The Sea-to-Summit Spark Professional Down 30 Sleeping Bag is a top-of-the-line ultralight 950 fill-power down mummy sleeping bag with premium options, together with a draft collar, zippered footbox, and twin facet zippers. The shell and liner are made with light-weight 10D nylon cloth with field baffling over the torso and sewn-through development over the legs. Like lots of Sea-to-Summit’s sleeping luggage, the Spark Professional has two facet zippers, one lengthy and one brief, so you possibly can vent the bag on each side or stick your arms out whereas nonetheless carrying the hood. Nevertheless, the Spark Professional has one deadly flaw, in our opinion: a badly performing zipper on the brief facet that may go away you chilly and shivering at evening when it comes off its tracks at midnight.
- Sort: Mummy sleeping bag
- Temperature Ranking: 30F Decrease Restrict; 37F Consolation
- Insulation: 950 fill energy down with non-PFC waterproofing
- Weight: 21.8 oz
- Fill Weight: 10.9 oz
- Draft Collar: Sure
- Development: Field baffling in torso, sewn-thru over legs
- Cloth: 10D nylon shell and liner
- Compressed quantity: 5.3L
- Compression Sack: Included
- Professionals: 950 fill energy waterproof down, twin facet zippers, zippered footbox
- Cons: Poorly designed facet zipper
The Sea-to-Summit Spark Professional Down 30-degree sleeping bag has superior specs on paper. Its 950-fill energy waterproof down is top-notch and supplies wonderful heat and compressibility. The hood is comfy with out being claustrophobic, even should you’re a facet sleeper, and you may even fold it down beneath you if you wish to use the again extra like a quilt in hotter climate. The bag’s three zippers, together with a ventable footbox and two facet zippers, will let you regulate your temperature in quite a few methods throughout a wider temperature vary. All three zippers are effectively insulated with draft tubes, which cowl the zippers contained in the bag and forestall chilly air from leaking in and chilling you.
Along with the footbox zipper, the Spark Professional has two facet zippers, one about 3/4 of the best way down the left facet and one other 1/3-length zipper on the appropriate. When each are unzipped, you possibly can stick your arms out the perimeters whereas nonetheless carrying the hood, which is nice on chilly mornings while you wish to cook dinner meals however keep inside your bag to stay heat (There are snaps on the prime of every zipper to maintain the perimeters from falling down.) We additionally just like the shorter shoulder zipper as a air flow choice while you wish to reasonable your torso’s temperature.
The longer of the 2 zippers works completely. Sea-to-Summit makes use of a particular two-way YKK snag-free zipper, and the material sides are taped to forestall snagging. The issue is the brief zipper on the opposite facet of the bag. Whereas it’s also a two-way zipper, there isn’t a stopper to forestall the sliders from coming off while you unzip the zipper (particularly while you pull the highest slider all the way down to open the zipper). We are able to’t inform whether or not it is a manufacturing defect or by design. However in both case, it means which you can’t reliably shut this zipper as soon as the sliders come off with out having to reseat them…which is devilishly tough to do from contained in the bag.
Think about the next state of affairs: You’re too heat, so that you open the brief zipper all the best way, and the sliders, unknown to you as a result of it’s darkish and also you’re half unconscious, fall off the zipper. A number of hours later, you go to shut the zipper as a result of your physique has cooled, nothing occurs, and also you’re caught with a gaping gap that’s leaking chilly air into your bag. So that you get out your headlamp, get out of the bag, fiddle with the sliders to reseat them, shut the zipper once more, get again into your bag, and attempt to get again to sleep…fuming the way you’re going to return this sleeping bag to REI or another retailer as a result of it sucks.
Evaluation
Whereas we will perceive Sea-to-Summit’s want to create an Uber sleeping bag with temperature regulation options for all conditions, we query whether or not placing three zippers on one sleeping bag is simply asking for hassle. Zippers are sometimes the largest level of failure in any piece of outside clothes or gear. In any occasion, should you put zippers on a sleeping bag, you need them to work with a minimal of problem or upkeep for the lifetime of the sleeping bag. We are able to’t advocate the Spark Professional Down 30 sleeping bag because of the points we encountered with the brief zipper. It’s too unhealthy as a result of this could be an superior sleeping bag in any other case.
Disclosure: Sea-to-Summit donated a sleeping bag for evaluate.
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