The North Face Dark Star Sleeping Bag: -40 Degree Climashield Neo

I just wrote the review for the previous model, which is the polarguard model that is currently on sale, but it looks like nothing had particularly changed with the Dark Star other than the brand of filler. It is a very large, slightly heavy, but particularly bulky bag. Even with the compression stuff sac it still comes in at about 2.5" long by about 12-14" wide... So it takes up a lot of space... Stuffing doesn't quite take 15 minutes, but it is a little tough to get it in the sac and sinched up. It is a great basecamp or living quarters bag for expeditioning, but there are better bags to get. But with anything, you get what you pay for and the Dark Star is a particularly good deal IMO. I use it for all sorts of camping, anytime my 20 bag won't cut it including fall/spring and southern Utah in the winter, times where it rarely gets below 10F or 0 so the bag is complete overkill. It manages this very well of course, I manage the excess heat by simply venting the bag (aka having the zipper open in places) which works great. The bag (even though made in China or whatever) is still North Face quality, excellent design, good neck collars, etc...

I used it a 1 week "expedition" on Monte Bianco with a "base camp about 4400m (we were testing other equipments for a Pamir expedition) with a CAMP XP2 tent. The temperaturs were constantly about -30 - -35C (in winter). It was incredibly warm, but it's difficult to pack it. It fill up to 1/2 of my backpack (80 lt.!)even using its compression sack, and that's a problem. So in my opinion it is a sleeping bag only for serious expeditions (artic or high altitude) or for summit pushes if you want an insurance in case of a bivy on the way down without tent shelter possibility. Absolutley NOT TO USE if you have to pack-unpack every day (need about 15min. to pack it - if you are used to do it...)

Used the sleeping bag in -15F camping on Lake Superior North shore. Its rating is for -40, and that would be a much more appropriate temp for this bag. It is incredibly warm... way to warm for -15F. Also, I felt the bag was a little short for me. I am 6'3" and have the long version, but my toes were still right up to the edge of the bag.