0.9 ounce stuff sack)
• Freed from deliberately added PFAS

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 10F, 20F, 30F
• Value: $440 to $520
• 900 fill energy 
• Shell: 7D ripstop nylon
• Size: Shorts suits 5’6”; medium first 6’; lengthy suits 6’6” (additionally has three width choices)
• Guarantee: 2 years

Execs

• Three size, three width, and three temperature score choices gives loads of customization
• Decrease priced than different choices on this checklist
• Very light-weight

Cons

• Temperature score runs chilly

As a result of hoods are so efficient at locking in heat air, virtually all ultralight sleeping luggage have them. However that doesn’t imply that everybody makes use of them; consumer suggestions throughout our Goat Rocks Wilderness check confirmed a transparent cut up. Half the testers noticed them as indispensable. Half the testers solely used them to carry their pillows in place. Personally, I discover them a bit annoying as I’m perpetually waking as much as discover I’ve twisted the hood right into a distracting place. If I have to preserve my head heat at night time, I’ll throw on one of many finest down jackets with a hood. 

Whereas OL affiliate editor Ashley Thess might have found that she is the staunchly pro-hood camp throughout her check of the Zpacks traditional sleeping bag, she got here away impressed by just about each different element. The zipper that went all the way down to the footbed made it a cinch to get into the broad medium — which she discovered to be wider than obligatory for her normal body — with simply the suitable variety of clasps and bungees to maintain every thing in place.

“I used to be so snug,” reported Thess. “Nice pores and skin really feel and the biggest vary of movement of any sleeping bag I’ve ever examined.” It’s price noting that whereas the Zpacks Basic makes use of a 7D material for the shell, there have been no tears throughout our check. 

Lastly, the sheer vary of customization accessible for the Zpacks Basic sleeping bag is spectacular, and necessary for ultralight backpackers. Getting a good measurement and match can imply substantial weight and financial financial savings, because the under desk demonstrates. 

Lightest: Rab Mythic

32-degree common examined by Laura “Chop Chop” Lancaster within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 4
• Inside House: 3
• Water Repellency: 4
• Worth: 4
• Runs chilly
• Measured Weight of the 32-Diploma Bag: 1 pound, 1.5 ounces (2 ounces greater than marketed)
• PFAS free

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 18F and 32F
• Value: $600 (32F) to $770 (18F)
• 900 fill energy 
• Shell: 10D nylon
• Size: Common suits individuals up 6 toes 1 inch, lengthy suits as much as 6 toes 6 inches
• Guarantee: Restricted lifetime

Execs

• The lightest sleeping bag we examined
• Very small packed measurement
• Nice guarantee

Cons

• Considerably colder than marketed
• Tough to get into

No ultralight sleeping bag raised extra eyebrows in our check than the Rab Mythic. Packed up, it appeared about half the dimensions of the opposite choices we examined, and it had the load to match. But it surely additionally appeared so much much less substantial than the others.

As a result of I are inclined to run heat, I examined the 32F model of this sleeping bag, which has solely 6.3 ounces of 900 fill energy down. Examine that to the Mountain Hardwear Phantom 30F, which has 10.1 ounces of down. The explanation the Rab Mythic thinks it could get away with a 3rd much less down is that it’s utilizing a brand new form of material within the liner constructed from a nylon yarn handled with titanium. The thought is that it’s speculated to mirror warmth again to the consumer, type of like an area blanket. 

All issues thought of, this really labored fairly effectively. I wasn’t fairly as heat as I anticipated to be (or wished to be) for the 32F temperature score, however I used to be definitely a lot hotter than I anticipated to be trying on the Rab Mythic. If I had snagged the 18F model somewhat than the 32F model, I think I’d have been toasty, even on our coldest night time of testing. Because it was, I slept in my puffer jacket that night time and did simply superb. 

Usually the excessive price of excessive fill-power down is what drives up the worth of hotter sleeping luggage — this is among the few classes the place you’ll pay extra for the longer model of a product and fewer for the shorter model. So I used to be stunned that, regardless of the comparative lack of down within the Rab Mythic, the worth level was nonetheless as excessive or greater than different choices we examined. For now, this one is finest suited to excessive ultralighters who know they run sizzling.

Sea to Summit Spark Ladies’s

15-degree common examined by Jac “High Shelf” Mitchell within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 4
• Inside House: 2
• Water Repellency: 4
• Worth: 4
• True to temperature score
• Measured Weight of the Common 15-Diploma Bag: 2 kilos, 3.8 ounces (3 ounces greater than marketed)
• No info offered on PFAS content material

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 15F, 30F, and 45F
• Value: $350 (45F) to $580 (15F)
• 850 fill energy 
• Shell: 10D nylon
• Size: Common suits as much as 5 toes 7 inches, lengthy suits as much as 6 toes 1 inch
• Guarantee: Restricted lifetime

Execs

Cons

• Slim profile
• Runs brief

Whereas the Sea to Summit Spark Ladies’s saved our tester heat via the coldest night time of our backpacking gear check, it didn’t stand out for consolation or inside area in comparison with different choices that we checked out. For the ladies’s model of this bag, Sea to Summit altered the design to have narrower shoulders and more room on the hips. Sadly, for our tester, there wasn’t sufficient room left on the toes, which restricted her vary of movement. This one additionally runs a bit brief in comparison with different sleeping luggage we checked out — in case you are near the higher restrict for top then think about sizing up. 

All that being stated, the Sea to Summit Spark Ladies’s is competitively priced in comparison with others that we checked out, making it an excellent guess for dedicated again sleepers with common to slender shoulders. 

Mountain Hardwear Phantom

15-degree common examined by Sven “Magic” Anderson within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 3
• Inside House: 3
• Water Repellency: 4
• Worth: 3
• Runs barely chilly
• Measured Weight of the 15-Diploma Bag: 2 kilos, 4.5 ounces (3.4 ounces greater than marketed)
• PFAS free

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 0F, 15F, and 30F
• Value: $480 (30F) to $710 (0F)
• 800 fill energy 
• Shell: 15D nylon ripstop
• Size: Small suits as much as 5 toes 8 inches, medium suits up 6 toes, lengthy suits up 6 toes 6 inches
• Guarantee: Restricted lifetime

Execs

• Competitively priced
• Good pores and skin really feel
• Nice guarantee

Cons

The Mountain Hardwear Phantom is a well-priced ultralight sleeping bag that will get the job performed. Whereas a few of the options — such because the draft collar and hood — have been extra minimal than different choices we checked out, they saved our tester loads heat in the course of the testing journey within the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

Magic additionally gave the pores and skin really feel the best doable reward, which is that he barely seen it.

Kuiu SuperDown Altai

15-degree lengthy bag examined by Alex Robinson within the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Report Card

• Consolation: 4
• Inside House: 4
• Water Repellency: 4
• Worth: 3
• True to temperature score
• Measured Weight: 2 kilos, 1.7 ounces (1.3 ounces greater than marketed)
• Does include PFAS

Key Options

• Temperature Score: 15F 
• Value: $600 to $660
• 850 fill energy 
• Shell: 7D ripstop nylon
• Size: Common suits 6 toes 6 inches; lengthy suits 6 toes 6 inches
• Guarantee: Restricted lifetime

Execs

• The tallest sleeping bag in our check
• Surprisingly light-weight
• Nice guarantee

Cons

• Narrower than different choices we examined
• Tear within the 7D shell occurred throughout testing

Even above treeline, with a constant breeze operating throughout the remaining snow patches within the Cascades, the Kuiu SuperDown Altai was too heat for OL editor-in-chief Alex Robinson. However he was nonetheless impressed with some key particulars. A glow-in-the-dark pull was helpful for getting out and in of the bag at night time. The hood was plush and comfortable. And the tall was fairly tall — when 6-foot-1 Robinson confirmed us how a lot further room there was above his head within the lengthy, it was clear it will positively match a consumer as much as 6-foot-6. (For those who’re even taller than that, try our greatest improve picks, which fits as much as 7 toes tall). 

Sadly, the Kuiu SuperDown Altai was the one sleeping bag in our check to undergo a tear, at one of many snap-button connection factors.

How one can Select the Greatest Ultralight Sleeping Bag

The R Worth of Your Sleeping Pad

Many sleeping bag customers don’t fear in regards to the R worth of their sleeping pad, assuming that the pad is there for consolation, and that it’s their sleeping bag preserving them heat. However the sleeping bag insulation that’s beneath your physique is just not offering the identical degree of heat as the remainder of your bag. That’s as a result of it’s not the insulation itself that’s preserving you heat a lot as the nice and cozy air trapped within the insulation (the “loft”), which serves as a buffer to the skin temperature. The insulation that you’re mendacity on has no loft (your physique is squashing it), and so offers considerably much less heat. It doesn’t present no insulation, in the identical method that an unlofted puffer jacket isn’t precisely nugatory, however it’s nowhere close to as efficient. 

Learn Subsequent: What Is R Worth? It’s Why Your Sleeping Bag Doesn’t Maintain You Heat

The R worth of a backpacking sleeping pad refers to its capacity to “resist” temperature transference from one aspect of the pad to the opposite. Larger R values imply higher resistance, with an R worth of 1 usually referring to little to no resistance, 4 being the extent of resistance essential to benefit from the full temperature score of your sleeping bag, and seven+ being what most individuals ought to carry for winter tenting.

Learn Subsequent: The Greatest Backpacking Sleeping Pads

That is particularly necessary for shoulder season and alpine backpacking because the temperature of the bottom at altitude will are inclined to lag behind the skin air temperature. So even when the air temperature round you is, say, 40 levels, that doesn’t imply that’s the temperature of the bottom. A 4 R worth is good for top elevation summer time actions. 

Temperature Score

Sleeping luggage sometimes promote their “restrict” rankings — the temperature at which they are often safely used, however not the temperature at which you’ll nonetheless be heat (the “consolation” score). Within the above story, we handled all diploma rankings as in the event that they have been restrict rankings for standardization functions after which offered our tackle whether or not they ran sizzling, chilly, or true to temperature. 

Most individuals ought to select a restrict score for his or her sleeping bag that’s 20 levels decrease than their lowest anticipated temperature. So, in case you count on in a single day lows to achieve 50 levels, order a 30-degree ultralight sleeping bag. For those who count on they may hit 30 levels, order a 10-degree ultralight sleeping bag. (Notice that if a sleeping bag lists a consolation score, that’s normally 10 to fifteen levels hotter than the restrict score.) With expertise, you’ll be taught in case you run hotter or colder, and might alter accordingly. 

Fill

Ultralight sleeping luggage are constructed from down for one easy cause: It nonetheless has superior warmth-to-weight ratios in comparison with artificial fill. With down, the upper the fill energy the much less you’ll want to achieve your required temperature score, and thus the much less your ultralight sleeping bag will weigh. The distinction between, say 850 fill energy and 950 fill energy for an ultralight sleeping bag would possibly solely be a few ounces, however price upwards of $100. Contemplate your priorities when selecting which one is the suitable choose for you.

Ultralight sleeping luggage are by no means constructed from artificial insulation as artificial is just not capable of obtain the heat for weight properties of high-grade down. The perfect artificial insulation is about 600 fill energy, whereas the ultralight sleeping luggage we checked out began at 800 fill energy.

Materials

Nearly all of ultralight sleeping luggage use nylon to encase the down, typically with a DWR (sturdy water repellent) end on the a part of the sleeping luggage that’s uncovered to the skin air (the shell). The place most differ is within the thickness of the nylon — measured in denier (D) — which might be anyplace from 7D as much as 20D. Thicker supplies will are usually extra sturdy over time (and should end in much less pure down loss), whereas thinner supplies will contribute to an general decrease weight. Which one is best for you is a matter of non-public choice. 

Storage

Ultralight sleeping luggage sometimes include stuff sacks for journey, however it’s not obligatory to make use of this characteristic. Actually, you’ll be able to skip the stuff sack totally and squash your ultralight sleeping bag to the underside of your bag earlier than piling different gadgets on high (simply watch out that you simply don’t snag something in your bag). It’s finest to place your ultralight sleeping bag in a bigger storage sack at residence, as compressing the down long-term will shorten its usable lifespan.

FAQs

Last Ideas

An awesome ultralight sleeping bag could be a lifetime funding, if handled with care. The under picks have been all path examined side-by-side with an skilled crew of backpackers. We’re assured that any of them would serve you effectively for years to come back.