Well, the UPS man dropped off my Helium about 2 hours ago. I ripped that box open! It's awesome. I pulled it out and threw on the sleeping pad I had inflated and laying on the floor just waiting! Climbed in and everything works great, and the bag is super comfy and plenty roomy enough. And yes I do enjoy the hood. Now I just have to get it out there and use it!
My only hang up with it is the weight. According to the site it is listed at 31 oz. When I set the bag on my scales in the 0.7 ounce stuff sack, it weighed in at 2 lbs 3.2 ounces! I thought this was a rather large variation of the listed weight. However, after looking at the hang tags they put on the bag to sell them, the weight listed there is 2 lbs 3 ounces. So, there is no weight variance, the weight is pretty spot on. The weight variation is on the site. So, I thought maybe I had last years model, even though the REI agent assure me that it was a 2010 model. When I looked at the product spec tags on the foot of the bag, it is listed as a fall 2009 bag. So, I contacted REI. She didn't get it. She told me that the extra weight is because sleeping bags did in fact vary in weight from bag to bag. I explained I did in fact understand this, but the listed weight was conflicting between the actual product and the website, not to mention I was told I was getting the new model, and got the old model. She said they weighed another one and it weighed in at 33 ounces. I asked her to look at the hang tag and tell me what the total listed weight was. She told me it was not listed. I don't necessarily believe a total weight is not listed.... Also, the hang tags that is attached to the bag with prices list down fill as 19.5 ounces, and the tag attached to the foot of the bag list 19 ounces.
Anyway, the next time I go near an REI, I will carry this bag and my scales with me. I will check the bags myself, and if I feel like I need to swap them I will.
Regardless, I love the bag, and am happy to have it! It is pretty sweet. I did write up the initial impression, including the weight dilemma on the REI site, and it transferred over to my blog. It pretty much says what I have said here, but it can be read here:
http://stick13.wordpress.com/