User Review: Feathered Friends Hummingbird

Reviewed December 4, 1997 by John Drollette

Rating: rated 5 of 5 stars
Design: very trim mummy
Fill: 800 fill down
Temperature Rating: 20dF
Weight: 26 oz. ACTUAL
Price Paid: $265 (w/ 800 down option)

I am sorry for Jake. My Hummingbird is probably my favorite piece of gear.

Unlike every other bag on the market that I have weighed (Marmot, TNF, EMS, etc), it weighs out PRECISELY to spec. (so does MSR gear, but this is about my bag...)

It is for very skinny guys or small women only. I am 5'9" and weigh about 145 lbs. I have a moderately small build (39 suit jacket, 30 in waist) and if I was bigger, I would havehad to go with a larger cut bag.

Yes, the Hum is LIGHT, and compact. It also has more loft than most 0 degree bags on the market (measure for yourself). It is simple.

Basically, you call Feathered Friends and they make you a custom bag (I have never seen a FF retailer out East), starting with a production model and customizing it (I had a choice of 3 weights of nylon and a DryLoft, in 4-6 colors each)

I had to wait about 6 months for my bag, and I was antsy. I never got anyone explicitly rude on the phone or email, but from my calls I got the distinct impression that nobody had their act fully together. I could clearly envision Jake's stuffsack dilemma happening.

The bag just reeks "primo", as far as quality of materials and impeccable workmanship.

Any new down item initially sheds down, as the few quills work their way out. My Hum has been beat up, and the only down I've seen was the snow-white, literally golf-ball size plumule that floated up when I opened the UPS box.

I expected more. Numbers and bogus "independent down labs" aside, feel the down. Pinch it and roll it between your fingers, and determine how quilly the down is.

You will be surprised at how sketchy even some widely distributed "700+" down feels.

Basically, their strength is that they are a custom shop. If you need the genuinely warmest bag on the planet, or the lightest, give them a call. Otherwise, get a Marmot.

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