It’s hard to reimagine the sleeping bag, which is why we’re so impressed with the new . Instead of the ubiquitous zippered, mummy-shaped design, the Backcountry Bed has a large and zipperless oval-shaped opening with an integrated comforter. It’s a novel and cool idea, especially if you sleep on your side or stomach or otherwise move around a lot.
There are no zippers, shock cords, swathes of Velcro, or any other doo-dads to rub you the wrong way as you shift about and sleep. The comforter can either be tucked in on cold nights (there are two pockets on either side of the comforter that make it easy to jam your hands into them and then tuck the comforter snugly around your neck for maximum warmth) or untucked when the weather is warmer. I took off my shoes and jumped in it on the show floor and thrashed around a bit and was sufficiently impressed. I look forward to testing it out for real in the field later this summer.
Available in 2-season (30⁰; 2lbs; $349) or 3-season (15⁰; 2lbs, 7oz; $399) models next year, with regular, long, and women’s specific models.