Mountain Equipment Xeros

I cannot recommend this sleeping bag.

For the record: I sleep warm and can sleep anywhere.

I found this bag cool on the two occasions I used it, once in the Forest of Dean and again on the Affric Kintail Trail; Neither time were temperatures below -5° C.

The Xeros feels flimsy. IT held onto condensation dampness longer than my son’s Mountain Equipment Glacier 700, which is plainly warmer, better made and more substantial, even though both bags are rated very similarly; Both guarantee a "good night's sleep" down to around -14° C.

I was not cold, but certainly I was cool, despite sleeping in thermals and on a good Thermarest.

It is my view the Xeros is ungenerously filled (or possibly just mine was). Two cold spots, one at the feet, one at the waist. Light dismayingly visible (unevenly, too) through the fabric when held up to a window. It is possible this is a quality control issue (these are made in China, where QC is notoriously patchy) but it is equally possible Mountain Equipment have simply tried much too hard to make this a super-light and this is the result.

This is not a terrible sleeping bag, but all this, an indifferent zip, and the price weigh heavily against it. Better to carry 100-200g more and know for sure the rating is broadly reliable because here, speaking of mine at least, it was nowhere near.

NOT recommended.

Background

30 years trail walking.