Sierra Designs Cloud 800F 20° Sleeping Bag

Product Information

The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35's zipperless design and oversized comforter can help one find solace after a long day of hiking. We paired this bag with one of Sierra Designs’ Granby Insulated Air Mats, which has an R-value of 2.1. This ensured that the bag was plenty warm enough for late spring, summer and early autumn camps. The high-quality 800FP moisture-resistant down lofts well, being housed in chunky box-wall baffles. The quilted flap can also be pulled right up to the chin, ensuring we experience minimal heat loss. Warmth issues: As I was very pleased with the comfort level of this bag, I was very disappointed with the warmth of it. I always used it in higher temps than the comfort rating and I had many cold nights. At Valley and Peak we were particularly attracted to the Sierra Designs range of zipperless sleeping bags. For those who didn't want to make the jump from a sleeping bag to a Valley and Peak Quilt the Cloud 800 offers an excellent half way house. Plus the innovative features, like all Sierra Design products, bring great benefits to the user. Finally Sierra Designs has an excellent traceability policy, all products containing Down have a tag which can tell you where the Down came from and details on responsible sourcing are outlined in great detail.

I used it on several multi-day hikes at temps between 2-10 Celsius, with a Therm-A-Rest Neoair Xlite pad and inside a tent. She’s right, Bobby Boucher! Sierra Design’s idea is to reduce weight in their sleeping bags by removing the zipper completely. And truly, does anyone really like sleeping bag zippers? They ALWAYS snag and catch the lining until the day when they fail altogether and basically turn your bag into a quilt or a prison. Sierra Designs just ditched the zipper and replaced it with a flap you can wrap around yourself. I have only used this bag for three nights so far. The conditions were fair (no rain). This is my second Sierra Designs sleeping bag and I am a dedicated customer! I’ve included some pictures of this bag in its storage and stuff bags with comparison items. With a compression bag you could get it even smaller if that’s your preference.Temperature Mapping System – This sleeping bag features a sleeping pad sleeve that keeps pad under you, for comfort and warmth and replaces unnecessary bottom insulation As Rainey implied, nothing is perfect. My biggest gripe with the Cloud is that I cannot carry it when I go into the mountains with my wife. I’ll explain: Unlike all men and women’s REI sleeping bags, the Sierra Designs Cloud cannot zip together with your partner’s sleeping bag because, duh, it doesn’t have a zipper! My snuggle-loving wife says, “BOOO!” The construction is well made although the fabric is lightweight so you'll have to be a bit carefully with handling. Unless you are really rough on your gear there's no reason this bag won't last for years to come. The fit is excellent with lots of room to move about. I would classify it as a wider than normal mummy bag. I'm 6' tall and the fit is perfect. The added foot vents are a nice touch when you need to cool off a bit but don't want to fully get outside the bag.

The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35's comforter could come off from under your shoulder if you roll around in the bag - something side and active sleepers should note. Synthetic fabrics used for outdoor gear are often ripstop, a textile weaving technique that provides materials with abrasion resistance. Ripstop fabrics have a visible grid-like pattern of threads that protects against snags and scratches—sort of like wired glass. While ripstop doesn't make a piece of clothing or gear invincible, it certainly helps lengthen the lifespan of a product and prevents from accidental cuts from your camping knife or a sharp tree branch. Similar to any full zip mummy bag, the Cloud 800 can be very versatile, with just a little imagination. The zipperless design and footbox vent make it really easy to regulate temps - especially when things get warmer than you had planned. For unanticipated colder nights, you may opt to bundle up with an additional base layer, as the roomy comforter may make it a little harder to really keep things really sealed tight. Sleeping bags do not generate heat; they only trap the heat we produce, so it is vital that you get into your bag when you are giving off warmth, don’t go to bed when you are cold, have a hot meal or a hot drink or do some brisk exercise to get you nicely warmed up. Durability: It’s a well-made bag, the fabric is pretty thin and feels gentle, but so far, I had zero issues with it or with the seams. The filling is leaking constantly, but mostly it's just small feathers and down fragments.When it comes to specs, the bag is filled with 419g of 800-fill power moisture-resistant DriDown. The downfill is zoned, by which we mean it is strategically placed on the top and sides of the bag. Conversely, the underside of the bag has no fill at all. The brand’s rationale is that placing down fill here is of limited value since it is compressed by the user’s own body weight, negating its loft and, therefore, its insulating power.

The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35 features a generous pad sleeve to insert a sleeping pad in. To save weight, no down fill is located at the bottom of the bag where the pad sleeve fits. Those not “blessed” with a snuggle buddy in their tent or who are looking for an excuse to escape their temperature-incompatible significant other, rejoice! Design pros and cons: The sleeping bag is much more comfortable than a conventional mummy bag, the comforter does act like a blanket giving versatility to your sleeping positions. But side sleeping is comfortable only on your left side where you can move the comforter out of your nose and mouth; on the right side this is not possible, so you must sleep with your head over the hood. Taken as a whole, all the features work well together, and we're pretty certain that if you find yourself comfortable in the bag the first time you try it out in-store, you'll love it while on the trail. If you're first and foremost a strict adherent of "Keep it Simple", then the Cloud 800's list of well thought out details may just be a detraction. ValueI used this bag for the last four years on many multi-day treks and overnight hikes. I am an experienced hikers. However, the EN 13537 European Standard does not apply to down-filled sleeping bags with a fill weight of more than 800g; for those bags, you will have to rely on the manufacturer's experience and technical expertise, which is often more accurate! There's very little moisture resistance on the bag itself but the down in the bag is a DriDown so it's treated with a waterproof barrier that repels water if it does get wet. The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35's generous comforter and zipperless design allows for a roomy fit around the shoulders. So, instead, there’s a rear sleeve to accommodate your sleeping mat. This makes it impractical to twist the bag around, so it may not suit side sleepers – though the roomy fit makes it relatively easy to move around inside the bag itself. It does, however, mean that you really need a well-insulated sleeping mat underneath you to guarantee you stay warm.