REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

Having high and enthusiastic hopes, this bag left me with sad and cold disappointment. The last REI bag I owned was a REI Sub-Kilo, and its temperature rating was inaccurate at best. Ever since REI introduced last year and implemented the EN (European Normative) rating system, I thought I could now depend and trust what the bag's tested rating were. Unfortunately not. At milder temps is where this bag excels. It's comfortable, light and easily packs well. However the EN temperature rating is its downfall. Colder temps around +40F to +30F, I was left with frigid cold spots, particularly in the hood and footbox. Strangely enough the areas between my shoulders and thighs were sufficiently warm, but not the comforting warmth one would like to experience. Materials and construction were executed well, but again the reason I purchased this bag was for its EN temp. rating and weight. Also note that during testing, I did follow the EN recommendation for clothing worn while sleeping in the bag, in addition to having 1" of sleeping pad insulation. Last word: The Lumen lives up to being light, fast, and very packable, but warmth is not its strong point.

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I just recently decided to upgrade from my 10+ year old bag. Backpacking has become more important to me, so I wanted to ditch my 4.5 pound, bulky 45F bag. I bought the REI Lumen 25F because it compared nicely to other name brand bags in the same category and I had both the member 20% discount and a gift card.Took the Lumen 25F out for a test run last weekend. Forecasted low was 29F and it was 32F when we went to sleep. The bag performed well. I wasn't roasting hot, but I wasn't freezing cold either. My feet stayed warm the entire night, but my head/face was pretty chilly by the morning. I was wearing a pair of long underwear, hiking socks and a fleece hat. Slept on a blue closed foam pad in my solo tent. Worse part was getting out the bag in the morning, FREEZING COLD!Complaints? The hood's cinch was a little clumsy. This bag packs up much smaller than my previous bag and saves a lot of space in my pack. It would be nice if REI included compression sacks with their bags, but they don't. The bag seems like it could compress down fairly well, but I don't think I'll buy a compression sack.

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

J.D's Product review of the REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag (long)

I have to be honest. I'm leery when it comes to buying "store brand" products. You really don't know what you will be getting. I mean I'm OK with buying "store brand" corn, but this bag is something I was going to be trusting my life with… well at least a good night's sleep. Think about it, I really doubt REI has some sleeping bag factory up in Colorado with a huge R&D department. In fact, this bag is made in China. REI, however, has been in this business for some time and they made good on their 100% satisfaction guarantee promise in the past. So, I decided to allow them in the running when it came time to getting a new bag. The funny thing is, this bag was my second choice. I originally purchased the Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag – Long. The reason I went with the Mountain Hardware bag over the REI Lumen… because I have my doubts about "Store brands".

Long story short: I liked the Mountain Hardwear bag, but HATED the zipper. So I returned it to REI without any issues and I restarted my sleeping bag selection process. This time I made use of that sleeping bag tryout bench (that's what I call it) and tried several bags (and their zippers). I narrowed my search down to two: 1) The REI Lumen +25 2) The Northface Cat's Meow. As you may have guessed, I went with the REI bag. The in-store deciding factor was the price difference and the bags included with the bags. The REI bag is $20 cheaper, but doesn't come with a compression bag. The Northface came with a compression bag (and in my mind justified the extra $20) BUT I didn't like the style of the compression bag Northface included with their sleeping bag. The way it seals seem awkward to me. I felt as if I would end up replacing it down the road so I went with the REI bag.



This bag is synthetic so it compacts very nicely and will free up a lot of space in your pack. It weighs in at a meager 2 lbs. 15 oz. (2 lbs. 11 oz. for the regular) so it will not be a burden to take backpacking. The zipper works very well, but is not immune to getting stuck from time to time. The hood strings are a bit akward, but by no means a deal breaker. I'm reviewing the long version of this bag, but you can easily draw conclusions on the regular. The long version has the same exact width as the regular; they only added 6 inches in length. I found this bag to be a little roomier than the Mountain Hardwear and the Cat's Meow, which I like (I'm almost 6'3" and 220 pounds). It gives me the freedom to sleep on my side if I so chose. However, if you are a smaller person, you may find this roominess a liability as it will create the opportunity for cold spots to form.

I spent a tentless night in this bag with lows that hit in the mid-30s with very damp conditions (heavy Northern California fog). This bag performed well. I stayed dry (the outside of the bag was wet), warm, and the zipper worked great. I did however; notice my foot section did get a little chilly, but not so much so that it made me feel like the bag had failed me. The bag is rated for +25 and I'm sure you could easily survive a night at that temperature, but I'm not sure it would be a comfortable experience. I'll stick to the 30s or above.

With all things considered I really like this bag. It's a great mid-level bag that gives you nice compression, warmth, good zipper function, at a light weight.

Happy Trails!,
J.D.

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

Met buddy in LA for a backpacking trip to Buckskin Gulch, UT in early April. Originally came with my Lafuma 40 Degree bag, based on projected temperature projections. Once there, the Gulch had experienced a cold spell, with snow, etc. and temps were projected to be in the high 20's to low 30's. So went to REI Santa Monica and had to get a bag that day without killing my budget. Caught this bag on sale, and very happy as the perfect combination of roominess, warmth, weight, pack down size (although I did get a REI compression sack), and price. Temperatures were about 31 degrees and I slept with one layer and was very comfortable. No cold spots, moisture, etc. The Lumen was very roomy (more so) than other mummy bags and the pad straps kept me on my pad all night. I am a side sleeper and could easily turn from side to side.

I know the EN rating is questionable to some reviewers, but I found it totally accurate. I was very comfortable in the low 30's and could have been in the high 20's as well.

Overall the perfect combination of price, performance, and comfort

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I used this new bag (thanks, dividend!) on a week-long camping trip in Eastern Oregon. The temperature at night was around the lower limit for the bag, but even in my long-johns, socks, hat, and a silk liner, I was chilly - especially my feet. Making this worse is that the bag has a huge area for your torso, which would be nice for someone who was larger but creates cold spots for someone of an average build.

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I am a big guy - 6 foot 2 and 260 and this bag (in a long) was perfect. Kept me warm and cozy down to the low 30's and packed down small- although it didn't come with a compression bag. I tend to roll around a lot when sleeping, back, sides and even occasionally sleep on my stomach and I was able to move around pretty well in this bag.

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

The REI Lumen bag is a great bag. It is lightweight and packs small. It also has decent room, I'm 220 lbs and I have enough room to roll around inside. For what it is, the price isn't bad either. I bought this bag specifically to do summer/fall backpacking trips in moist climates (it's why I did not buy a down bag), so for that it works just fine.

The only complaint I have about this bag is its temperature rating. 25 degrees would kill me in this bag. The coldest I have ever slept was about 32-ish by my thermometer, and that was about as cold as I ever want to go without more layers. I live in a place with harsh winters and I am used to the snow/snowboarding, so I would say my cold tolerance is somewhat higher.

Good- cheap, lightweight, good for summer/early fall trips.

Bad- not truly 3-season (late spring/early fall only), temp rating too low (think 35+ for comfort).

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I really like this bag. After an exhaustive search process to replace a early 80's Cat's Meow, I chose this bag, and I don't regret it.
At 5'9" and 210 lbs I need a bag with a little extra space compared to when I bought my Cat's Meow. I have plenty of room to sleep on my side, knees up some to relieve my aging back.
The Temp rating seems about 10 deg optimistic to me, based on a late fall camp-out in 20 ish deg weather.
Last weekend, in 40 ish deg wet weather, I was super snug and warm, and didn't need long johns.
The bag came with a stuff-sack, but even without, fits in the bag compartment of my Gregory Palisades pack easily.
I like the design around the zipper, which greatly reduces snagging, a real problem with my old bag.

I do agree with the other reviewer whom finds the drawstring for the hood a bit clumsy to use from inside the bag.

Overall, a great bag for the price!

Comments about REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

Usually used backpacking, switched from an old mountain hardware "crazy legs" model with the elastic around the knee area. The REI model stuffed MUCH smaller than I was used to so I enjoyed that aspect very much. Used it this weekend in the Shenandoah National Park area where the temps were low 30s at night and kept me warm just fine with wool socks and thermals on. I missed the expandable knee area of the "crazy legs" but the weight savings and warmth made up for it. Used in a Kelty 2.1 gunnison and on a thermarest z-lite pad.