Sierra Designs Flex Series

Sierra Designs Flex Series Sleeping Bag

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Flex Series "Sandman" Sleeping Bag
Reviewed by: Bill Ames
Where to buy: Sporting Goods Stores, REI, Appalachian Outdoors, EMS
Cost: $209

The Flex series by Sierra Designs is an attempt to solve the trouble of sleeping in a bag for people who like to move. Sierra claims to have done quite a bit of research, and it seems to have paid off.

I bought a Sandman bag, which is their 15 degree bag, but others in the flex series should be similar.

The most unique feature of this bag, and the reason I bought it, is that it has a "hood" that not only serves to make the bag a mummy-type bag, but it has room to allow you to put your arms over your head. This may not seem like a big deal to some folks, but for those of us who sleep primarily on their sides in the "flamingo" position, we really appreciate it. For years, I would leave my head, arms, and shoulders outside of a sleeping bag, since I could never get used to sleeping with my arms at my sides while lying on my back. This bag lets me sleep in just about any position I like, and I can stay IN the bag.

In my opinion, the hood feature is well worth the price of this bag, just by itself, but there are other nice features.

The material the bag is stuffed with, Polarguard, is extremely light and keeps you dry even when the bag is wet. I haven't tried it in 15 degree weather, but I believe this bag might live up to its rating. It is extremely warm.

What good is a bag that lets you roll around if you can't stay on your sleeping pad? They thought of that, too. Little eyelets allow you to strap onto your pad to keep it with the bag.

All in all, I can't complain about this bag, except that I wish it had just a little extra shoulder room. I'm a big guy (56" chest), though, so I would think that's not a problem for most people, and still, I was able to get comfortable, so it wasn't too much of a bother. This bag is by far the best I've tried.

Weighing in at 3 pounds, 8 ounces, it's light enough to use for backpacking, and it compresses well.

Addendum:

I've used this bag for about 4 years, now, and I've slept in it as cold as 20 degrees with some polypropylene underwear. When the bag gets too hot in the summer, I simply unzip it, but still use the hood to cover my arm and face.

Another interesting thing is that I've slept in this bag soaking wet a few times. Not only does the bag keep you warm even when it's wet, it actually dries out as you sleep. By the time you wake up, the bag is completely dry (assuming you are in a tent when you went to bed!). Apparently, body heat and the quick-drying properties of the bag allow this to happen.

This is simply a wonderful bag. The last thing I'd like to add is that the zippers have taken some abuse, and they keep on working, too. Zippers are often the weak link in products. The Columbia Titanium jackets come to mind, but not this bag.

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