The North Face Ibex

I bought my Ibex new in the early '90s (it was out of production when I bought it but the High Country Outfitters still had one). It is different than the '70s Ibex, it has a draft collar. I bought the long version even though I'm short because I wanted to be able to put stuff in the foot of the bag on cold nights. I got involved with the ADK Winterschool in the late '90s and also did some winter climbs in the Presidential Range. I've slept in it to about -15° and was comfortable (long underwear, a hat, in a tent on a thick pad).

I've probably spent a month of nights below 15° in this bag and a week of nights below zero and it performs very well. I'm a cold sleeper and even more so now that I'm in my 60's. The bag is very warm but today if I knew I was going to be in -15° a lot, I'd probably get another bag but, as I said, I'm a cold sleeper now.

I like the fit and comfort of the bag and I like being able to put inner boots in the foot along with other things I want to keep warm. I'm only 5'8" so that gives me lots of room to put stuff. The bag breathes very well and the shell is reasonably resistant to moisture from tent condensation, but you need to keep it dry, it's a down bag. You also need to dry it whenever possible or you'll lose loft over an extended winter trip (it's a down bag and you put out about 2 pints of insensible perspiration per night.).

I've always used a compression sack so that helps in packability, but it takes up a good bit of room still. It's also heavy by comparison to modern bags with high loft down, 4lbs 12 oz for the large. It still lofts up well. The top of the bag has about 5" of free loft and the bottom has just under 4".

The differential cut keeps your knees, hips and elbows from creating bad cold spots. The hood and collar of the bag are a definite improvement over the Ibex of the '70s. It's not glamorous, it just works and if you take good care of it, it works for a long, long time. 

Background

I've got a lot of bag nights over the years but not many over the last decade. Most of my time in bags was in the '80s, '90s and early '00s.

Take care of it and it will take care of you.

I bought my North Face Ibex in 1973 from The Wooden Nickel in Princeton, NJ. I still remember that I paid $128 for it and have since seen it sold for over $700.  

The bag is rated to -15°F, but in a discussion with Outward Bound instructors in Colorado we all agreed the bag works to much colder. 

Camping one night in Algonquin Provincial Park over Christmas break in Ontario my thermometer IN MY TENT registered -24°F!  I was warm and comfortable.

I have nursed my Ibex and taken care of it for the past 48 years and it still works well. I now motorcycle camp in the Oregon desert and it gets cold at night. It's a wonderful bag. 

I bought two Ibex bags in 1973 or '74 for $125 each. Just gave them to my granddaughters. Maybe they were used a few times during the '70s. They were kept in their cotton bags and after 49 years they still look new. One of my granddaughters used her bag this past weekend and told me it kept her warm as toast at 20 degrees.

Background

Always kept me very warm down to -20 degrees

First bag I bought in 1970, and I'm still using it in 2013.

When I started serious backpacking in the late '60s, I had to borrow gear as college took up my "spare change".  Finally, in 1969 I saved enough to buy a bag. Taking a chance, I bought the Ibex (-15 degrees rating), figuring I would use it for everything.  This tack worked — I did not buy another bag (The North Face, of course) until 1981.  While I now have multiple bags, I still take the Ibex out occasionally.

This bag was the top of the line for The North Face back in the late '60s.  It used the then new, super-high-loft 550 down, so it compressed very small for this low temperature rating. While it doesn't have a down-filled collar, the hood is quite sufficient for all conditions I have been in. 

This bag accompanied me out to the desert in summer, into the Sierra and Cascades all times of the year, and for use as a "spare bed" during visits with friends. While rated -15 degrees, I have been out several times in night time temperatures below -40 degrees, while the bag will still vent sufficiently for above +50 degree nights during the summers.  Even when soaked one night during a snow storm, the bag still worked.

A bag this good is very hard to find. The Ibex proves an expensive, well constructed bag more than pays for itself in the long run (about $250 investment for over 40 years of very rough usage!).

A very warm bag that has held up well... have slept without tent or bivy and bag has had frost on it in the morning... but was still so warm I had to zip open to vent and remain comfortable.

Once melted away the bottom panel by getting too close to the fire... used for a couple of years covering hole with plastic and duct tape... finally sent to North Face for repair... they refilled down to original specs, patched bottom and cleaned all for $40 US.

Now that I am older and more weight conscious when packing I am considering a lighter +20 bag for 3-season use but would keep this one for desert car camping (very cold nights) and occasional cold weather outing.

Great bag.

I bought my Ibex brand new in the early '70s.  Still use it today as a Top Quilt in my hammock. Got the long bag as I am 6ft2.  Found it to be very roomy for a mummy. 

Abused the bag big time and it always came thru for me.  Don't know the exact temp but one night on top of Mt. San Jacinto in Feb in 1977 I stayed very warm in the bag and when I woke up in the AM I found my water bottle next to my head had frozen solid.

I bought an Ibex sleeping bag from The North Face over near the Stanford shopping center in 1974 or '75. I used it for years and years. Finally had some problems with the zipper in 2001. Sent it in and North Face repaired it and refilled the bag with new down and charged me $30 cleaning fee.

I now use it for winter camping. With layers on I have slept comfortably in single digit temps.

Great bag for winter camping used on a mat.

My wife and I each purchased an Ibex in the mid 1970s. Have used on many winter backpacking trips in the Smoky Mountains, and many fall and summer backpacking trips as well as wilderness canoe trips in Canada and BWCA, week-long bicycle trips, and fall camping in Wisconsin.

Fantastic bags as held up well and are still in use. Have had repairs to zipper (replaced), fabric tears, and need for down replacement all under warranty except need to have bag cleaned.

My Ibex is still going strong.

Back in high school in the '70s, I spent my money on two things. One is now legal in Colorado and the other was North Face equipment. My first purchase was my Morning Glory tent (still have) and two Cat's Meows that zipped together.

Needed a winter bag and the Ibex was TNF best bag and zipped together. Ordered left bag ($250) but before I could get the other my girlfriend became pregnant and extreme camping ended, but my Ibex was still used everywhere by myself and never let me down.

Used more today as extra bedding. Just found right zipper Ibex on Ebay, paid $150 and the first thing I did was zip them together. 40 years late but now want to dust off the Morning Glory, stop by a supply store in Colorado, and enjoy the outdoors.

I bought this bag from a friend back in 1978. Here it is 2004 and it is still performing. It is a very warm bag but I must admit that I probably haven't used the bag in temps lower than 20 degrees. I sleep cold and this bag has never left me chilly. My husband has used it hunting the Flat Tops in Colorado and loves it. It has great loft but compresses to a relatively small package.

I am so sold on The North Face that I just spent $320 on TNF Solar Flare Endurance so both me and my husband can camp when it is cold and stay warm. 26 years!!! That's alot of bag for the money.

Very warm sleeping bag. Although I was a bit worried about the compressibility of the bag at first, I was surprised to find that it compressed exactly the same as my friend who has a Marmot 725 fill down. (no joke!) I believe this is due to the fact that it doesn't have a Dryloft Shell. However the S-5000 microfiber shell is VERY hydrophobic and when I wake up in the morning and I have breathed all night on my bag, by the time I have had a hot chocolate, it is all nice and dry.