T.O.S.B.

My boyfriend and I both purchased this sleeping bag and used it on a recent camping trip. It rained the entire weekend and so it was relatively cold (about 55 degrees at night). This sleeping bag worked pretty well to keep us warm although I felt like I needed to wear my flannel pullover and pants to sleep in. It zips up well but as with all mummy style sleeping bags, is difficult to sleep in if you have a tendency to sleep on your side.I am 5' 5" and my boyfriend is 5' 9" and this bag was plenty roomy to sleep in without being bulky. It compresses down very easily and fits into a compression pack that comes with the bag. Its fairly light for polyester (not as light as down) but is definitely usable for backpacking but expect a little extra weight and a little more bulk in your pack.Overall for the price, this is a pretty amazing bag!

Let me start by saying that for anyone who read the original review, it was discovered upon returning the bag that what had been shipped to me was another bag, and an older version as well. There have been improvements made to the Zipper and zipper guard, as well as slightly better fabric on the shell. This review is for the correct bag, which I received after returning the one that was sent by mistake.First, about the bag... I like it a lot. The black and grey look great, it is warm without being too warm or giving you hot-spots, and I have had no trouble with the new zipper getting caught or coming undone. It is not meant to be a backpacking bag, but for a regular camping type bag, it is small and light when put away in the stuff sack, and goes into the sack without a lot of fighting or strategic rolling to get it to fit. Honestly, for the price, this is a great bag! I would not feel cheated if I paid another $20 for it. If you are looking for a cool weather bag that will keep you warm, but not cook you out on the 70 degree nights, this is your bag.I also want to tell you about the company. I returned the first bag I was sent because of problems with the Zipper. As usual, Amazon made it easy to do, and a new bag was ordered before I had even boxed the old one, which UPS came and picked up the next day. What I did not expect was to be contacted directly by North Star to ask me specifics about what went wrong. We discovered that I had been sent an older, different bag by mistake, and they told me that they had changed to a stronger zipper and zipper guard material. I talked back and forth with them a few times, and the customer service was some of the best I have ever encountered on Amazon. (And I buy a lot from Amazon!) The replacement bag arrived earlier than I would have expected, and it was clear when I saw it that I was dealing with a different bag. I can't say enough good things about North Star, or this particular bag, so if you are looking for a good deal, and you want to know that you will have good service backing you should you need it, go with North Star. I would give an extra star if I could.

This is not a cold weather bag...only rated to 30 and not for kid sleep overs..it will get too warm.Old tooper here but back in the 80s this was my thing. Went all the way to Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow. Loved winter camping and roughing it in Iowa. Didn't have much money back then and stuff was terribly expensive back then. This is a nice unit, haven't tried it out yet in the cold, '40' but it should work ok. Back when I was a kid you were looking at $200 for this. For colder look for a bag with a colder rating.Testing this bag out tonight...this a $40 bag that performs like a $150 + bag. Really impressed with the contruction, stiching, 747 zipper, the polyester fiber batting filling. Google it...this was developed in the 90s by 3m. Kinda like Hollofil was big in the 80s. Bag heats right up in about five minutes. Easy enough to get the bag to breath if it gets too warm. I haven't got it wet to test the heat retention then...or how long it takes to air dry. This is a great intro wilderness bag at a really great price.Getting the bag back in the carry pouch. With the bag flat...fold it in half then roll it up. Then gently ease it into the pouch alternating side by side tuckling it in...takes a whole minute.Ok I slept in this last night. Live in LA and was kind of cold...could get warm with blankets...and than it hit me. Duh...I was out in ten minutes after hitting this bag. No more making the bed...not that I do that anyways.Another 30 days...still a great deal, very soft and warm, easy to cool down just by opening up the bad some and no my feet don't get cold. Have yet to wash it...hasn't need it. Zipper continues to work great.

For the price, it's not a bad bag. I have a good quality 0 degree bag that's too warm for the summer, so I bought this warmer, inexpensive bag in hopes of saving some space in my pack. Turns out that it's the same size/weight as my 0 degree bag (about 9" x 18" uncompressed, 9" x 13" compressed). If it came with a better compression sack, I bet it would compress further. Also, one of the clips on the compression sack was installed backward, and didn't hold the strap tight. It was an easy fix, but annoying. I'll be returning this bag, and looking for a warm bag that compresses better to save room in my pack.