Exped Hummingbird Sleeping Bag Review
There are tons of lightweight sleeping bags in the
market, but only a few can be designated as “ultra” light.
The Exped Hummingbird 35 sleeping bag
is one such product. A lot of work
went into making this bag as light as possible, making it a great summer bag
for backpacking. It is probably the
lightest sleeping bag available in the market, and this might be enough for
some to just pick it up. For those
who need more convincing, however, the Hummingbird has much else it can
offer.
The focus of this sleeping bag’s design was clearly to
minimize any weight considerations. At
a little above a pound, you can barely feel this bag inside or hanging from
your pack. This is due to several
contributing factors. First, the
Hummingbird is stuffed with 750 fill goose down insulation.
Aside from being extremely
lightweight, goose down is also very compressible, allowing for more space
in the backpack. The lining and outer
shell also contribute to the weightlessness of the Hummingbird.
The material is made out of
ultralight Texped PA35 ripstop nylon, also quite sturdy fabric.
This makes the Exped a very
convenient bag to carry around. It’s
just too bad that it doesn’t quite live up to its rating of 35 degrees F.
Several cold spots can be felt if the
down is not properly shifted around. Maybe
Exped skimped a little bit on the down to make it as light as a feather, but
one would probably not mind a few more ounces as long as it protects
sufficiently against frigid temperatures.
The Humming also doesn’t have many spiffy features, but
it does have its saving graces. A
built-in stuff sack is very convenient for the memory challenged.
It has a lot of room for those that
like some space in their sleeping bag. A
zipper also runs the full length of the bag making it great in warmer
weather, so that you can adjust ventilation.
It’s a good thing a Velcro retainer was added for the zipper in its
latest incarnation. The older version
was annoying when fully closed due to the zipper just sitting on your face.
The lining is also breathable, making it great for
those steamy nights. Overall, the
material could only be described as top notch, so the bag will most likely
last a long time if well taken care of. This
shouldn’t be too much of a problem due to the water resistant shell.
Try not to get it too wet, though, as
water may sometimes penetrate the seams.
The Exped Hummingbird is great if only for its status
as an “ultralight” sleeping bag. Other
factors, however, really bog it down. A
few improvements could be made, such as designating the bag with a higher
temperature rating and lowering the price from its somewhat steep US$250.00
so as not to disappoint. Also, 800
fill goose down would have been more appropriate if they were just going to
be stingy with down. If not, at least
a few more ounces of the current filling would have helped make the
Hummingbird a better three weather bag. In
its current state, this product is ideal for long hikes in the summer, but
not much more.
Return to Sleeping Bags Guide Home Page