Marmot

Col Sleeping Bag: -20F Down

Excellent cold-weather bag

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Purchased this bag for some upcountry camping and was not disappointed. Bought the long specifically to keep a few items warm with me (water, etc.) and it worked great. Definitely will keep you snug at night even below rated temp (with the right setup) and works great when LH and RH zipper are mated for a larger bag for two. Very lofty but compresses down well.

SLEEP LIL' DARLIN!

Tested recently in Valdez ;Thompson Pass two week ski trip. Turnagain Pass 7 day ski trip.....a week both in Oregon and Washington ski car camping trip. Toasty warm, dry, comfortable; you get what you pay for has always been my motto when it comes to my gear. Exceptional winter bag!

More Than Just a Banana Slug Look to it!

Awesome bag! Reliable, warm, waterproof shell, extremely compressible, light weight, and plenty of room to move around in. Must have for winter backpacking.

Warmth worth the weight.

I love everything about this bag. The warmth is worth the weight, the way it’s cinches to keep warm air in. I love that it will most likely not get wet tent camping and I am comfortable trying out cowboy camping during the early spring and late fall months. I purchased the long to put things at my feet that I do not want to get wet or freeze and I will be putting my clothes in that I will be wearing the next morning so they are warm to put on. A bonus was the color is much nicer in person than it looks on the ad. Happy journeys to you all

Honestly, just get it!

I really wanted to write a review after using this bag. As a disclaimer, I have only used this for a few overnight camps so far. I can't speak to what it's like in terms of consecutive night usage. My most recent outing (I live in MN) had overnight lows of -6°F/-21°C. When I went to bed, I wore a 200-weight base layer, wool socks, hat, and gaiter. I had a heated water bottle tucked down by my feet as well. My pad has an R-Value of 6.2. I’m 6’2” and roughly 190lbs with a leaning on athletic build, and have the long version of the bag. I slept INCREDIBLY comfortably. Unlike other bags I have tried, I had ZERO cold spots. The draft tube is just as thick as the top of the bag. The collar is thinner than the tube, but tall enough to keep warm air in and cold air out. The hood and collar draw cords are easy to find and tighten. I should also mention that even at 6’2”, I had ample room in the toe box to add more things to it. Easily could have tucked a coat and bottom layer in. In terms of comfort, it is a mummy-style bag, but by no means claustrophobic. I can shuffle around a bit if I need to. The only, ONLY thing I noticed when I woke up (from a very sound sleep, mind you) was a fair build up of frost around the opening of the hood. As I’ve never done temperatures this cold before, I don’t know if that’s human error for not positioning my mouth and nose correctly, or it’s just something to expect when you hit sub-zero temps. I should also mention the Pertex Shield worked perfectly with this as well. The bag itself was not wet. I 100% would recommend this bag! I genuinely believe the -20°F/-29°FC rating this bag has. I’m really not sure if that’s a comfort or survival rating with how warm I slept at -6°F. If you are looking for a cold temp bag, this is the one. Just get it, enjoy it, and don’t look back.

Great bag, was a game changer for me!

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

regular

Height:

5' 2"

Weight:

122

I used to use two 30 degree bags together that were of medium tier quality for winter camping but didn't work below 20 degrees, I would then have to use a wool blanket too. However I saved up and invested in the Marmot Col -20 degree bag and it has been worth every penny! I recently used it for a 3 night winter camping trip in Stowe Vermont, coldest night being 4 degrees and I was warm all night! I only used a merino wool base layer and that was it. It is also good to note that I used a 3 season tent in tree area for some wind cover, but was really banking on this bag to carry me through and it was great. I'm a small guy, 5'2," 122 pounds and had a lot of room in there for me, water bottle, my phone, gloves and hat. The only downsides to this bag, which there really aren't any, is the advertised mini pocket to hold your phone was way too small and won't hold any modern phone size. In addition it is a heavy bag and big to pack, But I car and tent up close to spots so size and weight doesn't bother me. I sometimes pack everything on a sled for more inland camping. I had no issues getting wet, and condensation being the biggest issues for winter sleeping, I did get the top layer wet of the bag from my breath around the breathing hole, but it never soaked through and never impacted my sleep. You get what you pay for and with the right gear, like this bag, winter or even cold spring and fall trips become more fun!

Big, bad and buff

By far one of the best sleeping bags I have ever own.

Warm, well-made, and roomy

I bought this in the belief that someday I would be glad I over-invested in a warm bag. That day came last weekend when the temperature fell 15 degrees lower than the forecast. As a primarily fast and light warmer-weather backpacker, I thought long and hard about the extra weight (and size) of a super warm bag. After a fair amount of research, I convinced myself that since I could get this one for about the same weight as many zero-degree bags, I would be happier carrying the extra protection it would provide. I am a cold sleeper who will avoid a zero degree night if I can help it, but sometimes a cold night chooses you rather than the other way around. I addition to keeping my patootie warm, the things I particularly liked about the Col are: --It's roomy and not constricting. I am a side sleeper and can move around and switch sides for my aging hips without getting tangled up. I'm 6'2' and maybe could have gotten away with the regular length, but it is nice to have space for other things that you don't want frozen solid in the morning.  --The head area is well designed and very comfortable. I thought I would be cinching it around my face with an opening to breath through, but it is much nicer than that. I have a curved pillow that fits just right above the neck baffle and it creates a chamber where I can rest my head sideways with the opening as more of a skylight above. --It feels solidly built, durable, and impervious. The pertex works great. The entire interior of my tent can be frozen up with condensation and somehow the bag is dry and crystal-free. It feels like a tank compared to summer ultralights, which I feel like I have to protect. --The adjustments are intuitive and the zipper works. Sounds minor, but in the middle of the night when I want to adjust something, the cinch is where my fuzzy brain thinks it should be. The surprise was the hidden pouch at the end of the zipper baffle. The zipper itself has a protective strip sewn along it. I still manage to get it stuck sometimes, but it is easy to get going again. The only thing I wish was different (and I can't blame the bag for) is that it's big. Bigger than I thought, and so solid that it is hard to squeeze the air out of it to get it into the stuff sack. It takes time and effort to get it stuffed, and it is still big and makes for a big pack. Even storing it uncompressed takes a lot of space--and makes it harder to hide that I have a new toy. The snap on the neck baffle is uncommonly tenacious when it is cold and fingers are stiff, but I can live with all that, if it is the price of being warm at 3:00 am.

Light and WARM

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Warmest light weight bag I have ever bought. Wish the stuff sack was larger and a compression bag. This is my newest survival bag in the airplane. So far I have never even zipped it up even into the low teens. Great bag for the money!

Warm and Light

Very Warm, and Light. I wish other colors were offered, but we warmed to it when we saw the color in the wild on the trip.