(Editor’s note: After reading the article, be sure to follow down into “Comments” for a fascinating perspective from a reader; there’s a lot to be learned from it!)
This started out to be another in our series of tests of waterfowl down vs. synthetic fiberfill…but then a look through the REI catalog revealed something unusual. They had two REI-brand +10 down women’s winter sleeping bags! Stranger still, they weighed virtually the same, but had noticeably different costs. The Radiant +10 comes in at 3 pounds and $219; the Halo, REI’s top line, weighs 2 lbs 12 ounces and runs $299. Same rating, nearly the same weight, same material…different price. Hmm…very, very strange. Clearly, this required checking into!
In came a very big, very light box. And out came two very pretty, very fluffy bags. I know all of the arguments for synthetics, but aesthetically, there’s just something comforting about a big, puffy sleeping bag. And these are beauties, particularly the Halo. The quality of workmanship was excellent on both, and they both had the details you’d expect in a quality sleeping bag; draft tube on zipper, check; draft collar, check; anatomic fit, check; hood that easily snugs down to make an itty bitty nose hole, check. One other nice small touch is a little zipper pocket by the hood; great place for keys, gum, maybe even a tiny flashlight. Handy.
But…it seemed hard to believe that they’ve got the same rating. The Radiant is… well… flatter. Less loft in the same material usually means less warmth. Something just seemed not right. Time to head for the woods and find out. Off we went, with two very eager female testers… they’ve been using men’s bags for years, so something that fits them is automatically a bonus! The first night, Susan had the Radiant, Marilyn the Halo; guess what happened the second night? Yup, reverse it. Two nights, two opinions of each bag.
Interestingly enough, we got the exactly the same comments from both without letting them discuss the bags first. They both felt the Radiant was an excellent bag, and they’d have been happy to keep using it… but both of them loved the Halo, period. No quibbles; it was comfortable, warm, easy to use. And, they both loved the way it looked, too, fashion queens that they are. So, what were the differences?
Let’s go from the bottom up. First, the footbox. Marilyn commented that her feet felt a bit “squished” in the Radiant. So, I stuck my feet in both. Clearly, the footbox is higher internally in the Halo. If you’ve got a foot smaller than a size 8 women’s, you’d probably never notice the difference; larger, you will. Next to the inside size of the bag. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but the Radiant looks wider, and it is. Both Marilyn and Susan are relatively small, at 5’3 (or 5’4″, if you ask them), so they don’t need a huge bag, and the Radiant had more room than they needed. Don’t take that to mean that you have to be stick-straight to fit into the Halo, though; Susan, thank God, has curves and real hips, and the Halo had plenty of room for her. Plus, she’s a “wiggler”…she can’t sleep in the same place for more than a half hour at a time, so if it were really tight, she’d have had a major problem. Speaking of wiggling, both of them had the same comment about the two bags; the material used in the Halo was much more comfortable, because it was a lot more slippery. The could move and roll onto their sides, and the bag didn’t move with them; that wasn’t true with the Radiant. Look at the photo of the two of them in their bags; you can see that Marilyn has turned the bag with her, while Susan’s is still flat on the sleeping surface. Not a big deal, but definitely a consideration.
Now, on to a very important point, warmth. To be honest, both of them felt both bags were very warm. It would take more testing to find out if there’s a real difference between the two, but based on their experience, we’re comfortable in saying that at 10 degrees, with light long underwear, socks, and the hood snugged down, you wouldn’t be cold unless you’re an exceptionally cold sleeper. REI has used the new EN13537 testing system on these new bags, so they can back up their ratings with specific testing. Our gut still tells us that the Halo is the warmer bag, overall…but the Radiant lives up to its end of the bargain.
So, which should you buy? First, be honest with yourself. Do you like to sleep in the fetal position? Are you particularly wide hipped or wide shouldered? If either applies, think seriously about the Radiant. Do you have particularly big feet? Do you squirm a lot at night? Are you a lover of beauty for its own sake? Do you want the very best? Think seriously about the Halo.
From our perspective, you really can’t go wrong with either of these women’s winter sleeping bags; the Halo provides excellent value and performance for the money, and the Radiant is just plain a bargain.
I appreciate your test, David, and it was a factor in my decision — as a man — to buy the REI women’s long Halo +10 bag. Why? I am a solo adventure cyclist who takes trips through alpine passes to high-altitude “cold” deserts like the Great Basin during shoulder seasons, and it is common to experience temps in the single digits (F) at night and find it well over 100F by day’s end. Because of this, I needed a good, warm, cold-weather bag that was as light as possible and easy on the budget while packing reasonably small.
The REI Women’s Long Halo +10 fits my 5’11”, 165lb. frame perfectly, and I appreciate the extra warmth included in the hood, foot area, and chest compared to the men’s version, which is not nearly as warm (the men’s Halo +10 is EN 13537 rated at +12F for the men’s lower limit, while the women’s +10 is rated at +1F for men). I am not overweight, so the 58″/58″ shoulder/hip dimensions make for a tight column and practical performance fit I can heat without feeling pinched. The men’s was wider than I wanted to heat at the shoulders (59″) and tighter in the hips (55″), which inhibited easy turnover in the bag when wearing extra layers. My bag may not be typical, but measures out repeatedly at 4.5″ of top loft and 3.75″ of bottom loft after sitting for an hour after it has been removed from the included stuff sack.
The baffles vary in width from a tight 5″ to an even tighter 4.5″, and are corner-blocked to prevent the down shifting that can occur with continuous baffles. While I cannot deliberately shift down for greater temperature range as in a continuous-baffle bag, I gain by having a warm back when turning with the bag and no cold spots on top in the really cold nights I commonly encounter, even in mid-June. The bag drapes well and edge-seals nicely for use as a quilt in warmer weather and is comfortable as a quilt on 62F nights, making it effectively as useful as if I could shift the down.
Best of all, it weighs in at 3.0 pounds exactly on my precision scale, and cost $309, making it a tremendous value in a light cold-weather bag. Compared to my $269 Marmot Never Summer 0F bag, the Halo has 750-fill down (vs. 600-fill), with a 90/10 down cluster/feather ratio (vs. 80/20) and has a much thinner shell. To match the Women’s Halo +10’s male EN rating in a Marmot bag would require a Lithium 0 at $459 or a Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 at $475 — and neither of those bags have corner-blocked baffles like the REI.
If I sound enthusiastic about this bag it is because I am. I went through a number of bags looking for the right one for my needs before stumbling on the idea of looking at a women’s bag with an appropriate male EN lower limit. The only drawback is the women’s *long* Halo +10 is only available in a right zip. In the last 20 years, there has been a move toward left-zips in both bags and tents and left-zips are convenient if you are right-handed. REI advises me there are no plans to produce the women’s long Halo +10 in a left-zip, so I guess I will have to continue to pile into it from the wrong side when entering my left-doored solo tent. Ah, well…a small price to pay when everything on the bag — including the zipper! — is “right”.
— Danneaux.
Danneaux, that’s a great bit of research…thank you for passing it along! I’m sure other readers will find it useful. Glad to hear you didn’t get bothered by it being a “women’s” bag; there’s no such thing, just GOOD bags. Thanks for reading, and for the feedback!