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.

Much better than Mountain Equipment's similarly-rated Xeros.

My son came with me on the Affric trail in Scotland. He uses the Glacier 700 and I had the Xeros. We both sleep warm, but I was cool and he was not at temperatures of -5 degrees. Both bags are rated similarly. Both guarantee a good nights sleep down to around -14 degrees.

We are both experienced campers using good Thermarest mats and we know how to use sleeping bags.

It is my view that, in order to achieve the lighter weight with the Xeros, Mountain Equipment have stinted on the down. Not only can you see light through the bag quite easily, and patchily, but there are two cold spots, one at the feet, one at the waist.

The zip is annoying. Mountain Equipment don’t use really good zips as some manufacturers do. Theirs frequently catch, jam and snag on the lining far too often. 

The shell material feels flimsy and tearable.

In contrast, for only a little more weight, the Glacier 700 feels more substantial, warmer, shrugs off condensation more convincingly and still retains the build quality of earlier generations of Mountain Equipment sleeping bags. It is also less expensive. In fact it is my observation that the two bags represent a crossroads between the old and the new.

The Xeros is decidedly NOT recommended.

The Glacier certainly is, particularly the earlier versions in red and ‘Foxglove’ (They have just been updated). These are still available and at attractive prices if you look for them.

Background

Considerable, over 30 years. We are long time users and the new equipment frequently compares badly with the older; Mountain Equipment gets sniffy and corporate when the subject comes up, but it’s true.