The North Face Aleutian Bx Sleeping Bag: 20-Degree Heatshield

I have the 2008 Aleutian sleeping bag (last years model) and I think that this is a fine bag, For the money, its great! I can probably get it to about 30* F inside a tent and with midweight top and bottom baselayers, wool socks and a boggin. I have used it alone without a tent and only a Tyvek ground sheet and a REI Lite Core 1.5 pad on a concrete patio to temps in the low 30's. It wet out a good little bit due to the dew fall at around 5:00 in the morning. However it kept me warm enough. It dried out within a few short hours laying back inside the house opened up on the floor.

Its big, and its heavy.

I think its interesting though that the opening line from the description here is "The North Face Aleutian Bx Sleeping Bag retains heat like you’d expect a bag named for Alaskan volcanic islands would." And here is a quote from Wikipedia about the Alaskan Volcanic Islands "The highest and lowest temperatures recorded on the islands are 78 °F (26 °C) and 5 °F (−15 °C) respectively." Funny.....

So, the bottom line here is "OK, you won’t literally be warm as lava. That'd be uncomfortable." And its totally true.If you want a good quality bag for fairly cheap that you're not going to want to lug around on your back on a trail for days on end, then this is your bag!

A draft collar would have been a plus, especially since its a 20* bag!

Heres a pic of it in its stuff sack next to a gallon jug.

I took this bag camping with me in my SUV. The temps got well below 20 degrees, so cold that the cooler full of drinks and food we had froze solid before we went to sleep and was all thawed with no ice when we got there. I never started my 89 suburban because i wanted to be able to give an accurate review on this bag. I stayed totally warm and comfortable in this bag wearing only cheap hanes long john pants and shirt from wal mart.. The only problem i have with it is that i have very wide shoulders and my shoulders touch the outsides of the bag. I am exchanging this for the Bighorn Bx for an extra 4" in the shoulder area. I am hoping this will fix the problem. other than the size problem it is a 5 star bag. very light and packs down to a tiny size. I would recommend this bag to anyone that wears an XL shirt and under. anything bigger and you want a bag with bigger shoulder circumference. Great product for the value.

I purchased the long bag because i am 6'4" and it fits great. If you like to have very little room from your waist down, this would be a good bag. Otherwise, because i am thrasher in the night, and the leg room is limited, i would prefer more width. On the other hand, i would much rather carry a bag on a backpacking trip with less room inside that weights less, than a bag with more room that weights more. All of the times i have used the bag, I have either been warm or overheating; it definitely is a bag that will keep you warm and sometimes too warm. Overall it serves its' purpose and sometimes goes above and beyond its' purpose. If you are looking for a light, warm, and cozy bag, than you have clicked on the right one!

I have got an older version of this bag, and while it is one of the cheaper models available, it still works as avertised. Took it on 2-day hike up Mt. Fuji. Instead of dropping the $90 to stay in one of the mountain huts for a night, I slept in this bag out behind one of the huts (no tent). It was a few degrees over freezing, a good steady 20mph wind, foggy and rather damp but with just a baselayer and some lightweight pants on under this bag, I was very warm.

I am 6-1 170-ish lbs and the long size fit me perfect.

No complaints overall, but I was not in the most strenuous of conditions to realy extoll this bag and give it a 5-star rating...

This sleeping bag is light, compresses easily, and has a ton of extra features that keep it warm and cozy. However, the North Face logo on this bag is just a screenprint that will wear off...I was surprised because everything else I've ever owned from TNF has been embroidered. I guess you get more than you pay for in this bag, but if you're paying for the name, look elsewhere because the name will rub off!

Wow; for this price, I don't know if you can get anything better. My friend got a bag that was probably 50 dollars more from The North Face, and I can't imagine that it afforded him more comfort than I got. If you're looking for something basic that will do the job very well without all the bells and whistles (that I believe many times aren't necessary), go for this sleeping bag!

Recently purchased the bag for a trip in northern california and the oregon coast. I never once did get cold in this bag, but I have yet to put those capabilities to the test. It was immensely comfortable. I'm 5'9'' and got a regular, no problems. It packs easily and is light. So, for 80 bucks it's totally worth it, even if you sleep on top of it.