How to Choose Sleeping Bags for Backpacking

The updated REI Co-op Magma 15 sleeping bag ensures comfort and toasty warmth without adding extra weight. An extended range of sizes delivers your best fit for better sleep.
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Imported.
Best Use | Backpacking |
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Tested Lower Limit | 9 degrees (F) - ISO |
Tested Comfort | 21 degrees (F) - ISO |
Temperature Rating (F) | 15 degrees (F) |
Temperature Rating (C) | -9 degrees (C) |
Weight | Short Narrow: 2 lbs. Short: 2 lbs. 1.9 oz. Short Wide: 2 lbs. 4.4 oz. Medium Narrow: 2 lbs. 2.9 oz. Medium: 2 lbs. 3.6 oz. Medium Wide: 2 lbs. 8 oz. Long Narrow: 2 lbs. 6.2 oz. Long: 2 lbs. 8.5 oz. Long Wide: 2 lbs. 11.3 oz. |
Shell | Recycled ripstop nylon (bluesign approved) |
Zipper Location | Left |
Insulation Type | Down |
Water-Resistant Down | Yes |
Fill | 850-fill-power water-resistant goose down (bluesign approved) |
Fill Weight | Short Narrow: 1 lb. 3.5 oz. Short: 1 lb. 4.9 oz. Short Wide: 1 lb. 6.7 oz. Medium Narrow: 1 lb. 5.5 oz. Medium: 1 lb. 7.3 oz. Medium Wide: 1 lb. 9.1 oz. Long Narrow: 1 lb. 7.8 oz. Long: 1 lb. 9.4 oz. Long Wide: 1 lb. 11.3 oz. |
Sleeping Capacity | 1-person |
Lining | Recycled 15-denier ripstop nylon (bluesign approved) |
Sleeping Bag Shape | Mummy |
Fits Up To (in.) | Short Narrow: 65 inches Short: 65 inches Short Wide: 65 inches Medium Narrow: 71 inches Medium: 71 inches Medium Wide: 71 inches Long Narrow: 77 inches Long: 77 inches Long Wide: 77 inches |
Shoulder Girth (in.) | Short Narrow: 54 inches Short: 61.5 inches Short Wide: 69 inches Medium Narrow: 55 inches Medium: 62.5 inches Medium Wide: 70 inches Long Narrow: 56 inches Long: 63.5 inches Long Wide: 71 inches |
Hip Girth (in.) | Short Narrow: 45.5 inches Short: 53 inches Short Wide: 61.5 inches Medium Narrow: 46.5 inches Medium: 54 inches Medium Wide: 62.5 inches Long Narrow: 47.5 inches Long: 55 inches Long Wide: 63.5 inches |
Stuff Sack Size | Short Narrow: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Short: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Short Wide: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Medium Narrow: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Medium: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Medium Wide: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Long Narrow: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Long: 7.8 x 16.5 inches Long Wide: 8.2 x 18.5 inches |
Stuff Sack Volume | Short Narrow: 10 liters Short: 10 liters Short Wide: 10 liters Medium Narrow: 10 liters Medium: 10 liters Medium Wide: 10 liters Long Narrow: 10 liters Long: 10 liters Long Wide: 12.6 liters |
Compressed Volume | Short Narrow: 6 liters Short: 6.5 liters Short Wide: 7.7 liters Medium Narrow: 7.3 liters Medium: 8 liters Medium Wide: 8.6 liters Long Narrow: 8 liters Long: 8.2 liters Long Wide: 9.4 liters |
Gender | Unisex |
Sustainability | Contains recycled materials Contains materials that meet the bluesign® criteria From a Climate Label Certified brand |
Hip Girth The circumference at the widest point of your hips. | |||
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39-45 | 32-39 | 45-52 | |
Height | |||
4'11'-5'5'' | Short | Short Narrow | Short Wide |
5'5''-5'11'' | Medium | Medium Narrow | Medium Wide |
5'11''-6'5'' | Long | Long Narrow | Long Wide |
Measurements are stated in inches unless otherwise indicated. For Hip measurement, measure around your body at the widest point of your hip. If right at the edge of the measurements listed, size up or down based on your upper body size or how you prefer your sleeping bag to fit. A closer fit will provide better insulation, and a looser fit will allow for a bit more room. It’s important to not have too much room for proper insulation.
From feedback to field testing, all of our gear is dialed-in by REI Co-op members. Their adventures informed every stitch and detail—making for better, longer-lasting gear.
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When it comes to backpacking in the wilderness you need a lightweight and high performing all weather sleeping bag that can be many things, handling various outdoor temps. The REI Magma 15 is a feature packed, high performing sleeping bag that truly does it all. I tested mine at 45 degrees and was plenty warm with no need to wear extra layers. The zippers on this thing are robust and snagfree which is amazing. I hate it when I go to zip up and the zipper catches the material...not on the Magma 15. The down is very cozy and comfortable and packs down to a manageable backpacking size. The only knock on this is the smaller pack bag is not as sturdy as I would like and given how much you need to stuff and compress the bag to make it fit, I could see it tearing or ripping at some point. However, that is not enough for me to take it down a star. I recently climbed Kilimanjaro and I know the sleeping bags they use cost in the $700 range but are rated to -30 temps. Either way, given my experience I would easily have been comfortable and kept warm if I had the Magma 15 with me on Kili.
I’ve gone camping for most of my life and this is by far the best sleeping bag I’ve ever used. From casual family camping trips to longer backpacking and climbing treks, this has been a lifesaver. The ability for it to fit casually in the large back to stuffing it into less than 6” for backpacking is awesome. It also has kept me warm these past few cold days during climbing trips. To help, I’m 5’10”, 175lbs and the long sleeping bag fits perfectly. If anyone is on the market for a reliable flexible sleeping bag, this one is definitely it. Getting my wife the same one.
I took my new REI Magma sleeping bag out to Joshua Tree for a weekend trip in early April. The evening temperatures got down to about 40 degrees and the evenings were quite windy. I stayed plenty warm during the night. With that context – let’s dive into the features. Warmth: I own the men’s long variation. The bag is very comfortable and warm. The yoke near the neck provides a good seal to help prevent air from escaping through the upper torso / neck area. When compared to my 8-year-old REI Igneo that doesn’t have a yoke – I found the yoke to provide additional heat retention. Two consecutive nights in ~40-degree windy temps – no problem. Size: I am 6ft tall and I have the long version. I found the extra length to provide a comfortable fit without having too much excess in the foot of the bag. It also provides a little extra length to use larger/comfortable pillow. Zippers: Overall, I like the zipper design. You can zip from inside and outside the bag without issue. I’ve owned an REI Igeno for 8 years with the same zipper design. For the most part – they are hassle free and will prevent frustrating jams by guiding the material away from the zipper as you zip. Also, these are YKK zippers of high durability. Dual Sleep System: My wife runs cold at night. In the past, for car camping, we tried an oversize double bag from Kelty. On nights below 50 degrees, this system always resulted in a cold night’s sleep due to the excess air space. So, we abandoned that system altogether. We now own individual REI sleeping bags (Magma’s). One huge benefit of this is the fact that REI sleeping bags support a dual sleep setup. This allows you to zip a male and female bag together to create one double sleeping bag. We LOVE this feature of REI’s sleep system. We find even when zipped together – our dual Magma system is very warm. (See photos below) Inside Pocket: When camping in cold destinations, batteries die quickly. Therefore, I tend to keep things like my headlamp inside of the bag during the night. The Magma has a nice little inside pocket for a phone or headlamp – which is useful. Stuff Sacks: The bag comes with a standard compression sack that is useful when travelling/backpacking. It also comes with a standard storage mesh sack that is helpful for storing the bag when not in use. Color: This bag looks awesome. I personally love the blue/orange colorway. All in all – I really like this bag. I think it is well designed and I’m looking forward to testing it next week in City of Rocks, Idaho where it’s expected to get down to freezing temperatures. If you’re looking for a solid - warm sleeping bag for car camping or backpacking, this bag should do you well. Good job REI on another solid sleep system.
This was a great bag for cold fall night out in the camp and winter. The Magma has some nice features; they included a small pouch sewn into the right chest area that can be used to store your phone (that’s what I did), they also include a very nice side zipper that does not catch on the fabric and flows nearly down to the knee area. It is a mummy bag but it doesn’t feel tight or constricting, there is plenty of room to room around. I’m a side sleeper and this bag was great for that. The length is very generous with the foot box area having a more than normal fill to keeps your feet warm on those chilly nights. I would still recommend sock to provide extra warmth. Because the Magna is made from down it can really pack down small into a compression stuff sack and packs well into a pack due to its down compression properties. This bag held up very well keeping me warm in the low 30’s, granted I’m a cold sleeper, it kept me very warm. The hood is nice and lofty with built in neck section to keep and drafts out. I recommend this Magma 15 to anyone looking for a down sleeping bag to take on their cold nights. The compressibility and high loft of the down makes it warm and light to carry for backpacking.
The fit of this sleeping bag is tight. It's sized narrow and short and it fits that description. If your body type is not truly short and narrow, you will likely find it too small so pay close attention to the product dimensions. Having said that, I am short and petite so it fit me quite well. At first I thought I would find the tight fit annoying but it ended up working out well for me. I sleep on my side and I tend to flip from side to side through the night. Because of the tight fit, this bag moved with me instead of bunching up like some other sleeping bags do. I really like the puffy neck protector on the inside of the bag. It's big enough that I could almost use it as a scarf of sorts if I didn't need the bag fully zipped all the way and when I did zip it all the way, it fully covered the zipper. The overall zipper worked well also. It snagged a little bit a few times but a lot less than other bags I have used and I never got that dreaded feeling of being stuck in the bag. The stuff sack is super small but I promise the bag will fit in it. It just takes some significant effort to get it in there. I really appreciate the big storage bag that comes with it also. It's so nice to have something to loosely contain the sleeping bag when it's not in use instead of it just flopping around in my closet. Because the winter here was mild this year, I was only able to use it in about 31-32 degree temperatures so I can't speak to how it would do in temperatures colder than that. I seems to have a pretty loose fill that leaves gaps at times. That makes me wonder if it would be warm enough in colder temperatures but as it was, I found it plenty warm enough and didn't even have it zipped all the way. Overall I'm very pleased with the performance and comfort of this bag. It's really tough to get good pictures of someone using a sleeping bag but I did my best. My dog even joined me in a few of them.
REI aptly named this 15 Degree goose down sleeping bag when they coined it the Magma! For those cold sleepers looking for a bag to keep the wee hour chills at bay, this just might be the answer. I used it to cowboy camp on a 38 degree evening with 27 mph wind gusts. It felt a lot colder than 38 degrees but the Magma 15 was impenetrable. I had to “break the seal” twice to vent heat. At 15 degrees this bag would be perfect. Besides living up to its name in the warmth department it has some great features that were well thought out. The REI Magma 15 is very well constructed, has a great color scheme (blue outside, high vis orange inside) and is relatively lightweight coming in at 2lbs 9oz including the 9x16” stuff sack. It also comes with a large mesh storage bag to maintain loft when stored for long periods. The zipper is smooth and single hand friendly whether opening from the inside or out and I could not get it to snag even when I intentionally tried several times in rapid succession. The draft collar inside the bag is well thought out and lays perfectly once the bag is zipped. There’s just enough play on the zipper side to adjust the collar where you need it most and it keeps drafts out like a champ. The head of the bag has a great adjustable cinch tucked just inside the right edge. It’s easy to manipulate and cinches the hood down perfectly leaving a perfect gap for your breath to escape and prevent moisture buildup. The headlamp/cell phone holder sewn inside the upper right portion of the bag held my headlamp or iPhone 13 mini w/o losing either. At first I thought it would be annoying as it sits right on top of the right side of your chest, but after a full nights use I really like the location and how well it held. If you’re a side sleeper like me you’ll appreciate it compared to being located on the edge. There is one minor drawback - if you have something larger than an iPhone 13 mini you’ll have a hard time fitting it into the pocket. This bag was standard Long size and was perfect for me. I’m just under 6’ 6” / 220lbs and foot room was just right. Any longer would have been more space to for the body to heat and any shorter would have been tight. I could easily place my arms at my sides or on top of my chest without feeling constricted but if you err on the claustrophobic side you may want to opt for the wider versions. Considering this is a full size 15 degree bag, I was impressed with how packable it was in my 50l pack. Once crammed into the stuff sack I measured it at 9x16” which fit easily in the bottom of my pack with out losing much space compared to my lighter quilt. I did not have to adjust how I packed my items which is a win! The only thing preventing me from giving the Magma 15 a 5-star review is the weight. 2lbs 9oz is a lot for a 15 degree bag but I cut it some slack considering how well it performed in the 27 MPH wind gusts. The Magma lives up to its title!
This is a review of the REI Magma 15 sleeping bag. I am genuinely impressed by this piece of equipment. I ordered the size long because I’m 6’1”, and I’m glad I did. The bag fits wonderfully, with just enough wiggle room around the feet but not so much that you lose valuable warmth. The hood section (without cinching down) covers my ears, forehead, and cheeks. When I use the drawstring, it closes tightly while leaving the important breathing bits effectively exposed. The bag is not roomy exactly, but the regular size (not narrow) gave me enough room to bend a knee out a little for comfort. I didn’t have a chance to push the bags limits when it comes to temperature. I live in Phoenix, and the camping I was able to do included nights in the low 40s. For this purpose, the bag was fine. I needed to unzip a little and definitely did not need the hood. I’m pretty confident I’d be comfortable into the mid 20’s. I want to spend some time talking about the zipper. For comparison, my previous bag is the REI Trailbreak 20. The bag is wonderful, but the zipper proved a bit of a problem. Because the fabric of that Trailbreak is loose and bunches, and because the zipper does not have a guide or guard, the fabric inevitably gets stuck in the zipper. That did not happen with this bag even once, thanks to the excellent zipper guide that keeps the fabric separated until it is drawn toward the zipper (see included picture). I did find it challenging (probably also because of the guide) to get the zipper pulled all the way into the zipper garage at the top, but the ½ inch left was not a problem because the sewn-in buff (an extra floppy bit of insulated fabric stitched around the bottom part of the head opening) that wraps under your chin effectively closed this space and kept out any imaginable draft. In terms of storage, the bag came with both a stuff sack and a storage bag. When I first saw the stuff sack, I thought there wasn’t a chance that the bag would fit. But I found packing the bag relatively easy. Once packed, the bag easily fit in the sleeping bag compartment of my backpacking pack. For long term storage, I use the storage bag which is a very durable and breathable mesh. Any moisture will evaporate easily, and the bag will not become compressed. I was pleasantly surprised that the bag came with both. Thank you, REI. In conclusion, I’m impressed by this offering from REI. For the money, I don’t think you can do better. The bag is warm, packs down well, is relatively light, and has some design features (the neck/chin buff and zipper guide) that add to the value. An excellent product.
Unpackaging I was pleased to see a newly revised Magma 850 down bag. I gear tested in chilly and windy spring conditions at the beach. The material is soft on the skin and comforting, At 6’2 I fit well in the long bag with room for batteries etc, in the foot box, I was really impressed with the improvements, 2 loops for hanging horizontally, an easy to guide two sided zipper, an eternal pocket, and a comforting neck baffle. The bag fits inside my 8 ltr bicycle seat pack and only weighs 2.5 #. I sleep so much better in a full bag than drafty quirky quilts and will put the magma 15 to good use.
A very well made sleep bag. Lots of clever features include an interior pocket, practical and usable drawstrings, zippers, and zipper pulls, and a handy mesh bag and sewed loops for storage at home. I'm about 6'4" and 260 pounds and for once in my life I fit in a sleeping bag (I tested the long, wide bag version). Slept two nights with lows in the 10-15 F range and I was plenty warm. Manufacture and sewing looks solid, with stress points in the bag have heavily reenforced stitching. Overall, a very solid sleeping bag.
After some cold nights on backpacking trips, I knew I needed to invest in a warmer bag that is still light enough and compact enough to carry. I recently did a PCT section hike and temps dropped below freezing. I was warm, boarding on hot, throughout the night. I am a cold sleeper and this bag kept me hot and toasty! My favorite feature was the neck collar. It really kept heat in the bag while allowing me to keep the area around my face more open. Being so warm allowed me to not fully enclose myself like a cocoon to try and stay warm. I also loved the fact that I could shift from side to side, stomach to back, and the bag stayed in place rather than moving with me. 100% no regrets! I am 5ft 8in and went with the medium wide.