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View Full Version : MontBell U.L. Super Stretch Sleeping Bag 25F



dmgbos
12-03-2009, 19:06
I Love this bag.:banana

I'm am 6' tall and 225 lbs. I wanted a bag I could really sleep in and not have to compromise on comfort. I initially did just that though when I purchased the medium version of this bag (because the long had a few inches I did not need, weight saving ya know) meant to sleep someone maximum 5'10". "Hey, it'll stretch." I though. Bad idea, it too small. I'm sure others have wondered or even tried the same thing.

So I returned the barely used bag and bought the Long. This bag is very comfortable and the stretching works just how it should. I tend to sleep on my stomach with one of my knees spread out and this is the only bag I have ever been able to do that in. I can also sit "Indian style" in it, though just barely.

I also found it rated accurately. On nights when the mercury dipped low some of my companions had to dawn all their clothes and huddle into their similarly rated bags to conserve warmth while I slept in my boxers as usual and many times I just used the bag unzipped as a blanket (though to be fair I usually prefer to be slightly cold then be slightly warm, another thought: since there is quite a lot of extra space for me, I dont usually press against the bag compressing the insulation [except on my underside of course] and I bet this makes it a good deal warmer for me.). But I did not mention this to my companions as I did not want to brag. Some morning I would hear things like "I got no sleep last night, it sucked!" and I would agree thinking that I had a relatively bad night compared to others I have had. I almost always got "Oh, you slept!" Evidently my snoring was giving me away and making my companions angrily jealous.

The DWR coating works very well. When ever I awoke to wetness on my bag I could usually just wipe it off with my camp towel. One night while cowboy camping I awoke to a thick layer of dew covering everything and it was a very chilly night. I quickly pitched my tent, and crawled inside with my gear. I was amazed when I could just wipe most if not all of the moisture off the surface of the bag. Though to be fair the bag was relatively new then (maybe a week on trail) and this property may have diminished after I have washed it a few times. I quickly fell asleep and the next morning the event was more like a dream than something that interrupted my rest.

When ever I take it out I can feel everyone looking at it and wondering. It is huge and has great loft (similar in appearance to a WM bag). It is also rather pretty with a slight shine to it. So it has an eye catching appeal to it, not that that matters. I have had many people ask me about it and I always jump to explain how I love the bag and would recommend it. It feels good to get it off my chest because I almost feel guilty sometimes. Sort of like being on a lost raft at sea when everyone is starving and I have all the food I can want (but for some strange reason I can't share it even if I wanted), and like being in that position, there is no need to mention the fact.

After a full day of hiking with dirty clothes, eating sub-par food, and all the other discomforts that come with long distance hiking I would get into my bag and think to myself "Oh yeah, I have a damn good bag!"

Really the only thing I can compare it to is when your young and you have a plastic bed with acrylic sheets and an acrylic super man blanket, and you crawl into your moms or grandmothers soft fragrant bed and wonder "how can anything be SO comfortable?!"

Almost every night I would have deja-vu of going through this as a child. It really was that good.

I did a lot of research and trials before I bought my bag. I wanted something really big and not too heavy. I initially purchased a BA bag and decided it was not what I wanted (too heavy and bulky for me). I was then looking at WM but even their largest bags were not as big as I was looking for. After buying my bag I was briefly dismayed when I saw the MB spiral bag was lighter, untill I notcied it was not quite as big. So long story short: I have found my bag! I even plan on purchasing other MB UL SS bags in different ratings as the need and cash arises.

Cons:

-Its down so you need to knonw all the downs of down.

-relatively large when when packed, i.e. takes up a good amount of space in your pack. Also I have never been able to fit it in the stuff sack provided. I instead use a compression sack I bought and am very happy with the arrangent.

-Once I very stupidly riped off a tag near the bottom of my bag and some stiching came with it. I patched it with duct tape and moved on. Several weeks later I decided to have it repaired for cosmetic reasons. After another couple weeks and after I washed it for the first time something wierd happend. A cavity formed between two of the boxes that hold the down in place near where it had been damaged and the two boxes worth of down clumped into one lump. This left two boxes of space exposed without insulation on my calfs. When I have the time I will contact Montbell for a solution and maybe then I will be able to report on their customer service.

Dogwood
12-03-2009, 21:43
LOL! I ripped off a sleeping bag tag on a new WM bag because I also was being an inane Uler(somehow thought the 1/4 oz tag was going to break this camel's back, MISTAKE!). Ripped the stitching on the bags seam! Must learn to cut and snip. Not rip and sew!

Use down bags under hiking conditions that warrant their use. In otherwords, don't use a down bag in the Amazon rain forest! Keep the down dry and the loft up and the battle is won. Not a big deal for me anymore.

JoshStover
12-03-2009, 22:47
I have the same bag and I LOVE it. You should use the stuff sack that came with the bag. It packs it down pretty small. Just start by shoving one end into the sack and just start cramming it into the stuff sack. It gets a little tough but after you do it a couple times you will get the hang of it. Be sure not to leave it in that stuff sack for long periods of time, use the supplied storage bag it came with and the bag should last a good while.

dmgbos
12-03-2009, 23:05
oops. Just realized my first and last "cons" arent really that "con".

oh well...

LIhikers
12-04-2009, 00:01
Yep, another satisfied user here.
I toss and turn in my sleep and my Montbell, UL, SS, DownHugger #2 lets me do that unrestricted. This bag gets 5 stars, out of 5, as far as I'm concerned.

buz
12-04-2009, 10:01
I have the exact long bag, and agree with all that has been said. Accurate temp rating, love the ss feature as a flippy floppy side sleeper. I think mine has some underfilled baffles when initially received, but I added down to them from an old jacket that met a car battery. End of jacket, lol, but spare down recycled.

If you are 6' tall, get the long.

jbrecon2
01-21-2010, 10:16
im around 5'7-5'8. i thought i read somewhere here that you ought to get the long if your anywhere close to 5'10. anybody have any suggestions?

Red Beard
01-21-2010, 11:12
Ditto with what everyone else has said about this bag. It's a 25 degree bag, and I have used it in 17 degree weather. I was toasty warm.

@Josh, how many tries did it take before you got the hang of stuffing this thing into the provided stuff sack? I can get it in, but can't manage to get it stuffed down past the "second collar" if you know what I mean.

srestrepo
01-21-2010, 18:12
i'm a much bigger guy and these bags with the stretchy thingy's look awesome. but i dont want to buy one and then have it not fit. pretty much all my clothes is double or triple xl and my waist is a 42. i'm 5'10 and 290 pounds.

i fit in a north face cats meow pretty tight, but i fit. not enough to compress insulation or anything though. so any ideas on whether or not this bag will "stretch" enough to fit me or will it stretch too much...?

buz
01-22-2010, 09:38
JB recon, I think you would fit in the regular, I am 6' even, and the regular was too short, but not by much. The long is perfect, with just the extra amount of length for me.

Red, I don't use the stuff bag, too small, too much work. I either don't stuff it at all, just put in pack in garbage bag, smoosh and seal, or I use a lightweight REI compression sack, and cinch that down, depending on rest of pack load, volume wise.

Srestrepo,

I am skinny 170# guy, so cannot really say how it would fit. I will say for sure that your shape is the kind that stretches the baffle system out. No big deal, but the reports are that if you do this, the warmth rating of the bag gets comprimised, possibly by a lot, depending on your size. Honestly, I think this kind of bag is good for people like you, but I would advise going one model lower in temp, if you are going to use it near its' rated temp. So for the #2 at 25, I would get the #1 at 15, if you were going to be camping anywhere near the 25 degree mark. Good luck.

Red Beard
01-23-2010, 01:35
i'm a much bigger guy and these bags with the stretchy thingy's look awesome. but i dont want to buy one and then have it not fit. pretty much all my clothes is double or triple xl and my waist is a 42. i'm 5'10 and 290 pounds.

i fit in a north face cats meow pretty tight, but i fit. not enough to compress insulation or anything though. so any ideas on whether or not this bag will "stretch" enough to fit me or will it stretch too much...?

Srestrepo, I weigh 240ish, am 5'-10", have a 40 inch waist at the moment, and usually wear size L/XL shirts. There's really not a problem at all for me fitting into this bag. In fact, I don't even begin to start stretching the baffles out. I don't think you'd have a problem with this bag. One word of advice, since we are the same height, get the LONG.

Rick500
01-27-2010, 02:13
5' 9", 155 lbs. Just ordered the regular.

If anyone's interested, and you don't mind using Bing Cashback, you can get the regular, 800 fill version for $242. First sign into Bing Cashback, then click Cashback and search for "montbell u.l. super stretch down hugger #2" and click on one of the $283 search results. You can't tell until after you click, but get to the backcountry.com one. Then put the bag in your shopping cart, and when you're checking out, click Enter Redemption Code and use the code: 4NT-1-69WPG for 15% off. Free shipping too. Great deal.