User Review: Western Mountaineering Pod 30

Western Mountaineering Pod 30
Above: The current Pod 30, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed July 21, 2006 by aardvark

Rating: rated 3 of 5 stars
Design: mummy
Fill: down
Temperature Rating: 30 Farenheight
Weight: 16 oz

This bag is an interesting attempt at compromise between weight and warmth. It is very light. Mine weighs in right at 16 oz in its stuff sack. The compromise with the Pod series is that it has no insullation on the bottom--just a single layer of silky nylon. It is designed to mate with a tappered sleeping pad; mine came with an uninsulated Max Compact air mattress (which is much more comfortable than the typical self-inflating pad).

My principal beef is that the bag and air mattress combination simply cannot come close to its temperature rating of 30F. At 50F, I experience cold spots around the edges. At 45F, I don't sleep comfortably unless I add long underwear. At 40F, the uninsulated mattress is like sleeping on the cold ground. 30F would be miserable in this bag.

Another compromise is the half length zipper. It's too short to ventilate adequately in the warm temperatures for which the bag is best suited. Also, the zipper separates at the end, even though it is not a two-way zipper. Consequently, it comes undone anytime you exit the bag and is difficult to reconnect in the dark with sleepy hands. I intend to sew my zipper so it can't disconnect.

Also, the system of flaps and drawstrings intended to secure the bag to the pad is cumbersome to use (particularly in a small tent or bivy sack). Worse, having the bag anchored to the pad dramatically restricts sleeping positions. I finally have given up attaching the bag to the pad, but this further exacerbates the cold spot problem.

On the positive side, the bag is beautifully constructed and is stuffed with very lofty down. It packs very small without a compression sack.

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