Backpacker Magazine – Gear Guide 2011

Gear Review: Stoic Somnus 30 Sleeping Bag

An ultralight summer sleeping bag that sleeps warm.

by: Ben Fullerton

Tags:
• Gear
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• Sleeping Bag
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[warmest]
Your summer destinations tend toward the high, cold, and wet, but you still want an ultralight summer sack? This is your bag. “Even on damp, near-freezing nights, I found myself stripping down to a T-shirt and boxers after only a few minutes,” says our warm-sleeping, 6’1” Alaskan tester, who used the 800-fill down Somnus for four soggy nights while humping up Anderson Pass in Denali National Park.

He raved about the Pertex Quantum shell, which repels light rain and mist while maintaining superior breathability. “I climbed in soaked and woke up just barely damp—a huge accomplishment in Alaska,” he says. Also welcome: A half-length center zip made venting and midnight escapes a breeze, and vertical torso baffles prevented down from shifting on side-sleepers. And our plus-size testers loved the dimensions: The shoulder area is wider than average (66 inches) and roomy enough to fit a football player, but the lower bag tapers quickly so it warmed up fast for narrower testers, too.

The roomy hood offers good coverage even for melon heads, and cinches down to a circular face opening that doesn’t gap. A zippered pocket at the foot of the bag holds a hot water bottle or chemical packs, but testers were split on the utility. “I prefer my hot water bottle inside my bag, where I can shift it around to where it’s most needed,” says one tester. “I don’t like things floating around my bag, so I loved parking my bottle in this pocket,” says another. The long size (good for guys up to 6’6”) crunches down to volleyball proportions in the included compression stuffsack. $269; 1 lb. 7 oz.; 30°F

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