Having good camping gear is important, but having the right camping gear is even more vital, which is why I invested in the Big Agnes Women‘s Lithia Spring SL 15. I‘ve spent two years shivering in a sleeping bag, trying to stuff the foot-box with extra clothes and wrapping my chest/neck in layers to keep out the cold.
This summer I decided an upgrade to a new bag was necessary. After a long conversation at REI about feathers vs. synthetic, height, and a little pretend sleep-testing multiple bag styles, I walked out with the Lithia Spring SL 15- Petite.
Very excited to try this sleeping bag, I headed out into the backcountry! While packing I noticed the compressed bag in the stuff sack completely filled the sleeping bag compartment at the bottom of my bag. The compressed size is approximately 8.5in x 9in (weighing 2lb 9oz), being brand new, I think the down wanted to remain a little more fluffy for the first few stuffs.
My first night out in the woods the temperatures dipped into the high 20‘s- optimal testing conditions for this 15 degree bag. My first thought crawling into my sleeping bag after dinner was how much support I felt from the entire bag. Honestly, it felt like I was being given a gentle body hug (My last bag made me feel like I was constantly swimming for pockets of warmth). From the shoulders (54”), to the hips (54”), to the foot box (34”), the mummy shaped bag instantly felt cozy.
In addition, the sizing of the bag appeared to be a much better fit than my previous bag. The Lithia comes in both regular and petite. Being 5‘ 5” on a good day, I opted for the petite, which fits up to 5‘ 6”. My toes stayed incredibly warm without my tradition of stuffing spare clothes in the foot box to take up the extra, always cold, air space.
Two great features of the Lithia are the no-draft collar and no-draft zipper. The dog-bone shaped, down filled no-draft collar allows the sleeper to have their head and body completely encased in the bag to contain warmth, while still exposing the mouth and nose. I must attest, it was an extremely pleasant night of sleep. There was no waking up to chills in the middle of the night from a drafty head hole or trying to push clothing over the zipper to keep the bite out.
I personally find it quite aggravating when a sleeping bag fill falls to the sides and is thus more dense on the sides than on the top insulating the chest. This bag initially drew my attention because if its unique Insotect Flow construction of the baffling. The Flow Gates are vertical instead of the traditional horizontal, therefore the lateral shifting of the down is not an issue. These vertical shafts allow for much more even body heat distribution. I was comfortable all night long. There was never a point where I felt like I was overheating or where I needed to add layers.
Did I mention it rained and hailed a majority of the night? Oh, it did! Waking up to cold drops of water on my face that penetrated the saturated fly and to mini ponds inside from water seeping in through the floor seams was a new one on me. However, the monsoon seemed to be no match for the 700 fill DownTek. This trademarked technology features water resistant down that allows the loft and insulation to maintain their integrity, while also remaining breathable. Cool fact: the down is both anti-microbial and anti-bacterial.
The on thing I had a little challenge with is getting the zipper closed one handed while inside the bag. It seemed to catch often on the no-draft flap. With two hands or zipping one handed from the outsize, the zipper pulls without a hitch. The zipper is lined internally with an anti-snag type material, which is great because nothing is more aggravating than zipping a hole in a few hundred dollar sleeping bag. To me, this was a fair trade off: little snagging, for zero draft.
Overall I would highly recommend this bag. It is a sleeping bag loaded with incredible technology that truly optimizes the performance and meets the needs of a good bag. The bag comes in right and left zipper option which gives one the versatility to zip up with your tent mate. For an MSRP of $349.95, I‘d say this bag is unbeatable. I can hardly put a price on staying warm & dry in the backcountry.
– Carley