Gear Review: Teton Sport Tracker sleeping bag

This winter has been quite harsh. Even though here, in Southeast Iowa, we didn't get a whole lot of snow, it has been bitter cold. I have been camping a lot more this winter than I did last winter, so I decided it was time to start looking for more cold weather gear. As I was looking for a sleep system, I came across the Teton Sport Tracker. I am quite biased to Teton. They make some really good products from sleeping bags, to tents, to packs. In fact, my first pack was (and still is) a Teton. 

This is very comfortable sleeping bag. It has a 7 denier woven fiber Innovative Polarlite insulation. This is a very warm fill and even though it is a warm fill, it is still thin and lightweight. It's compressibility is quite impressive seeing as how it is synthetic rather than down. The bag is rated for +5 degrees, but sleeping bag ratings are for survivability and not so much comfort. I camped in 9 degrees and it was a little chilly. I would say about 12-13 degrees would be a comfortable temperature for this bag. It has extra fill in the foot box as well. The feet are usually the first part of your body to get cold, so this nice addition is a must. The bag is good for people about 5'6" but anyone taller than that would feel constricted. I'm 5'4" and am comfortable in it. It also is more for skinny built people for it is a thinner bag. 

The interior of the bag is actually a soft, synthetic material. Most sleeping bags have a diamond weave interior, same as the exterior. That kind of material can get cold and takes some time warm up after you crawl inside. The material in this bag stays warm so you don't have the initial shock of the interior being cold. The downside to this material is that it does not allow for much movement when wearing clothes to bed. The slicker material allows you to roll around inside with ease, whereas this material clings to clothes which is uncomfortable. 

The hood of the bag is pocketed and fits comfortably on the head. There is a single drawstring to tighten the face of the hood. Last time I was out, I was able to tighten it until the opening was almost completely closed, which is beneficial in cold weather. The bag also has a thick draft tube to keep the warmth in. 

This bag has a duel zipper system that can be opened and closed from the inside and outside. A Velcro keeper is also added to hold the zipper shut. As with most bags, it also has loops at the feet to hang the bag up to air out. A nice, final addition is a small gear pocket on the inside of the bag that zips closed. This is a great pocket for a phone or iPod. 

The bag also comes with its own compression sack. It has 4 compression straps on the sides to compress it lengthwise and 2 on the open end as well. The bottom end has a handle to assist with pulling the bag out. It compresses small enough to fit in a medium sized day pack and weighs about 4.1 pounds. 

This is overall, a great bag. In the negative degree weather, it works great with an additional sleeping bag. I hope this post helps you in your decision on choice of sleeping bag. Please comment any questions or comments.