Slumberjack Latitude -20 Sleeping Bag Review
Make no mistake, there are plenty of sleeping bags out
there with prohibitively expensive prices that may force one to reconsider living a life
of outdoor adventure. It isn’t
uncommon for bargain hunters to shy away from these expensive design
masterpieces regardless of the impressive features and independently
verified quality that they provide.
While there is nothing wrong with this attitude, particularly in
these days of economic recession, one should not be so hungry for a cheap
deal that one ends up paying for a product that isn’t just inferior, but so
unsuited to its advertised functionality that it may actually place the
user’s life in peril. This is
precisely the concern surrounding the Slumberjack Latitude -20, a sleeping
bag that is rated for deadly temperatures, but is terribly inadequate for
the task, for several reasons.
At first glance, the Latitude seems to be a sleekly
designed product, with all the features one would expect from a bag of
higher price. These include a
rip-resistant shell covering, an anti-snag zipper system, hook and loop
closure, a draft tube and a foot box for added warmth for one’s feet.
In two crucial factors, however, the Latitude falls far short, and it
is for these flaws that it doesn't really measure up.
The first strike of the Latitude -20 is that it is a
bag with synthetic fill, Slumberjack’s very own Slumberloft HQ filling, more
of which is required than down fill to produce the same warming effect.
Immediately, this results in a rather heavy sleeping bag, weighing in
at over 6 pounds. When you’re
braving freezing winds tens of thousands of feet above sea level, the last
thing you want to deal with is a whole lot of extra weight, and a few pounds
will make a whole lot of difference in those harsh conditions.
Moreover, synthetic fill doesn’t compress as well as down, so the
Latitude will end up occupying more space in your pack, which you would
rather have saved for other essentials.
There are costlier alternatives that perform excellently without the
added burden of weight and bulk to make each step a significant chore.
The second strike of the Latitude -20 is its terribly optimistic temperature rating. The Latitude -20 only sports a single layer of loft insulation, that measures about an inch, as opposed to the full six to eight inches of loft found in more expensive bags. As such, even though it is rated at -20 degrees F, its actual performance range would fall as high as 0 degrees at least, with one user complaining that at 40 degrees F he was already feeling cold, even while wearing several layers of winter clothing. This can spell disaster if the user is unwary of the inability of the Latitude -20 to keep him warm, and if he pushes it to its rated temperature limit, he will most certainly contract hypothermia. Consequently, you can probably find yourself a better bargain, even at the seemingly bargain price of US$60. You can buy it online here.
Return to Sleeping Bags Guide Home Page