REI Co-op  Magma 17 Sleeping Bag - Women's

I bought this a couple of weeks ago for a big trip through Utah and Arizona's national parks and I was not disappointed! (for reference, I'm 5'3 and 126lbs) The 17 degree comfort limit is dead on because as the temp dropped to low 20's I started feeling that infamous zipper chill. I've done a lot of backpacking in the Sierras and I naturally run pretty cold, so I'm very familiar with the chilly toes and zipper line struggle.That being said, I was never cold enough to keep me awake. It's still a little long for me, but I was able to combat the length by stuffing my down jacket into the bottom so my feet were well insulated. I slept through every night in full cozy comfort! The fabric is super soft so it's comfortable even on the most sensitive of skin, and it's ultra compressible for easy packing. It fully inflates itself to its original puffy glory abut 10 minutes after stuff-sack removal. My FAVORITE feature though, which I had doubts about when I purchased it, is the little neck gaiter. It looks like a fluffy little flap-like pillow and is attached at the front just below where your chin sits. It acts like a blanket so you can tuck it up around your neck for extra insulation! I didn't need to wear any kind of buff of scarf to keep out the chill because of this innovative little addition. Suggestions for the next model: -better anti-snag zipper -"short" option

As a man, I have long selected woman-specific REI sleeping bags so I can exploit their smaller width ("performance cut") for more efficient heating and because they have more fill than the men's versions so I can use them in colder conditions (as reflected by the colder EN lower-limit ratings. I've been really happy with my Halo 10, Sub-Kilo and Joule 23. I'm 5'11in and 172lbs and fit very nicely in the "long" bags intended to fit up to 6'. I have plenty of room inside to move around and don't feel the least bit restricted. With my elbows at my sides and hands on my chest, my figertips overlap to my second finger joints. The men's versions of these bags were too big with too much dead airspace for me to heat efficiently. I'm an experienced backpacker and world cycle-tourist with 39 years' experience in extreme conditions. With this background, I eagerly anticipated the women's Magma 17 and snagged one of the early models. There's much to like -- incredibly high-lofting 850 down, a really nice Pertex 15-denier shell that feels good to the hand, and an EN comfort rating of 17°F and all at a cost much lower than similarly equipped competitors from boutique brands. 'Soon as you slide in, it starts to heat. Fantastic. My purchased example was every bit as fat and lofty as the photo in the online description. Put simply, it is a beautiful bag made to a high standard of workmanship. However, all this goodness for me has been spoiled by the "hybrid" zipper that takes a course upward to connect with the hood causing the following problems: 1) By tracking to the top of the bag, gravity works against the zipper flap, pulling it downward away from the tape and causing a big air leak from elbow to shoulder whether my arms at at my side or crossed on my chest. A headlight shone from the inside reveals a bright green stripe to outside viewers right where the zipper tape is unshielded. The ground-level portion below my elbow sealed fine and was light-tight. It becomes worse as the bag "tents" upward when the hood cords are drawn tight. I tried the bag on a night when temperatures dropped to 32°F and the bag was cozy-warm everywhere but over my right shoulder and arm. After an hour, my right elbow, bicep and shoulder mfelt as if they were under an ice pack because of cold air leaking in through the zipper. Drawing the shoulder draft tube and/or hood tight arches the top of the bag, making the zipper flap sealing worse. The nicely filled down collar on my example was nowhere near large enough to stuff the gap at the self-opening zipper or the gaping draft flap which pouched open more as the lower hood tape was drawn close. 2) The YKK zipper is a new design that uses a little plastic overcap to shoo the fabric away from the zipper head, preventing snagging. It works very well and the zipper smoothly pulls up and down, but...it has no lock. When I pulled it up...it worked its way down, sometimes when I moved, other times on its own. I even showed it to a seamstress with contacts at YKK and she could not find a way to make the zipper lock in place to remain closed at the top. Because of the way the zipper dives in at the top of the bag, tightening the hood cords also pulls the zipper apart, causing a big air leak. I am not to big for the bag, as there is spare room at the top of the bag and I am not crowded anywhere in it. 3) Again because the zipper comes inward at the top, the hood is distorted and does not close evenly around my face, as on my other bags. The left side remains warm while the right side slides open when the tightened drawcord pulls the zipped halves of the bag apart. When the zipper is drawn tight, the pull dug into my right jawline, unlike on all my other REI down bags. The hood cord is not so well shielded as on my Joule 23 and I found it unpadded and uncomfortable against my forehead when tightened. Sadly, I cannot think of a way to overcome these problems as the bag is currently designed and made, so I am coming to the regretful conclusion I will need to return it. If only it had the more conventional zipper routing and locking pull of my other REI women's down bags, it would be perfect for this guy! I can't rate it "poor" because the overall concept, workmanship, and value are so high, but the zipper problems just kill it for me so it gets "fair" rating though it is unusable for my needs.