Big Agnes Cross Mountain Sleeping Bag: 40 Degree Polarguard 3D - 2004 BCS

I am reviewing the Cross Mountain sleeping bag from Big Agnes. I just spend 14 nights in the Quetico and have good things to report about this bag by itself and as a sleeping system with the Air Core pad. The 40°F range of the bag was right on the money and just right for this trip.

There are a couple of things that make this bag different from your run-of-the-mill bag. First, I'm 6'3" and weigh in at 260. I had plenty of room in this bag. It's basically a cross between a mummy and conventional bag, which turned out to be great for me. Second, like other Big Agnes bags, it is not insulated on the bottom, and instead has a pocket to insert a sleeping pad. This worked great. We had to settle for some pretty uneven terrain and often slept on a small slope, but I never once came off my pad.

I really liked the bag. I could roll in with the deflated pad in its pocket and still have the smallest and lightest bag in the group.

This bag actually does well at 40 degrees (unlike some North Face bags which are listed at 20 degress, and can barely handle freezing.) The ability to slide your pad into the bottom of the bag is awesome! It's nice not having to worry about staying on the pad. It packs very small and is very light. I highly reccomend this as a warmer-weather bag.

So comfortable, so light; the perfect summer bag! Cutting out insulation from the bottom of the bag allows big agnes to make a rather large, roomy sleeping bag without adding much weight. Great bag for warm weather- wouldn't recomend it for spring or fall unless you are a very warm sleeper.

I bought the Cross Mountain for a solo, 7 day, open canoe descent of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River (late season, low water), which I have just completed. I used the Cross Mountain in a variety of conditions and it performed well - including holding my sleeping pad in place while being used in a hammock. Do be aware that this is not a mummy type bag - and plan your purchase accordingly. At 6'2" I usually purchase the long version of a bag, as I did here - however as this bag is only meant to cover you to the shoulder this length was way too much. In addition it will probably be tough to find a full length, 78" pad. I used the Long Cross Mountain with a standard 3/4 length pad and it worked fine - save for some cold toes when used with the hammock. The foot room though was ample enough to lift my feet onto the pad. Because of the larger size of the bag some of the weight savings are lost. However as a part of a system that is designed for comfort as well as backcountry efficiency it is great. Sizing of the bag may need work, as above. In addition the semi-mummy/semi rectangular shape of the bag gives you more extra room at the feet than needed and perhaps a bit less at the shoulder than you need when combining the bag with an inner mummy. A long compression stuff sack - as long as the sleep pad is wide - would be a good addition allowing you to store the sleep system outside of your pack with a little bit more functional convenience.