Wagbag Liner Helps Keep Campers Cozy
Product: Wagbag
Description: A 1-pound 8-ounce sleeping bag insert made of Polartec Series 200 fleece material. Comes in two sizes: regular length (up to 5 foot 8 inches) and long (up to 6 foot 6 inches).
Pro: Eliminates the cold, damp, clammy feel of the sleeping bag’s nylon lining against your skin. The soft Polartec warms up very quickly, minimizing the shudders and shakes required to bring a nylon-encased down or synthetic filled bag up to body temperature.
Will provide a degree of insulation, even if damp or wet, which is especially useful if you are using the Wagbag with a down sleeping bag. Adds up to 20 degrees of additional warmth to a sleeping bag, depending on a wide variety of conditions and influences, including how warm you traditionally sleep - I found I could sleep 10 degrees below what my bag was rated quite comfortably.
Makes a great around-the-cabin reading or sitting cocoon when the temperatures drop but you don’t want to go to bed. The arm hole openings facilitate upper body freedom without compromising insulation.
Use the Wagbag alone as an insulated sleep sheet when traveling or combine it with a bivi sack for warm weather camping in ultralight mode. Machine washable.
Con: There is no backing or flap behind the zipper, which means that if you sleep naked, the cold plastic teeth of the zipper rest against your skin - rather unpleasant no matter how Spartan you are in your sleeping attitude.
The draw cord closure around the face would be far more comfortable and versatile if it were shock cord, not unforgiving parachute cord.
Flex and give would allow more comfort during a wide range of uses while keeping the hood securely in place - rather like on a parka or rain jacket.
Comments: If you currently own a sleeping bag rated to 20 degrees, you can, with the simple addition of the Wagbag, create a sleeping system that is supremely versatile and will cover your sleeping needs effectively from 10 degrees to 50 degrees.
This bag isn’t just for recreational needs either. If truth be told, I’m using it on the couch, when I’m not in the field, as a reading/TV watching snuggle blanket - at least when I beat my daughter to it that is.
Suggested Retail: $100 regular / $110 long
Company: Western Alpine Gear, Co., 2209 NW 75th St., Seattle, WA 98117; (206) 782-3365