Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20

Is my go-to bag for a couple of seasons now for some good reasons... but the ZIPPER!

I have a love/hate relationship with this bag. It has been my favorite synthetic bag I've owned.

It presses down to 8 x 10. It's super silky comfortable. It has a great shape. The collar holds heat well. the compression sack is a really nice 3 strap/1clip design so you can unclip one strap and pull the lid back. The bag has a small pocket. 

The zipper sticks HORRIBLY! Every 3-5 inches it sticks if you are trying to zip up from the inside of the bag. When it does stick, it's not an easy "backtrack and come undone" kind of stick; it sticks BAD. If you floor demo this bag, you'll never know it because it zips pretty well from the exterior (for some crazy reason). If you even have slight claustrophobia, this bag will push fears to the limit.

I keep coming back to this bag though!

Warmth: It has great warmth for how small it packs down. It's pretty even.

Fit and Comfort: Great fit. I am 5'11" and most bags fit only to 5'10" or you have to go to the next size. I think this one fits to 6'. Feels perfect to me.

Entry Exit: Worst of any bag I've ever owned. Luckily, once in, it's so comfy I don't want to come out.

Moisture: I've never had a problem with this bag and moisture. I've used it dozens of times now.

Packability: Great. It's 3lb 1oz. I have the version just before the picture in this review.

Loft: Looks average but really keeps you warm. Great for 3 seasons.

Features: Great compression sack.

Construction and Durability: The materials are lightweight but they've held up surprisingly well so far. 

Conditions: I bought it used and have used it about 30 times in the last 2.5 seasons.  

A feature that is worth mentioning is the draft collar. It cinches around your neck and really holds in the heat much better than just the face cinch. I've used many other bags with just the face cinch and there's a big difference. In fact, I am so impressed with this feature that I am considering having my local tailor add cinch collars to all of my cold weather bags.

This is a great synthetic bag. It's very compressible and lightweight.

This is a great synthetic bag. It keeps me warm and is a great fit. It has enough room to roll but not too much to create cold pockets. For a synthetic bag it's extremely lightweight and extremely compressible. I've never seen a synthetic bag as compressible as this one. It has a nice pocket up at the top to store a headlamp or anything I might need in the night.

I use this bag on practice AT hikes and plan to use this as my winter bag for my thru-hike.

This is a good sleeping bag. There are no cold spots or zipper drafts.

I have slept in this bag down to about 26 degrees. The temp range is very accurate. The length is good.  I am 5'11'' tall and bag fits well.

The bag has a full length zipper that glides very well. Some others have had a problem with the zipper but I have the solution. All zippers are delicate.  You can't just zip it up fast.  Pieces of the sleeping bag will get caught in the teeth. You have to zip it up slowly and put your hand in front of the zipper pull to make sure it doesn't get caught.  This gear is not meant to be man-handled.  You have to take care of it.  

But back to the bag. It is synthetic so it is a little heavy compared to down. The bag has nice features such as a draft collar, a huuuuuuuge hood and a roomy footbox. Both the hood and draft collar are able to be tightened with shock cord.  

The sleeping bag is easily compressable with the included stuff sack. What you do is push the bag down the bag as far as possible then close off the top. Then what I do to get it as small as it can be is sit on it and pull the straps toward you to make it smaller. That probably didn't make sense... oh well.  

The bag is well made and stands up to normal use. I definitely recommend this bag to everyone. Thanks.    

First off, I'm a big fan of Mountain Hardwear (MH) synthetic sleeping bags. I own the Lamina 45, 32, -15 and now the 20.

One of the reasons I stick with this line of sleeping bags is because of their overall comfort and designed compatibility with the MH Conduit SL bivy sack. If I'm going to encounter very wet conditions, I can integrate these bags with the bivy for additional protection and an effective temperature rating of 5-10 degrees lower.

Like other MH Lamina bags, the Lamina 20 is a well constructed bag. At 71" and 200 lbs, I find it offers ample internal volume to assume comfortable positions and rollover. The internal liner has a soft, silky texture that rapidly warms against the body.

I've found the "Thermic Micro" insulation to be highly effective for the bag's weight and to have very good compressibility. I am an increasingly "cold sleeper" but found this bag comfortable throughout the night (wearing a silk weight base-layer) with inside tent temperatures in the low 20's.

Besides effective insulation, MH offers highly compressible synthetic bags. Although not rivaling one of my decent down bags, the Lamina 20 compresses to a remarkably compact package, something I find important when trying to get the volume of my personal gear down, allowing room for crew gear.

It is, in my opinion, a best value sleeping bag. If I could only keep one bag out of the six I own (4 synthetic and 2 down), this would be the one.

Mountain Hardwear scores big with the Lamina. It more than keeps pace with more expensive products. We loved the softness and durability.

Mountain Hardwear describes the Lamina 20 as “an excellent choice for damp, cold conditions.” We chose the Girl Scout Camporee over Memorial Day weekend for our test. After our excursion into the Santa Cruz Mountains in May — for more than our fair share of cold, fog, drizzle and rain — we have only one response. Agreed!

The Lamina was extremely comfortable. I felt free to move and reposition, and the bag moved with me easily. It has just the right amount of roominess for comfort, while maintaining warmth. My feet were never cold, which is not something I can say very often.

For more info and some photos visit my website GearGuide.

Any sleeping bag review depends on who wrote it. Are they warm blooded, cold blooded, what kind of physical shape are they in, etc.

I'm very warm blooded. My idea of a winter coat is a Gore-tex shell only. I'm 5'9" 180 lbs, in pretty decent shape.

As far as the bag is concerned. A regular felt too short when I tried it on @ the store, so I got the long. Much better. Enough room to put extra clothes inside without feeling like I am stuffing myself. There is enough width to move around in, but not so much I can't heat it up and stay warm.

When outside camping in 35 degree weather I was comfortable wearing only a polypro shirt and boxers. No long-johns or sox needed. I should mention that we were inside a Kelty 3 season tent, light breeze no rain or snow (that makes a difference also). This bag crushes down to very minimal and weighs almost nothing.

I was so happy with mine that I bought a Mt. Hardwear, Mt Goat for my 8 year old. This way I know he will be warm also.

Zipper failure.

I wish I had my money back. The zipper is extremely irritating. When you're tired on the trail I don't want to have to put this much energy into a zipper. Even when I gently pull up on it with my fingers guarding the zipper cover it catches and hangs up. And you can't use that method when it gets around your shoulders because you have to get your arms down in the bag.

It is warm, but I wish I had bought something else.

Worst zipper ever in the history of sleeping bags. There are two nylon strips running along the zipper that fold over the zipper for some extra insulation. But they are perfect for catching in the zipper.  It is a constant, CONSTANT issue. There is no technique with which to avoid this. It's a nightly battle, and I'm sick of it.