Long-Term Review: Patagonia 850 Down Sleeping Bags

I’ve spent over ten weeks on backcountry trips in Patagonia's three sleeping bags. I've also had several conversations with Casey Shaw, lead designer for Patagonia’s sleeping bags, to learn more about materials, baffle design, and their rationale for certain design choices. Here, I share mini-reviews for each bag. 

Bottom Line: 

19 Degree: Best all-purpose sleeping bag on the market if you value comfort more than weight savings.

30 Degree: I rarely recommend a mummy bag in this temperature range and the Patagonia 30 Degree is not as warm for its weight as the competition. Not recommended for anything. But it looks snazzy!

Hybrid: Best in class for winter alpinism when you might need to sleep sitting on a ledge without a tent. That's the only application I recommend it for.

Patagonia sleeping bags, left to right: 19 Degree (32.9 oz), 30 Degree (26.5 oz.), and Hybrid (17.3 oz.)

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON

19 Degree Sleeping Bag

•  32.9 ounces
•  If you value comfort, it's the best "all-purpose" sleeping bag in the world
•  $499, available from Patagonia    

VERDICT

Based on using this bag for nine weeks of backcountry travel, comparing it to over 20 competing bags, testing it side-by-side with its closest competitors, testing around 70 sleeping bags for outdoorgerlab.com, and talking extensively with its designer, my conclusion is:

The Patagonia 19 Degree is the best all-purpose sleeping bag on the market if you value comfort more than weight savings.

Sleeping in the Patagonia 19 Degree bag in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

The Patagonia 19 Degree bag's center zipper allows you to use your hands while your head is under the bag's hood.

The 19 Degree is not as warm for its weight as a super puffy, slim-cut mummy bag, but it’s considerably more comfortable. That’s the tradeoff with all-purpose bags: opt either for a thermally efficient cut that’s great for use below freezing or a more comfortable cut for a better sleep above in above freezing temperatures, which when we used the bag most!

Thus, if you want a sleeping bag that’s excellent for car camping, basecamps, and also performs reasonably well for backpacking, climbing, and other weight-saving wild adventures the 19 Degree is worth considering.

The 19 Degree bag has three zippers so you can vent, use our hands with your head and shoulders covered, tie into a climbing anchor, or sit up cross-legged. This is one of many ways the bag increases comfort compared to slim-cut, side zippered mummy bags.

COMFORT

The 19 Degree bag’s design strikes an excellent balance between warmth, weight, and comfort, with an emphasis is on comfort.  The center zip makes it easier to use your arms while inside the bag, for eating and cooking, for example.

I find the hood to be slightly more comfortable than those of Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends’ design. Western Mountaineering hoods are notorious for smushing the drawcord against your forehead when pulled tight. (It's not a big deal, but I'm surprised they haven't fixed it.) When cinched tight, the 19 Degree's hood does a good job at drawing the bag tight around the base of your neck, which helps to seal in warm air. 

The foot box is far superior to the traditional tunnel design used by most companies: it’s spacious enough for a water bottle and electronics and allows your feet to be unrestricted when perpendicular to the ground. Truly great work with the foot box!

The 19 Degree foot box flipped inside out. I've found Patagonia foot boxes are far more comfortable than traditional "tunnel" designs.

If you like to sleep naked or with your dog, you’ll appreciate that, like the Hybrid bag, the Houdini fabric is also used on the interior of the 19 Degree. Patagonia could have saved an ounce or two by using a lighter fabric, but they went with the Houdini because its textured yarn is more comfortable against the skin. Casey said, “I like to sleep naked.”

I climbed from this bag into a Katabatic Gear quilt, a Feathered Friends mummy, and a Western Mountaineering mummy to compare the interior fabrics against bare skin. I agree the 19 Degree feels softer. I suspect it will also feel less sticky if you get too hot and sweaty. Another potential benefit: Casey says the Houdini’s textured yarn reduces the cold chill that’s common when climbing into a cold bag with a smooth, tightly woven fabric. (Friction from sliding into the bag heats air at the surface of the fabric and traps it in the texture.)

The other less significant advantage of using the Houdini fabric for the interior is durability. Applications for this include cozying up with your dog or wearing a climbing harness and boots. 

The 19 Degree bag is very spacious from the knees all the way to the shoulders. The cut is too big to be optimally thermally efficient for skinny people, but it provides extra comfort and should fit folks with bigger builds well. The other obvious advantage to a larger cut is there's space for puffy jackets and pants.

Western Mountaineering Versalite, left, and Patagonia 19 Degree, right. Both bags weigh almost the same amount, but the Versalite 10 degrees warmer, costs $75 more, and is not as comfortable (generally and especially in the hood) as the 19 Degree.

Vertical Baffles

A variety of sleeping bags use vertical baffles, which stabilize down better than continuous horizontal baffles and, according to Casey, who did the math, save a small amount of weight. Some companies like Marmot, Brooks Range Big Agnes use Isotec Flow construction, which consists of two pieces of overlapping mesh that separate the inside of the chamber. This design makes it faster to fill the sleeping bag. (Insert the tube, pump 10g down into one chamber, pull the tube out to the next chamber, fill, and repeat.) Insotect Flow is not a proper baffle, however. Down might shift from one chamber to another. Patagonia uses proper baffles, see the ugly seam at the lower third of the bag, which will keep down in place for the life of the bag.

WEIGHT

The 19 Degree is one of many premium sleeping bags that weigh around 32 oz. and have around 20 oz. of the best down fill. The main drawback to the 19 Degree bag compared to the other premium mummy bags is its slightly lower warmth to weight ratio. Adding extra volume, the tougher and more comfortable interior fabric, and the generous foot box reduces the warmth compared to slim-cut mummy bags that weigh the same amount. For example, the Western Mountaineering Versalite, and even more so, Feathered Friends Lark UL 10, aren’t as comfortable and don’t have the stunning detailing of the 19 Degree, but they’re considerably warmer. An ever more successful example is my Katabatic Gear Grenadier, which weighs almost the same amount as the 19 Degree in size long and keeps me warm down to around 10 degrees while wearing only light baselayers and a down hood—it’s my go-to winter sleeping bag. Unfortunately, both of those bags are less comfortable than the 19 Degree. The Grenadier, for example, a few minutes of fiddling with straps to attach the bag to your pad, it’s very narrow in the feet and legs, and when it’s well below freezing I find that I need to adjust the cords each time I shift from my back to my side to prevent drafts. There’s no doubt about it: wider mummy bags are more comfortable. But there is a threshold where the comfort benefit of increasing width do not exceed costs of increased weight and reduced thermal efficiency. I believe this threshold lies somewhere around the Patagonia 19 Degree bag. An example of a bag that crosses the threshold is the Nemo Nocturne, which has lots of room in the lower legs and weighs six ounces more than the 19 Degree.

Comparing single-sided loft of the Patagonia 19 Degree, left, to the Katabatic Gear Grenadier quilt at right. The Grenadier has a 5-degree rating and weighs two ounces less than the Patagonia 19.

WARMTH

If you want to own all-purpose bag that performs well in winter without wearing a jacket, this is not the best option. (The Feathered Friends Lark UL 10 would be my top choice.)

Sleeping bag dorks will notice Patagonia chose not to include a full draft collar at the neck. Instead, there’s an extra-large baffle that helps to seal out cold air without require snapping and cinching. I support this decision because a full collar is only necessary when temperatures are below freezing. Again, wear a jacket or get a warmer bag for frequent use below freezing.

The super stuffed neck baffle. Though it doesn't snap together and cinch, like 10-degree bags from other companies, it's a no-fuss way to seal in hot air. 

CONCLUSION

If saving weight is your top priority, get a quilt. (Generally, Katabatic Gear offers the best performance and Enlightened Equipment the best value.) If you want an all-purpose bag for everything, and value comfort more than saving a few ounces, I believe the Patagonia 19 degree sets the new standard.

READ THE BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM REVIEW
For more information about this bag, read the long, detailed review I wrote for BackpackingLight.com.

850 Down Hybrid Sleeping Bag

• 17.3 ounces
• $299, available from Patagonia
• Best for alpinists who sleep sitting on tiny ledges

VERDICT

I’ve used this bag four nights, each between 10 and 20 degrees, paired with four different parkas, and believe it’s the best one person sleeping bag for hardcore alpinism. The bag is ideal for alpine routes (rock, ice, and snow) that require a toasty warm parka and have a high probability of you sleeping sitting upright. For everything else, a top quilt is warmer for its weight and therefore better.

BACKSTORY + PERFORMANCE

Yvonn Chouinard loves elephant foot sleeping bags and wanted Patagonia to make one. Ambassadors and designers had mixed feelings about this style of bag, but the project went forward with enthusiasm when Duncan Ferguson, a veteran climber, suggested adding a windproof fabric to the top. This is the key feature that distinguishes it from the competition. 

Specifically, the uninsulated Houdini fabric on top of the bag, a 1.2 oz ,15-denier with a high tear strength,  serves several purposes:

• Increases warmth by trapping hot air and reducing convective heat loss
• Prevents blowing snow from getting on your parka and inside the pockets, where your hands most likely are
• Protects your delicate parka from sharp, abrasive rocks
• Increases comfort by allowing you to tuck your head into the hood and feel as if you are inside a normal sleeping bag

Of all the sleeping bags I’ve used, the Hybrid was the first to place a more durable fabric on the interior. This addresses the greater abrasion and higher probability of tearing the fabric from wearing boots inside the sleeping bag. (it might not fail, for example, if you snag a lace hook when inserting or removing your boots.)

COMPETITION

The Hybrid bag has two main competitors:

Brooks Range Elephant Foot – the insulated area is slightly warmer, but the bag is heavier and costs $150 more. I don’t recommend it.

Feathered Friends Vireo – $9 more, one ounce less, 25 degrees of insulation in the lower half and 45 up top. I’ve used the Vireo with insulated pants and a parka down to -15 F. I love that the insulation and fabric extend to the shoulders because it’s much more comfortable than a true elephant foot like the Brooks Range model. I’ve found the Vireo to be better than the Patagonia Hybrid for warmer weather alpine climbing because it has insulation on top and can be used with a light down jacket.

CONCLUSION

I believe the Vireo and Patagonia Hybrid are only worth purchasing if you’re a hardcore climber and may sleep sitting up on a ledge without room for two people, a circumstance that’s rare even for pro climbers.

I’ve found the best way to save a lot of weight is to use a two-person sleeping bag. The 41 oz. Feathered Friends Spoonbill works well for two people in very cold temperatures and the ZPacks Twin Quilt, available in 10, 20, 30, and 40-degree options, is great for everything else.

30 Degree Sleeping Bag

• 26.5 ounces
• If saving weight is the goal, you’re better off with a quilt or box-baffled, hoodless mummy
• $399, available only from Patagonia      

VERDICT
Overall, the 30 Degree doesn't perform as well as its competitors. Patagonia should have taken additional measures to increase the warmth to weight ratio, such as by using a lighter interior fabric. Though I'm sure many people will buy it, I believe Patagonia should have built a lightweight quilt instead of this bag--that would have been a significant contribution to the ultralight community and many of Patagonia's weight-saving customers would have been much happier. 

The Patagonia 30 Degree sleeping bag is cut slimmer than the 19 Degree, has a half-length zipper, and sewn-through baffles. Even with these "minimalist" features, the bag is not as warm for its weight as many of its competitors.

The sewn-through construction is not as warm a box baffled bag; the EN Lower Limit rating is 30 degrees, which usually translates to comfort outdoors down to around 40 degrees, even less for some folks who sleep cold. As with similar models from other companies, such as the Feathered Friends Merlin UL 30 and Western Mountaineering SummerLite, the Patagonia 30 Degree is not warm enough to serve as an all-purpose bag. Consequently, I don’t recommend this type of sleeping bag. If you're going to have one bag, it's worth spending more and carrying the extra weight of a warmer bag. But could it be worth buying for folks who want to save weight in warmer weather? If you’re adamantly opposed to a quilt, yes. (The Feathered Friends Hummingbird UL 20 weighs 1.5 ounces less than the Patagonia 30, has box baffles, has a higher warmth to weight ratio, and for these reasons is my favorite lightweight mummy bag.) Otherwise, a quilt is warmer for its weight, more versatile due to the adjustable girth, and costs the same amount or less. Look to Katabatic Gear.

I’ll leave the 30 Degree discussion on a positive note:  As you saw in the first photo, this may be the most aesthetically pleasing sleeping bag out there. The baby blue color is gorgeous; unlike flat, box-baffled bags the puffy vertical baffles and half-length center zip have a striking appearance; and the contrast between the bright orange interior is wonderful. If only all sleeping bags looked this good!