Sierra Designs Cloud 800F 20° Sleeping Bag

Product Information

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. 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!

If you always wanted a lightweight, 800 fill down bag but never thought there would be an affordable one, here it is. If you share any of my frustrations with mummy bags the Cloud may help. If zipping together and snuggling with your tentmate is non-negotiable, well you can keep searching because this isn't your bag. Otherwise I give the Cloud an enthusiastic thumbs-up. 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. 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.

The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35's zipperless design and oversized comforter can help one find solace after a long day of hiking. The Cloud 800's biggest strength may be in its comfort. After all, its most unique feature that makes it stand out from all the other products we've tested is its oversized comforter. While many of the bags reviewed cut weight by keeping the fit trim, the Cloud 800 has a more than generous fit in the shoulders due to the fact that the zipperless design allows you to open up the bag as much as you would reasonably like. This could be especially appreciated to those who feel claustrophobic in other ultralight mummy sleeping bags.

The Sierra Designs Cloud 20 is an innovative 800 FP Dri-Down filled sleeping bag that weighs around 800 g. It shifts from the conventional mummy shape by losing the zipper (that always get snagged) and having a comforter instead. I chose it for its design (had enough of snagged zippers), weight-to-warmth ratio, and its price point, being on the cheaper end of down sleeping bags. Another headache in sleeping bags in that your warm, cozy feather cocoon becomes stuffy and unbearable on those nights that AREN’T really cold, making you either unzip in the middle of the night (that zipper again) or have to own a quiver of bags for each temp range. Sierra Designs seeks to partially alleviate this with a flap closure and foot vent that allows you to easily bleed-off heat at night without dealing with a zipper. The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35 features a zipperless footbox vent, and zipperless comforter design making it very easy to lounge around camp while wearing the bag itself as an insulation layer. 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. Because of the zipper-less design, the entry is a little tight. But once you've got your legs in the bag it works just fine.Comfort Limit Rating: This is the lowest temperature at which an average male should experience a comfortable night’s sleep whilst laid down in a curled up position. The Sierra Designs Cloud 800 35's generous comforter and zipperless design allows for a roomy fit around the shoulders. 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. I used this bag for the last four years on many multi-day treks and overnight hikes. I am an experienced hikers. This version has 419g of 800 Fill Power DriDown that has a -3°C Comfort Limit so its good for two to three season use, particularly if you're a warm sleeper. The fabrics used are 15D so they are lightweight but also more than many of the lightest bags out there. The dimensions of the bag are generous so it would suit someone after a larger bag, someone who moves around a lot at night and warm sleepers. The overall weight is really impressive given all the features too.

Extreme: This is a survival rating where the user is likely to suffer health damage such as Hypothermia. It should be treated with the utmost caution and not be relied on for general use. 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. 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. 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. We always recommend that you choose your bag according to the coldest conditions you will experience; you can always unzip a bag if it is too warm, but trying to sleep when you’re too cold is just miserable. Bear in mind that we are all individuals, so we all feel the cold differently and that our own resistance will fluctuate depending on a whole load of factors, including how much we have eaten, whether we have consumed alcohol, whether we need a wee or what kind of mood we are in!This womens version has 419g of 800 Fill Power DriDown that has a -3°C Comfort Limit so its good for two to three season use, particularly if you're a warm sleeper. The fabrics used are 15D so they are lightweight but also more than many of the lightest bags out there. The dimensions of the bag are generous so it would suit someone after a larger bag, someone who moves around a lot at night and warm sleepers. The overall weight is really impressive given all the features too. Sleeping pad sleeve keeps pad under you for comfort and warmth and replaces unnecessary bottom insulation

The pad sleeve is doing a great job keeping you centered on the mattress, but at the same time it prevents placing a pillow under the sleeping bag, thus it must be inside the hood, which takes most of its space. Inside the Marmot Tungsten UL 2P tent Easy to use and regulate temperature. Most comfortable sleeping bag experience yet. Temp rating seems accurate and materials are top quality. 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.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. Many bags are useless to side-sleepers because they have a fixed shoulder box shape. With the Cloud the shoulder area can conform to the way you sleep. You can even wrap it up under your head like your favorite blankie from home. 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. Those interested in where the down in your bag was sourced (or Portlandia fans) will rejoice that Sierra Designs lets you know where the hardworking geese who made your bag lived out their final days. I scanned the QR code on my bag and learned that the down in my bag was from a Chinese source. It makes sense, I understand that they eat a lot of goose there and I’m glad they saved the down for my bag. 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.