Comments on: Women’s Winter Sleeping Bags: REI Halo +10 & Radiant +10 http://www.easternslopes.com/2010/02/07/womens-winter-sleeping-bags-rei-halo-radiant-10/ Eastern Snowsports & Outdoor Activities -- The Facts You Need, The Opinions You Want Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:42:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: David Shedd http://www.easternslopes.com/2010/02/07/womens-winter-sleeping-bags-rei-halo-radiant-10/comment-page-1/#comment-3835 David Shedd Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:58:54 +0000 http://easternslopes.com/?p=3729#comment-3835 Danneaux, that's a great bit of research...thank you for passing it along! I'm sure other readers will find it useful. Glad to hear you didn't get bothered by it being a "women's" bag; there's no such thing, just GOOD bags. Thanks for reading, and for the feedback! Danneaux, that’s a great bit of research…thank you for passing it along! I’m sure other readers will find it useful. Glad to hear you didn’t get bothered by it being a “women’s” bag; there’s no such thing, just GOOD bags. Thanks for reading, and for the feedback!

]]> By: Danneaux http://www.easternslopes.com/2010/02/07/womens-winter-sleeping-bags-rei-halo-radiant-10/comment-page-1/#comment-3809 Danneaux Mon, 13 Dec 2010 04:40:12 +0000 http://easternslopes.com/?p=3729#comment-3809 I appreciate your test, David, and it was a factor in my decision -- as a man -- to buy the REI women's long Halo +10 bag. Why? I am a solo adventure cyclist who takes trips through alpine passes to high-altitude "cold" deserts like the Great Basin during shoulder seasons, and it is common to experience temps in the single digits (F) at night and find it well over 100F by day's end. Because of this, I needed a good, warm, cold-weather bag that was as light as possible and easy on the budget while packing reasonably small. The REI Women's Long Halo +10 fits my 5'11", 165lb. frame perfectly, and I appreciate the extra warmth included in the hood, foot area, and chest compared to the men's version, which is not nearly as warm (the men's Halo +10 is EN 13537 rated at +12F for the men's lower limit, while the women's +10 is rated at +1F for men). I am not overweight, so the 58"/58" shoulder/hip dimensions make for a tight column and practical performance fit I can heat without feeling pinched. The men's was wider than I wanted to heat at the shoulders (59") and tighter in the hips (55"), which inhibited easy turnover in the bag when wearing extra layers. My bag may not be typical, but measures out repeatedly at 4.5" of top loft and 3.75" of bottom loft after sitting for an hour after it has been removed from the included stuff sack. The baffles vary in width from a tight 5" to an even tighter 4.5", and are corner-blocked to prevent the down shifting that can occur with continuous baffles. While I cannot deliberately shift down for greater temperature range as in a continuous-baffle bag, I gain by having a warm back when turning with the bag and no cold spots on top in the really cold nights I commonly encounter, even in mid-June. The bag drapes well and edge-seals nicely for use as a quilt in warmer weather and is comfortable as a quilt on 62F nights, making it effectively as useful as if I could shift the down. Best of all, it weighs in at 3.0 pounds exactly on my precision scale, and cost $309, making it a tremendous value in a light cold-weather bag. Compared to my $269 Marmot Never Summer 0F bag, the Halo has 750-fill down (vs. 600-fill), with a 90/10 down cluster/feather ratio (vs. 80/20) and has a much thinner shell. To match the Women's Halo +10's male EN rating in a Marmot bag would require a Lithium 0 at $459 or a Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 at $475 -- and neither of those bags have corner-blocked baffles like the REI. If I sound enthusiastic about this bag it is because I am. I went through a number of bags looking for the right one for my needs before stumbling on the idea of looking at a women's bag with an appropriate male EN lower limit. The only drawback is the women's *long* Halo +10 is only available in a right zip. In the last 20 years, there has been a move toward left-zips in both bags and tents and left-zips are convenient if you are right-handed. REI advises me there are no plans to produce the women's long Halo +10 in a left-zip, so I guess I will have to continue to pile into it from the wrong side when entering my left-doored solo tent. Ah, well...a small price to pay when everything on the bag -- including the zipper! -- is "right". -- Danneaux. I appreciate your test, David, and it was a factor in my decision — as a man — to buy the REI women’s long Halo +10 bag. Why? I am a solo adventure cyclist who takes trips through alpine passes to high-altitude “cold” deserts like the Great Basin during shoulder seasons, and it is common to experience temps in the single digits (F) at night and find it well over 100F by day’s end. Because of this, I needed a good, warm, cold-weather bag that was as light as possible and easy on the budget while packing reasonably small.

The REI Women’s Long Halo +10 fits my 5’11″, 165lb. frame perfectly, and I appreciate the extra warmth included in the hood, foot area, and chest compared to the men’s version, which is not nearly as warm (the men’s Halo +10 is EN 13537 rated at +12F for the men’s lower limit, while the women’s +10 is rated at +1F for men). I am not overweight, so the 58″/58″ shoulder/hip dimensions make for a tight column and practical performance fit I can heat without feeling pinched. The men’s was wider than I wanted to heat at the shoulders (59″) and tighter in the hips (55″), which inhibited easy turnover in the bag when wearing extra layers. My bag may not be typical, but measures out repeatedly at 4.5″ of top loft and 3.75″ of bottom loft after sitting for an hour after it has been removed from the included stuff sack.

The baffles vary in width from a tight 5″ to an even tighter 4.5″, and are corner-blocked to prevent the down shifting that can occur with continuous baffles. While I cannot deliberately shift down for greater temperature range as in a continuous-baffle bag, I gain by having a warm back when turning with the bag and no cold spots on top in the really cold nights I commonly encounter, even in mid-June. The bag drapes well and edge-seals nicely for use as a quilt in warmer weather and is comfortable as a quilt on 62F nights, making it effectively as useful as if I could shift the down.

Best of all, it weighs in at 3.0 pounds exactly on my precision scale, and cost $309, making it a tremendous value in a light cold-weather bag. Compared to my $269 Marmot Never Summer 0F bag, the Halo has 750-fill down (vs. 600-fill), with a 90/10 down cluster/feather ratio (vs. 80/20) and has a much thinner shell. To match the Women’s Halo +10′s male EN rating in a Marmot bag would require a Lithium 0 at $459 or a Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 at $475 — and neither of those bags have corner-blocked baffles like the REI.

If I sound enthusiastic about this bag it is because I am. I went through a number of bags looking for the right one for my needs before stumbling on the idea of looking at a women’s bag with an appropriate male EN lower limit. The only drawback is the women’s *long* Halo +10 is only available in a right zip. In the last 20 years, there has been a move toward left-zips in both bags and tents and left-zips are convenient if you are right-handed. REI advises me there are no plans to produce the women’s long Halo +10 in a left-zip, so I guess I will have to continue to pile into it from the wrong side when entering my left-doored solo tent. Ah, well…a small price to pay when everything on the bag — including the zipper! — is “right”.

– Danneaux.

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