Feathered Friends Egret Nano 20°F Women’s Sleeping Bag Review

Renee used a Feathered Friends Egret Nano 20°F Women’s Sleeping Bag on our Pacific Crest Trail thruhike in 2018. It has been updated and is now the Egret YF. The men’s equivalent 20°F Sleeping Bags are the Hummingbird YF (narrow), Swallow YF (regular width), or Swift YF (wide).

Specs:

  • Temperature Rating: 20ºF
  • Shape: Women’s Mummy
  • Weight: 28oz (for the small size)
  • Fill power: 900+ Goose Down
  • Sewn and filled in the USA (from imported materials)
  • 100% of the down is certified under the Responsible Down Standard
  • Price: $409 (for the small Egret YF 20°F Women’s Sleeping Bag)
  • Price paid: $389.00 (for the small Egret Nano 20°F Women’s Sleeping Bag)

Pros:

  • Women’s Specific Design
  • Small to large sizes available (5′-3″ to 6′-6″)
  • Water resistant
  • Durable
  • Comfortable

Cons:

  • Expensive (and doesn’t go on sale)
  • Lightweight, but there are lighter options out there

Background

A sleeping bag or quilt with a temperature rating of 10-20ºF is pretty standard for thru-hiking the PCT. I did not own a sleeping bag with this temperature rating, so when planning for the trail I started looking at all of the options out there. I am pretty short (5’-2”) and have always dealt with cold feet due to all of the extra room at the end of my sleeping bag and just feeling colder in general than Tim even though we have always had sleeping bags with the same temperature ratings. I found that the big brand names have a one-size-fits-all mentality. Feathered Friends out of Seattle, WA is one of the few companies that actually has options in terms of height, width, and sex. They make bags specifically designed for women and have a small size option for people under 5’-3”. Feathered Friends makes lighter 20ºF sleeping bags, but the Egret Nano was the right weight and price combination for me. (Their sleeping bags are not cheap, and do not go on sale.)

My small Feathered Friends Egret Nano 20 Women’s sleeping bag next to Tim’s regular Marmot Phase 20 sleeping bag.

Temperature

My Egret Nano 20 Women’s Sleeping Bag kept me warm on the PCT. Most nights I wore my Patagonia Capilene Base Layer to bed, but this was more about feeling clean and less sticky than it was about the warmth. On really cold nights, I would also wear my puffy, buff, and a pair of socks to bed. Through the desert, Sierras, and most of NorCal, I also carried a Cocoon Silk Mummy Liner (5oz weight, added warmth of up to 5ºF). I did not use the liner every night, and I don’t think it was completely necessary. There were some surprisingly cold nights in the desert though. As expected, the Sierras had cold nights, especially when camping at higher elevations. On the hot nights in the desert, Northern California, and Oregon, I would unzip the bag and use it more like a blanket. The liner was also nice on the really hot nights to use instead of the sleeping bag. It got cold again in Washington in September. We even got snowed on overnight a few times. The bag did it’s job though, and kept me warm enough. Using the mummy feature of the bag and tightening it properly around your head makes a big difference in keeping your heat in the bag and keeping you warm.

Features

Women’s Specific Design – The shoulders are built more narrow, but the waist and hips have more space.

Women’s Specific Design – There is extra down in the footbox and around the chest.

Also notice the zipper near the feet – This is a great for unzipping to let some air in on warmer nights.

Beefy zipper – I never have issues with my zipper snagging or getting stuck like others complain about.

Cinches around the head – Great for keeping your body heat in on those really cold nights.

Mummy Bag vs. Quilt

Before the PCT we had always used mummy bags. We decided to stick with the mummy bags for the PCT mostly because that’s what we were comfortable with. Plenty of folks we met on the trail had success with their quilts though.

Down vs. Synthetic

We eat a vegan diet (including during our thru-hike of the PCT), but we have down puffies and down sleeping bags. Down is lightweight, extremely compressible, and works well in cold temperatures. In the case of down gear as compared to synthetic, Tim and I both feel like the superior performance is worthwhile. Feathered Friends says that their down is produced according to the Responsible Down Standard, which is a nice bonus.


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