Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

Follow up review , it was a low of 44 at night and this bag really locks in some heat!I think this is the perfect temp zone for this bag and after a few more nights in it im ready to pick it apart. First and foremost Im certain everytime i used the zipper this trip I got a snag,you know the kind 3 am and you want to go relieve yourself and you end up fussing with your bags zipper for several minutes. (Note* I used extreme care and tried my best not to let it get caught up but it haunted this bag the entire time.) After a long day on the trail i was in no mood for such hi-jinx!So I just wrapped it around myself and with it; half unzipped, in 44 degrees, down by the river, in condensation central... i stayed perfectly warm regardless. This is about the only drawback i have found. I'm 5'9" 174 lbs the bottom of the bag is snug but loose and the taper up to the shoulders gets pretty wide while not sacrificing performance.(At my size im able to twist and turn in it while i sleep without getting all wrapped up. Some light dew on the bag in the morning but 10 minutes under the sun and it was dry as a bone. Even though the zipper is a really dissappointing issue I dont think ive ever owned a bag that didnt find either its skin or the sewn in zipper "mount"?(the two black strips on either side that seal the zipper and prevents heatloss and airflow)getting caught up. All in all amazing bag. I will continue to find my zen and battle this zipper for the simple reason that it keeps you warm and does not overheat you and leave you sweating in the middle of the night while cold air rushes in the face hole and chills you to the core .I hope that these reviews help you make your decision .Goodluck

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I just purchased this bag last week , last night on a 20 mile overnight hike on the Batona trail it dropped to about 28 degrees and I was almost certain it was going to be one of those really rough nights. All I can say is with just some light thermal underwear on I was warm dry and comfortable on top of my thermarest. Great product for the money. If I didnt have the thermarest, the bag resting just on the cold ground was as you would imagine , unbearably cold. I cant say much more I am greatly satisfied (as Im not a popsicle today) Great buy for the money! Packs down plenty small and lightweight. More importantly trail tested and approved last night im alive I stayed warm ,even when in northface snow pants and thermals and a northface jacket and shell had me feeling pretty [*] cold even by the fire. Once I climbed in that was all a thing of the past. Love it! Next weekend will be 80 degrees(yea good old jersey 28 today 80 next weekend)I look forward to dropping a warm weather review to follow as Ill be doing the same trip next week.

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I used this bag over the summer for camping in various areas around Europe and have since used it in the Red River Gorge and a few small parks in the area. I decided to get this for two reasons: it packs ridiculously small and since I was using it primarily during the summer I didn't need a lower temperature rating. I've used this bag in a range of temperatures from the mid-low 40's to the 60's and have been very satisfied with it so far. I use a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core as a pad, which leads me to believe in addition to my experiences thus far that I'd be comfortable in the upper 20's with it.

In the compartment designed for sleeping bags on my pack, I can easily fit this, my sleeping pad, AND a pillow, leaving an insane amount of room left in the main compartment for clothes, tent, foot, etc. I would strongly recommend this to those who are looking to maximize space/minimize weight and aren't the types that are cold all the time. I've had chilly nights, but nothing a long-sleeve shirt didn't fix.

Only issue is the zipper. Not a huge deal for me, but I can see where others would find it very frustrating.

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I don't believe this bag has the rating it deserves. I've owned a lot of sleeping bags and this one is one of the best by far!

First, let me address this zipper issue; There are two nylon strips that follow the zipper on either side all the way down. I have never once had the zipper snag, I just don't see how it would be possible unless the actual shell of the bag got so bunched up that it overlapped those nylon guards. Not saying it hasn't happened to others, just saying it hasn't happened to me.

Second, the temp rating; I tend to sleep a little warm, some people sleep a little colder. Everyone is different. The fact is that you won't really know how accurate the rating is for you unless you buy it and test it. Fortunately, REI and Mountain Hardwear are so easy to return to if it doesnt' work out, you can't go wrong. That being said, I've slept in close to 20 degree weather with this bag, wearing a baselayer, wool hat and socks and was a little cold for a while but for the most part fairly comfortable considering the conditions I was in.

The amazing things about this bag are it's weight and compressibility. I have the short (I'm 5'6"). It weights 2 pounds and an ounce and compresses to about the size of my Nalgene bottle. Great for long backpacking trips! It has two convenient pockets for storage and just the right amount of room (I'm 160 pounds). I also have the UltraLamina 0 degree and it is just as amazing as this one for winter nights!

In my opinion, you're not going to find a better bag than this, especially for the price.

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

First let me tell you that I returned the bag and I'm not the type of person who returns things often. With that being said, let me share my experience with this bag. I used it one night in Northern California in late October in the bed of my truck, no tent or cover. I was fully exposed. The temp dropped down to 38 degrees and I was nice and warm. This becomes even more impressive because a heavy fog rolled through that night and soaked everything! The exterior of my bag was covered in water, the bed of my truck even had small pools of water gathering. Inside the bag I didn't feel any of it and I was actually very surprised of the conditions outside the bag when I awoke. I was very impressed and if this was the only category I was going to rate this bag on I would have given it 5 stars. The bag was within 3 degrees of its rating and it was wet and performed great. What I hated about this bag is the function of the zipper. It took me 10 minutes to zip myself into it (twice, I had to relieve myself during the night). Then there was the unzipping which was almost as bad. I'm a patient person by most accounts, but spending [$] for a bag that I couldn't zip or unzip effectively really annoyed me. I took the bag back the next morning and really combed through REI's bag selection. (BTW – props to REI for such an awesome return policy) I noticed something right away. Most of the bags … had this tougher strip/ flap of material along the length of the zipper. I tried several bags out in the store (yeah, I became that guy) and tried them out. That strip of material really cut down on zipper snags. I looked at the Mountain Hardwear Lamina that I was returning and it didn't have on of these strips. I ended up exchanging it for the REI Lumen +25 Sleeping Bag and I am very happy with this bag AND I got $1.07 back to boot!BTW, for what its worth both bags are the long versions and I'm 6'3" 220 pounds. The Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag was a tad tight for me as well.

Service and delivery comments:

I bought this in store and the staff was great at answering all my rookie questions. I exchanged the product for a different bag and that went smooth as well. A+ in store service. REI just earned a loyal customer. Could you imagine spending $150 on a product you ended up not liking and being stuck with it?

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I have to be brutally honest on this bag. Mountain Hardwear is generally my go to brand for quality, but this bag did not stand up to any test. I gave it two chances and on both occasions the Lamina failed to keep me warm.

On both trips I used this bag temperature was around 40F and at the lowest 25. I found myself on both occasions having to boil water and storing it in a Nalgene for extra warmth to maintain some small bit of comfort. I plan on returning this bag well before my next trip.

I used a thermarest sleeping bag for ground insulation and slept in a cotton hoodie and thermal pants and still was cold.

To give my self rebuttal argument I may be more inept to getting cold, but I do think this bag should have kept me warmer than it did.

Best part of this bag: Stuff sack was great. Storage Sack comes with me on all trips simply to store other items.

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I purchased one of these last year and have used it on several multi-day backpacking trips. Sleeping bag zippers are often a bit difficult, but i have never had a problem with this one. It comes with a loft-bag for storage and a nice compression sack for use on the trail. It easily compresses down to about the size of a large coffee can without too much effort. Very light weight. Always keeps me warm and i often unzip it and use it as a blanket while laying on a Big Agnes air core or a Z-lite. Just bought a womans small for my wife this spring--it weighs only 2 lbs, 1 oz. Good bag!

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I loved this thing in the store. But what they don't tell you is that it requires a full grown man to stuff this, and even then I have a hard time. I think this would be great, say, for going on a warm outing, but otherwise, go with something else. I do not like this bag, but I will miss the size.

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

Like most, I too had an issue with the zipper getting snagged...looks like this is something that I'll have to deal with because I love how small it packs down and the weight is on target for me.

The temp rating was right on for me while backpacking in the low 40's and high 30's, although, I did get a tad chilly in the upper shoulder area due to the bag's smaller build. If you have wide shoulders, I would definetely suggest you get a larger bag.

Comments about Mountain Hardwear Lamina +35 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

For a synthetic bag, this compresses just as good if not better than any '3 season' down bag I have owned. And the cut is generous in the torso for those of us with actual shoulders.

I was eager to go with a synthetic after getting my last down bag wet, and experiencing the misery of that in 20F temps for two nights. While I would have considered another down bag, the Lamina made the decision easy.

Synthetic insulation has really gotten better over the last 6 years specifically, and Ive put PrimaLoft to the test in the past. Ive always been a fan of it over down for outerwear. This ThermicMicro insulation is said to be even better.

I run warm/hot, so this will be a 4 season bag for me for temps 0F and above.

Zipper is problematic at times.

Would have given it 5 stars, but I dont think I have ever owned anything I would consider perfect...