Mountain Equipment Glacier 700

Great overall materials for the price, but a few major flaws.

I would love to love this bag. I searched for a long time and for its price class (<300 euro), it has one of the best specs/weight ratio.

It is warm (rated for 5°F, -15°C ), very lofty (700 cu in down,  >=90% down), has a water-repellent outer material, the down distributes well and stays in place in the baffles. However there are a few problems for this bag that made me return it after testing at around -1°C (~30°F). I am male, 1.83m tall, 81 kg, 29 years old, and I tested the regular size. I paid 260 euro on sale.

1-  The toe area is too small in the vertical. My feet are 29.3 cm in length (46 EU) and my toes have to bend to fit in the vertical. As a result, the down insulation gets compressed and your feet gets cold. I suspect that feet longer than around 27 cm (EU 43) would have a similar problem. This issue is aggravated by the fact that the toe area has significantly less insulation than the rest of the bag. When I hold the bag towards the bright window, I could easily see light through this area.

2- The collar is too low. The collar stays lower than the shoulders at the sternum's height. The convex-shaped collar towards the bottom results in the neck being exposed. I wish it could come up and cover up to my chin but there was some 10 cm left. Cinching the collar tighter pulls it even lower.

3- Minor issues:

• The bag is slightly noisy (probably because of the outer material).
• The adjustment is a bit tricky and the magnetic flap a bit annoying on the shoulders.
• The hood adjustment tightens towards the eye, while the sides are not as tight. I wish that the head adjustment was similar to the ones used in some jackets, tightening against the forehead

As I said, it has great pros for the price. Issues 1 and 2 could be solved with a down bootie and a balaclava/neck warmer, respectively. I would however not recommend this sleeping bag in the regular size bag if you are taller than ~1.75m. There is also a long version, but I haven't tried it.

Background

I tested it once in a just-below freezing night.