The North Face Snowshoe Sleeping Bag: 0 Degree Climashield Prism - 2008 BCS

After obsessively researching 0 degree bags for the upcoming winter backpacking season this past fall, I finally settled on the TNF Snowshoe for 3 reasons: warmth, weight, price. There are plenty of light and warm bags out there, but I couldn't bring myself to spend $400 on a sleeping bag. This is a great winter backpacking bag, 3.5 lbs, packs small, and is toasty into the teens. It is the best value out there. I came across a lot of minor complaints in my scouring of user reviews and I will address them here. "Zipper dangles in face". Saw this one a bunch, but I did not find it to be an issue. While it was in the area of my face, i did not notice it during the night. "Hood is shaped weird, hangs over eyes". In my experience, covering some of your face when it is friggin cold out is a good thing. "Hood draw cords difficult to adjust". My Kelty 25 is like a nailed coffin in this area so the Snowshoe cords seem like a breeze to open. "Not warm enough". Have only tested it down into the teens, but was plenty warm. "Synthetic not as good as down". I disagree, while down is very light and packs small, it loses some of its warmth when wet, where synthetic doesn't. A couple nice additional features are the glow in the dark zipper and the draft shield. Overall, a very nice buy. I recommend completely.

This is a really good looking sleeping bag. Unfortanately it didn't live up to my expectations. I wanted it to keep me comfortable at around 20-25 degrees (it has a comfort rating of 16 degrees, so I didn't think this was an unreasonable expectation). I took it on a climbing trip to joshua tree this february. I think it was in the 40's at night. While I wasn't necessarily cold, I wasn't really warm enough to sleep either. I was in the very annoying limbo between being cold, and almost comfortable. I really wanted to like this bag cause it is really cool, but it didn't quite cut it for me. I have a harder time staying warm at night than most people, so don't assume you will have this problem too. The zipper is kind of a pain, but I could have lived with that. I did find that it was quite warm when I first got in, which I thought was impressive. I slept in thermals and had a good pad under me, so I don't think either of those were my problem. It didn't keep me comfortable, but I still give it 4 stars because it is such a nice bag aside from that.

I should preface this by saying this is not recommended for me. It may be a great bag for someone that does extreme cold camping but this just does not pack small enough for me. I have about a 4,000 ci pack which is big enough to do Philmont 10 days of Rockies but this bag takes up half that space. I ended up compromising to a 15 degree that drops a pound and a half of weight and about half the size. Have not used either on trail yet.

I used this on a 27 day NOLS backpacking course in Yukon Territory, Canada. It was more compact than the bag they issued. It stayed very warm when it froze at night. One of the best features are the plush flap the covers the zipper for comfort. Overall i thoroughly enjoyed this bag. It was a very good choice.

I've used this bag for a little over a year now for cold weather camping down to 10'F. It is very warm and compressible, without being as vulnerable to moisture or as expenisve as down bags are. At 10'F, I was comfortable all night wearing only baselayers, although I did preemptively "cheat" by throwing a nalgene bottle full of hot water down into the footbox. Gripes: 1)thin shell material easily gets caught in the zipper, 2)stuffing this bag into it's standard compression sack is a struggle. Being mindful of the zipper has more or less fixed the 1st problem, and a bigger, waterproof compression sack solved the second. This bag is way too hot for warm weather, but I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in it while deployed as long as I kept my tiny room's AC cranked to max.

nice body movement inside worm and soft sens.the adjsutable hood draw cords is very useful,I didn't test it in (-) but out side in windy night with may be +2c (35f) i was very worm !also resistible in some rain drops and full moisture resistance ...till now very satisfy ...

I love this bag, it came quick and is super warm. I would recommend it to anyone.

I have backpacked with this bag at 13,000 ft in the Wind Rivers for summer and 10,000 ft in the winter in Northern Utah - more than adequate. In winter I have just had it in a tent with only a fleece blanket under me while on top of snow and I was nice and warm. It is a tough fit in the sleeping bag compartment of my Kelty backpack, but it squishes a bit more than the stuff sack makes it. Definitely REALLY toasty for anything over 30 F, I always unzip the side and usually let an arm and leg hang out in the summer. I would NOT suggest this for warm weather backpacking - you can save weight and an uncomfortably hot night by getting something cheaper and thinner. With a good Thermarest or equiv pad you can take on anything except the most extreme cold. Awesome bag for great adventures.

5 day trip in the sierra's in late June. I normally sleep very warm, but was cold in this bag every night, and honestly very surprised as I almost never get cold during sleep. The third night I camped on Mt Whitney at about 12,00 feet, unsure the low temp that night, but likely in the low 20's, sleet, snow and strong winds. I solved the problem with the bag that night by sleeping with my fleec and coat in the bag placed along the zipper line which really warmed up the bag. The next morning I noticed that the zipper flap is very small compared to my other bags and was likely the culprit. My cousin on the same trip had a MTn hardware bag that didn't have a full zipper and he slept very toasty every night. If your looking for a zero degree bag I would rec looking at ones without full zippers. Otherwise I like the bag. I would never consider taking it on a trip where I expected temps below 20. I will replace it with another cold weather bag.

I bought this bag for cold weather backpacking and snow camping. I have only taken it down to around 32°F but had to unzip it because it got a little too toasty. It packs down fairly small (for a synth bag) and feel supper comfy all zipped up. Im a bigger guy (6'2" 210lbs) and the long gives me plenty of room to move around. If your looking for a warm bag for a good price and willing to sacrifice weight, buy it.

I purchased this bag in spring 2009. I have taken it on a three night trek to Ten Lakes in Yosemite and on a 5 night trip around the Four Pass Loop in CO. I am 6’2” and about 180 lbs. I purchased the long because my previous bag claimed to be long enough but never got over my shoulders. The long was perfect, no pockets of cold air but still plenty of room to move around inside. A few of the nights were in the 50s and I had to sleep with the bag unzipped. When the temps did dip into the low 30s I was toasty inside. The bag packs as small as you would predict for a synthetic bag. All around a great bag. Factoring in the weight, size, and temp. this bag is amazingly priced.

For the price, this is a great bag. I bought it because I wanted a cold-weather bag that came in a long without the hefty price and it has definitely served me well. I haven't used it in 0 degree temperatures yet but it has done its job in the 15-20 degree range. The price and The North Face name make this a solid choice. Love the draw cord and the zip pocket.

I bought this bag for the same reasons as others -- warmth, weight and price.

I backpack and needed a warmer bag to replace my Slumberjack I bought 10 years ago. This bag served all the criteria without breaking the bank. I don't get out enough to warrant spending $400 on a bag.

I am also a synthetic die-hard, because I have gotten my bag wet enough times to forever swear off down.

I took this to the Olympic Coast in July, and normally you would think that it would be too warm, but with the wind blowing in off the ocean, it kept me extremely comfortable. The foot zips are great for dumping heat when needed. The zippers occasionally get snagged, but isn't that the case with all bags?

I'm 6'-4". 230lbs and I got the long. I also like to move around when I sleep, so this bag is a little snug at times, but overall, it's a great addition to my gear. I was dumb and decided to take the old one on a car-camping trip to Wentachee in September, and I was sorely missing my North Face.

This bag does great up to 12k feet, after that it- does begin to lose its rating of 0 degrees. This bag is tough, durable, and intelligently designed. I also like the glow in the dark zippers, and the adjsutable hood draw cords. I placed a black crater gear light on mine on the draw cord. Not constricting at all, for the warmth, weight(3.5lbs), and price, you can't beat this bag! Also sythetic doesn't lose its ability to keep you warm if it gets wet, unlike down. I like how this bag defends against the moisture. Also, permanent water-gaurd form atsko.com really improves its waterproof-ness.

I purchased this bag for my trip up Mt. Kilimanjaro. While is worked pretty well for most of the trek, we spent our seventh night in the crater (19k'+) and I gotta say, this bag didn't quite cut it at that alt/temp. I supplemented it with a liner that was supposed to add another -15 degrees and wore two sets of long capliene 3 underwear and fleece pants on top of that along with two pairs of socks. I was still shivering.
Something else to consider about this bag is that the draw cords around the head and neck are hard to loosen when you need to cool off. The little plastic guy gets lost in the bunched up fabric and you can't squeeze it easily with one hand. Two hands is not really an option because the bag fits so close around your shoulders, it is impossible to have your arms up like that.
On the positive side though, the bag repells moisture very effectively. Also, it is extremely light ad packs down small.
My girlfriend got the Mountain Hardwear -15 degrees Lamina and she was much warmer than I even though she is a cold sleeper and had no liner or extra clothing. Her bag always had more moisture on it than mine in the mornings though.

I bought my snowshoe bag at an end-of-season sale and got to try it out in Glacier Park this summer. There was still snow on the ground 4th of July weekend and I was toasty and comfy the whole trip. The zipper guard is very nice, but it would be nice to have a little velcro-close case to tuck the zipper head into - it's big and dangled in my face all night. I got a neck cramp from trying to keep my head turned or had to sleep on my side - other than that, this the warmest, lightest weight sleeping bag I have ever owned, and well worth it.