The folks from Argali and Rokslide provided two sleeping bags to review: the Alpine 20 (Long) and the Alpine 0 (Regular).
Argali says about the Alpine lineup: “The Alpine series is built for long-lasting, ultralight performance.”
The Alpine lineup can be seen here. Prices are $585/$605 for the Alpine 20° Reg/Long and $695/$725 for the 0° Reg/Long.
Untreated 850+ European Down
The 20° and 0° are both ISO comfort rated for men using European 850+ dry down, no treatment. They chose dry down over treated down to increase the longevity of lofting. It’s worth noting that Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends continue to use untreated down.
Bag and Fill Weights
The 20-degree bag weighs 34 oz and contains 21 oz of down fill, while the 0-degree bag contains 45 oz of down fill. When compared with other high-end down bags, these fill weights stack up nicely. Anyone shopping for a down sleeping bag should look very closely at both down quality and down fill when comparing bags.
Comfort Ratings
Argali wanted the Alpine series to provide an accurate comfort rating and be roomy enough for a comfortable sleep. Both bags are cut wider and longer than most high-end bags. The measurements for the 20° are (shoulder/hip/foot girth) 64/58/40”, the 0° 66/58/40”. The length of the 20° Long is 87” long, and the 0° Regular is 79”. For reference, I’m 5’11”, and the regular is more than sufficiently long. If you’re over 6’, you might consider the long.
The Argali Alpine Sleeping Bags Side By Side
And in their included stuff sacks. Both bags can further lower their volume with a compression stuff sack. The small bag on the left is their optional pillow, which I’ll discuss later.
Both bags’ construction is similar, using both vertical and horizontal baffles. The baffles are integrated, meaning they are sewn to prevent the down from shifting (which can create cold spots).
Argali Sleeping Bag Fabrics
Argali chose Pertex Quantum 15d for their outer fabric. Quantum is a spendy fabric but offers good water resistance with its DWR coating while still being able to breathe. The interior fabric is polyester (also 15d), has a very soft hand (read comfortable), and is very breathable. Also, the inner fabric is black, which is very nice when drying out a bag in the sun on multi-day trips.
Features
Both offer generous draft tubes along the zipper. And use a two-way, non-snag zipper (I still have a few snags, but not many). Both are side zip (left hand) and use an adjustable “mummy” hood. The main difference between the 20° and 0° (besides the fill amount) is that the 0° offers an adjustable draft collar to further seal heat in the torso.
My Use
I used both sleeping bags throughout hunting season. I can say with certainty that the ratings are accurate. One night, I used the 20° bag into the mid-teens, and while I wasn’t overly warm, it wasn’t uncomfortable. This was wearing light base layers (I wear the base layers I wear during the day to ensure they are bone dry by morning), and I consider myself a pretty “normal” sleeper—i.e., I don’t tend to run hot or cold.
The 0° bag I had two nights where it dipped into the low single digits and was snug as a bug. I’m confident I would have been fine at 0.
Breathability
One night with the 20° bag, I was using a waterproof bivy, which is notorious for condensation. To make matters worse, it had been snowing pretty heavily for several hours, which meant I had to seal the bivy even more, which added to the condensation. This is where I believe the Pertex fabric really paid dividends. While the outer fabric was very damp, the interior was bone dry!
Elite Dream Pillow
The Elite Dream Pillow is a pretty nifty design. It’s secured by two buttons in the hood portion of the bag. It won’t slide around, and no inflatable pillows are flying around at night! It also unzips to reveal a cushioned interior. The cushioning isn’t enough on its’ own, but it allows you to stuff clothing out of your pack underneath it. You’ll have to play around with it to see what works for you, but you don’t want to stuff so full that it impairs the hood’s effectiveness. It weighs 3.5 oz and is 13″x10”.
Interior Pocket
Both bags offer a cell phone holder (or contacts, battery pack. etc.) in the upper section of the bag. It works nicely but is hard to find (black on black). A small addition of color would simplify using it.
Conclusion
In summary, the Argali Alpine Sleeping Bag series offers a lightweight, no-frills, honest temperature-rated sleeping bag made with some of the best materials available. I am very comfortable recommending either of these bags.
Comment or ask Mike questions here.
*Argali is a Rokslide advertiser
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