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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Can I do better than the North Face Cat's Meow in its price range?
- Thread starter HikingMano
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Yeah, I know. Definitely the warm stuff for her :thumbup:
We went to REI yesterday and picked up an REI Halo 25+ for her. Quite a nice bag, and aside from the color
, she loves it so far. She is going to borrow a pad from a friend for an upcoming bachelorette party trip, but I'll pick up a pad for her down the line.
I didn't have much time to try out a bag for myself. Many of the bags I had wanted to try were out of stock or not at that location :grumpy: I did see a Radiant Plus (the only one in the store) but someone else was checking it out the whole time. Will have to go back. I'm really starting to want a down bag after seeing out how small they compress....
I did order a Cat's Meow off eBay a little while ago on impulse (couldn't wait
), and it arrived on Friday. Got to check it out, and it does seem like a nice bag, based on my limited experience. Feels a bit tight for my frame though. And I am wanting down more and more. I have it up for sale now (seller doesn't accept returns, saw that too late:grumpy, but if it doesn't sell, I probably just keep it and give it a go. I might just need to get used to a confining mummy bag. I really want to check out that Radiant Plus though...
We went to REI yesterday and picked up an REI Halo 25+ for her. Quite a nice bag, and aside from the color
, she loves it so far. She is going to borrow a pad from a friend for an upcoming bachelorette party trip, but I'll pick up a pad for her down the line.I didn't have much time to try out a bag for myself. Many of the bags I had wanted to try were out of stock or not at that location :grumpy: I did see a Radiant Plus (the only one in the store) but someone else was checking it out the whole time. Will have to go back. I'm really starting to want a down bag after seeing out how small they compress....
I did order a Cat's Meow off eBay a little while ago on impulse (couldn't wait
), and it arrived on Friday. Got to check it out, and it does seem like a nice bag, based on my limited experience. Feels a bit tight for my frame though. And I am wanting down more and more. I have it up for sale now (seller doesn't accept returns, saw that too late:grumpy, but if it doesn't sell, I probably just keep it and give it a go. I might just need to get used to a confining mummy bag. I really want to check out that Radiant Plus though...
zyhano
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2009
- Messages
- 1,593
+1 on the hammock. I'm in the hammock forums too and really into hammocking.
I have a review on the exped mat inside the hammock too
exped downmat 9 rocksI own two northface bags: the superlight and the blue kazoo. They both are pretty good bags, with reasonable stuffing. The sowing is absolutely very good and the zipper system works well, with an anti snag thing. I used the blue kazoo to -7C and had no problems with some thermal underwear on.
I had my superlight become wet in finland in the snow with a bivy, not a nice thing at -15C to happen (no hammock btw), you could see right through the bag in certain spots where the down had clumped.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
Thanks guys.
Whoa, the Wiggys site is giving 30% off ALL sleeping bags, with free shipping. Any reason you chose the Military centerzip, wildmike?
Whoa, the Wiggys site is giving 30% off ALL sleeping bags, with free shipping. Any reason you chose the Military centerzip, wildmike?
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
This is the last bump from me; I just want to update the thread with what I finally chose.
I ended up getting an REI Halo +25F. I didn't think I could really fit it in my budget, but a salesperson informed me that next week they're having their anniversary sale during which REI members receive a 20% coupon for any full price item. Since they have a 30-day price guarantee, I can bring in my receipt for a price adjustment and avoid the madness during the sale. With the 20% off, the bag goes down from $259 to $207, which works for me. :thumbup:
How did I get to the Halo +25? As I said above, I received the Cat's Meow and thought it was a nice bag. But I regret the impulse buy. The bag turned out to be a bit tight for me in the shoulders, although on paper, the Shoulder and Hip girth measurements are pretty standard. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I really would prefer a down bag for my uses. I like the lighter weight for equivalent warmth, durability after compressions, and greater compressibility over synthetic fills. I don't know if I'll actually use a compression bag with the down bag. I'm thinking I'll just stuff it in the sleeping bag compartment or at the bottom of my pack with adequate water protection (large silnylon stuff sack and compactor trash bag as a pack liner). But I like having the option of compressing the bag to something tiny if need be.
Anyway, once I decided to sell off the Cat's Meow and get a down bag, I did my research and narrowed down my options to two bags based on my price range (under $200 ideally, no more than $250ish), the Marmot Sawtooth +15F and the REI Halo +25F.
The sawtooth seems to have a good reputation based on reviews, and the specs looked good for its price ($229). It's EN rated to +14F for men. The EN rating is the best system for comparison available to me at the moment, since I don't have enough experience to evaluate bags on sight and feel. Anyway, although at 2lbs 14oz it's slightly heavier than my Cat's Meow (2lbs 10oz), the 600-fill goose down bag would supposedly would keep me comfortable down into the teens. I worried about the shoulder space since the shoulder and hip girth measurements are identical to those of the Cat's Meow, but based on what I've found in online reviews, one can't always count on the listed girth measurements to tell the truth about how a particular bag will fit you. I knew I'd have to go in and try the bag on to know.
However, the REI Halo +25F scored the marginal win on paper before we even got to the store:
1) It's almost a pound lighter than the Sawtooth since it uses 750-fill goose down and is only EN rated down to +23F. I figure, as a warm sleeper, +23F should be fine for a 3-season bag in my area, and I can always push the limit with a liner and clothing. And the 750-fill Halo should compress smaller than the 600-fill Sawtooth. I might as well go for the lightest and most compressible bag I can get by with in my environment.
2) If I don't like it, REI has an excellent return policy. I can always switch to the Sawtooth or another bag.
3) I handled the men's Halo +25F briefly in the store when I picked up the women's Halo +25F for my gf; I already knew it was pretty lofty relative to other bags there.
4) The women's Halo +25F I got for my GF is a right-zip, so I knew zipping our bags together would definitely be possible if I got the normal left-zip men's Halo.
5) Although not widely reviewed, the reviews it did get were generally good. A few seemed to have issues with down leakage and concerns about the durability of the shell fabric. I don't think the down leakage will be a big deal, especially after inspecting my gf's bag. The durability issue is more noteworthy to me, but I tend to take good care of my gear, so I hope to avoid damage.
So going in to REI today, I planned to try out the Halo first, and then the Sawtooth if the Halo didn't work out. I was even more concerned about the fit of the Halo than the Sawtooth. On paper, the Shoulder and Hip girth measurements were actually smaller than that of the Sawtooth and Cat's Meow (59" and 55" vs. 62" and 58"). I seem to recall reading somewhere that one or two people felt the shoulders to be roomier than past versions, but could be mistaken on that. I did lay in my GF's bag, which is listed at 58" in the shoulder and 58" in the hip. I found it to be much more comfortable and roomier than my Cat's Meow (62" at the shoulders), so I knew I'd just have to try on the Halo in the store.
Anyway, this post is turning out to be longer than I had intended. Long story short, I tried the Halo +25F in the store (on a NeoAir! comfy!) and it fit me perfectly well :thumbup: So much for the concern over the listed measurements. Furthermore, once I found out about the upcoming anniversary sale and consequent price reduction, the deal was sealed. A 3-season 750-fill down bag weighing 1lb 15oz, EN rated to +23F, which I can definitely zip into my GFs bag, and selling for $207 = :thumbup: for me.
Thanks for the all the input and help!
I ended up getting an REI Halo +25F. I didn't think I could really fit it in my budget, but a salesperson informed me that next week they're having their anniversary sale during which REI members receive a 20% coupon for any full price item. Since they have a 30-day price guarantee, I can bring in my receipt for a price adjustment and avoid the madness during the sale. With the 20% off, the bag goes down from $259 to $207, which works for me. :thumbup:
How did I get to the Halo +25? As I said above, I received the Cat's Meow and thought it was a nice bag. But I regret the impulse buy. The bag turned out to be a bit tight for me in the shoulders, although on paper, the Shoulder and Hip girth measurements are pretty standard. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I really would prefer a down bag for my uses. I like the lighter weight for equivalent warmth, durability after compressions, and greater compressibility over synthetic fills. I don't know if I'll actually use a compression bag with the down bag. I'm thinking I'll just stuff it in the sleeping bag compartment or at the bottom of my pack with adequate water protection (large silnylon stuff sack and compactor trash bag as a pack liner). But I like having the option of compressing the bag to something tiny if need be.
Anyway, once I decided to sell off the Cat's Meow and get a down bag, I did my research and narrowed down my options to two bags based on my price range (under $200 ideally, no more than $250ish), the Marmot Sawtooth +15F and the REI Halo +25F.
The sawtooth seems to have a good reputation based on reviews, and the specs looked good for its price ($229). It's EN rated to +14F for men. The EN rating is the best system for comparison available to me at the moment, since I don't have enough experience to evaluate bags on sight and feel. Anyway, although at 2lbs 14oz it's slightly heavier than my Cat's Meow (2lbs 10oz), the 600-fill goose down bag would supposedly would keep me comfortable down into the teens. I worried about the shoulder space since the shoulder and hip girth measurements are identical to those of the Cat's Meow, but based on what I've found in online reviews, one can't always count on the listed girth measurements to tell the truth about how a particular bag will fit you. I knew I'd have to go in and try the bag on to know.
However, the REI Halo +25F scored the marginal win on paper before we even got to the store:
1) It's almost a pound lighter than the Sawtooth since it uses 750-fill goose down and is only EN rated down to +23F. I figure, as a warm sleeper, +23F should be fine for a 3-season bag in my area, and I can always push the limit with a liner and clothing. And the 750-fill Halo should compress smaller than the 600-fill Sawtooth. I might as well go for the lightest and most compressible bag I can get by with in my environment.
2) If I don't like it, REI has an excellent return policy. I can always switch to the Sawtooth or another bag.
3) I handled the men's Halo +25F briefly in the store when I picked up the women's Halo +25F for my gf; I already knew it was pretty lofty relative to other bags there.
4) The women's Halo +25F I got for my GF is a right-zip, so I knew zipping our bags together would definitely be possible if I got the normal left-zip men's Halo.
5) Although not widely reviewed, the reviews it did get were generally good. A few seemed to have issues with down leakage and concerns about the durability of the shell fabric. I don't think the down leakage will be a big deal, especially after inspecting my gf's bag. The durability issue is more noteworthy to me, but I tend to take good care of my gear, so I hope to avoid damage.
So going in to REI today, I planned to try out the Halo first, and then the Sawtooth if the Halo didn't work out. I was even more concerned about the fit of the Halo than the Sawtooth. On paper, the Shoulder and Hip girth measurements were actually smaller than that of the Sawtooth and Cat's Meow (59" and 55" vs. 62" and 58"). I seem to recall reading somewhere that one or two people felt the shoulders to be roomier than past versions, but could be mistaken on that. I did lay in my GF's bag, which is listed at 58" in the shoulder and 58" in the hip. I found it to be much more comfortable and roomier than my Cat's Meow (62" at the shoulders), so I knew I'd just have to try on the Halo in the store.
Anyway, this post is turning out to be longer than I had intended. Long story short, I tried the Halo +25F in the store (on a NeoAir! comfy!) and it fit me perfectly well :thumbup: So much for the concern over the listed measurements. Furthermore, once I found out about the upcoming anniversary sale and consequent price reduction, the deal was sealed. A 3-season 750-fill down bag weighing 1lb 15oz, EN rated to +23F, which I can definitely zip into my GFs bag, and selling for $207 = :thumbup: for me.
Thanks for the all the input and help!