Just got this on sale from Campmor a few days ago, and thought I would share my experience with it.

Observations:

First, it comes with a substantial stuff sack, and you could get rid of an ounce by using an ultralight sack. The material is pretty rugged, overkill in my opinion, but at least the down won't poke through like it can with polyester taffeta. It doesn't compress as well as some of my other bags, and I chalk this up to the substantial material used. I tend to sleep warm, and I was just slightly chilled at 30 degrees with mid weight base layers, and a balaclava. An additional layer would help. It's a little tight in the stomach/hip area, but some of my other bags have this same issue. The zipper is sturdy, but not as smooth and it caught on one of the tie-down straps a couple of times. The loft seems a bit uneven, particularly in the hood, which is where I had the most trouble. The bag I have (and yes it is the blue one) doesn't seem to loft as well as the one pictured in this article, but it was still fairly warm. The hood is a bit large, and it took quite some futzing to get it cinched down appropriately, with the draw cord system causing a bit of frustration. The draft collar was just plain weird, and didn't really function very well, so I experienced drafts around my neck, which was remedied when I switched from a hat to a balaclava. I also noted that the material doesn't breathe as well as most higher priced bags, and condensation was a little more than I like.

The Verdict:

I lucked out and got an REI sub kilo for $90 when they stopped manufacturing them, and it remains my favorite lightweight bag, but the Kelty is certainly decent, especially for the price. I'm pretty picky about sleeping bags, and I actually found this to be comparable to some $250 bags that I've owned. It's fairly lightweight, serviceable, and the drawbacks are not that serious, especially if you are prepared for them and plan accordingly, (like making sure to use a balaclava and a base top zipped up all the way to compensate for the hood). It won't work for everyone, but it's an exceptional value for the money. In fact, I can't think of another down bag in this price range, especially at this weight. It's certainly an excellent value, and anyone on a budget should seriously consider it.

Edited by basecampbound on 03/31/2011 04:38:18 MDT.

I bought a $100 down bag made by Marmot that is made specifically for Dick's Sporting Goods. It has served me well on several summer trips and is also rated at 20F.

Wow....a $100 Marmot bag? wish I could find one of those.

There are two at Dick's. One is the alpine 40, a strictly summer bag. The one I got was the alpine adventurer 15. Msrp is 139 but I got it on sale for 100. Rated at 15 and weighs 2 lb 8 oz. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. It compares to the much more expensive marmot sawtooth.

Lol. Dick's without an proper caps is profanity here!

We desperately needed to lighten our 67lb. son's pack for him, but didn't want to break the bank to do it. After reading reviews, we found the Cosmic in "short" which fits to 5'4" and weight 2lb.3oz. It easily fits in his pack, is almost two pounds lighter than his synthetic bag, came in a Scout green color(ho ho) and he loves it. We are stoked on the price and quality of this item, and we're now recommending it to other Scouts.

My wife was exactly the person you are talking about in your review. Just getting into backpacking, using my brother's old old synthetic sleeping bag and external frame pack.

I was able to get her a Short size for $70 on sunnysports.com. Newer version with the olive dots on lime green. She loves it. Haven't been in any nights colder than about 40 degrees yet, but the loft looks pretty good and it compresses easily into the 10L stuffsack. Best part is that getting a down bag for $70 allowed me to more or less ignore price when it came to finding her a new pack and sleeping pad and still feel like I came out way ahead.

Highly recommended for anyone starting to acquire gear or looking for a bargain bag.

EDIT: FYI, specs say 2lb 3oz, scale says 2lb 5.3oz. Pretty darn good I say.

Edited by TJGator on 10/25/2011 12:23:35 MDT.