The 7 Best Sleeping Bags of Summer 2012

Sleeping bags keep getting lighter thanks to thinner fabrics and ever finer and fluffier grades of down. Which is a good thing, except when it isn’t. A couple of the lightest bags we tested didn’t make the cut because, though the bags met their rating in the European Norm lab tests—the industry standard for sleeping-bag warmth—those tests don’t account for air movement in real-life camping conditions. Even a slight breeze left our testers chilly on several occasions. Good lightweight bags—the ones that did make the grade here—use more expensive materials and therefore cost more. Manufacturers are also lightening up bags by slimming the dimensions and sewing on shorter zippers. That leaves some feeling claustrophobic, so the best advice, as always, is to slip inside the sleeping bag you are considering in the shop and roll around. And don’t stress over temperature ratings. Assuming you are of average metabolism, the bags we’ve selected should keep you toasty to their advertised ratings, so all you have to worry about is price, weight, and cut.

2012 Summer Buyer's Guide
Friday, June 01, 2012

REI Igneo

By: Category: Down
Photo: Courtesy of REI

Free Newsletters

Dispatch This week's featured articles, reviews, and videos. Sent twice weekly.
News From the Field The most important breaking news from around the Web. Sent daily.
Gear of the Day The latest products, reviews, and editors' picks. Coming soon.
Outside Partners Outside-approved deals and special offers from select partners. Sent occasionally.

Subscribe
to Outside
Now with
iPad Access

Magazine Cover

Plus 2 Outside Buyer's Guides included with your purchase!

GUIDES

Find the Best

The Igneo has all the features you want in a sleeping bag, and lacks two things you don’t: extra weight and a high price. The 19-degree-rated bag slips under the two-pound mark thanks to premium materials—800-fill down insulation and superlight shell fabrics—and a snug “performance cut.” But the Igneo is no minimalist. Testers from New Mexico’s Jemez hot springs to Oregon’s Cascades appreciated the full-length zipper, the zippered stash pocket, and the comfy yoke-shaped draft collar. The Igneo’s real standout feature was the new waterproof coating from Toyota (yep, they make more than just cars), designed to repel condensation without the weight, bulk, and annoying keep-your-tentmate-up-at-night crinkle of a waterproof shell. More important, it works: it kept our bag dry even in a drizzly Oregon morning fog. For colder adventures, the Magma, the Igneo’s seven-degree brother, offers the same features at a similarly decent price ($379). 19°; 1.8 lbs

COMPRESSIBILITY: 4.5
WARMTH-TO-WEIGHT RATIO: 4.5 (OUT OF 5)

Brand: REI

$329

Buy This Product

Seller Price Seller Rating In Stock
$359.00
  • Currently 0.00/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
(4 Reviews)
Yes
REI Igneo Sleeping Bag by PriceGrabber.com
Brand Name Description Price Date Keywords
Nemo Nocturne 30 Spoon Outside reviews the best gear in the Summer 2013 Buyer's Guide, including the Nemo Nocturne 30 Spoon Sleeping Bag $350 2013 Summer Buyer’s Guide Camping, Sleeping Bags, Down, Synthetic
Sierra Designs Cal 13 Outside reviews the best gear in the Summer 2013 Buyer's Guide, including the Sierra Designs Cal 13 Sleeping Bag $500 2013 Summer Buyer’s Guide Camping, Sleeping Bags, Down, Synthetic
Kelty Ignite DriDown Outside reviews the best gear in the Summer 2013 Buyer's Guide, including the Kelty Ignite DriDown. $200 2013 Summer Buyer’s Guide Camping, Sleeping Bags, Down, Synthetic
Hydroponic down sleeping bag Sierra Designs Zissou Hydroponic down sleeping back that dries 33 percent faster and stays dry seven times longer. $200 Outside Magazine, August 2012 Down

More at Outside

Current Issue Outside Magazine

Subscribe and get a great deal! Two free Buyer's Guides plus a free GoLite Sport Bottle. Monthly delivery of Outside—your ultimate resource for today's active lifestyle. All that and big savings!

Free Newsletters

Dispatch This week's featured articles, reviews, and videos. Sent twice weekly.
News From the Field The most important breaking news from around the Web. Sent daily.
Gear of the Day The latest products, reviews, and editors' picks. Coming soon.
Outside Partners Outside-approved deals and special offers from select partners. Sent occasionally.

Ask a Question

Our gear experts await your outdoor-gear-related questions. Go ahead, ask them anything.

* We might edit your question for length or clarity. If it's not about gear, we'll just ignore it.