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.
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.