The first Mobility Bag?

I find mobility bags interesting.

It is certainly a niche part of the market, and one category that still has quite a bit of room left for innovation. Despite the push for multipurpose gear and lighter base weights in the UL community they still don't seem to hold much market share.

I'm also very interested in the origins of things. Even focused on the relatively young outdoor gear market, this is seldom an interest that I can exercise with any certainty, but in this case I might have caught a break:

I'm not sure where I first found this picture, but the only source I can find currently is an article over at Science in the Cold War. According to the caption on their version of the photo it hails from 1959, at Ladd Air Force Base in Alaska. Its easy to see that the older canvas shelled feather bag was employed for this experiment, which is made easier by its center zip, which modern mobility bags seem to be largely returning too.

I think it safe to say for the moment that this is the oldest example of a modern sleeping bag with arm and leg openings, so for now at least I'm declaring it the first true mobility bag.

Center zip sleeping bags come full circle

It seems to me that center zip sleeping bags used to be quite popular. From the earliest military bags (both wool and down) to the vintage Eddie Bauer and REI bags an eBay prowler could assume that they were once all the rage.
In recent decades they mostly got sidelined by "traditional" side entry bags, be they mummy, rectangle or other. There have been several more fringe bags that held on to the tradition, Golite's adrenaline bag, Wiggys military, a few higher end down options and some mobility bags such as the Exped dreamwalker and Feathered Friends Rock Wren.

As of a few years ago center zips started gathering steam, and have now officially gone mainstream:

Both The North Face and Mountain Hardwear now have center zip bags, the Inferno and Hyper Lamina respectively. 

I probably first noticed the trend when Sierra Designs released their Mobile Mummy and Kifaru switched their contentious Slick Bag to a center zip, but looking back there have been more trickling into the market recently.

Whether the change can be attributed to better technology (improved baffle designs?), a more cut-throat market for ruthless efficiency, or simply a desperate quest for newness is beyond me but I am very interested to try one. I have in the past used a zipperless bag I quite liked and my return to a more traditional mummy has left me underwhelmed so a center zip is next on my list. For one, with an adequately long zipper (not the short 1/4 zips on the ultralight bags) entry and exit may be easier, I think their are gains to be had in hood design, and half-asleep middle of the night adjustments may be more intuitive. 

State of the market: wearable sleep systems

The idea of one's sleep system doing double duty as a garment is not a new idea, match coats and great kilts are two old examples that come to mind.
I won't waste your time explaining the advantages or disadvantages of the concept, any reasonably intelligent person can get there on their own and there is already much information (and marketing) floating around. What I will go over as thoroughly as I can are all the commercial options available right now, generally the conversation arises in either an ultralight backpacking context or a tactical/preparedness context and something usually gets left out.

I have only included the fill wight of the synthetic options because I find it more useful then temp ratings but I don't have as firm a frame of reference on down fill weights. I have tried to include only options that can be used as a full length sleep system, hence my omission of the Kifaru Woobie Express and the horrible Sierra Designs Elephant Foot.

Keep in mind that temp ratings on top quilts and open blanket style sleep systems are even more variable then sleeping bags (which while wrong are reasonably consistent).

I can't tell you which came first but the Jacks 'R' Better sierra sniveler is the earliest I know of:

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/sierra-sniveller/

firmly in the lightweight camp, a down top quilt with liberal use of velcro. Optional hood and sleeves add a lot of versatility. A slightly tapered flat quilt with a velcro closing head hole, worn poncho style. Certainly the most well known in ultralighter and backpacker circles.

30*F?
24oz
$270

10*F?
30oz
$310

optional hood: 2oz, $60
optional sleeves: 5oz, $80

Another of the early contenders, the Exped Dreamwalker (previously the Wallcreeper):

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/sleepingbags/dreamwalker-650-m

A mid-weight, feature heavy sleeping bag/parka. Has armholes, front pockets, a jacket style hood and a full zip front with a bottom cinch cord. The bottom is un-cinched and re-cinched around the users waist for walking mode. Can be opened flat for a spacious quilt as well. I've heard mixed reviews of how well the foot cinch works to seal out the cold. Does have baffles blocking the armholes.
Available in two weights of down and a synthetic version.

down:
36*F
38oz
$480

synthetic:
5oz fill
55*F
37oz
$230

It deserves special mention that this bag has a matching bivvy sack/rain jacket, but the idea of a "rain vest" holds little interest to me.

Exped more recently offered a second wearable sleeping option, the Dreamwalker DUO:

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/sleepingbags/dreamwalker-duo-syn-160-m

Basically a fullsized poncho with a zippered head hole. Designed as a comforter for two people, snaps to a fitted sheet that can be attached to a set of sleeping pads.

down:
48*F?
35oz
$430

synthetic:
6oz fill
50*F?
56oz
$320


New kid on the block, the Hill People Gear Mountain Serape:

http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Products/tabid/762/ctl/ProductDetails/mid/1916/ProductID/64/Default.aspx

square poncho sized blanket with a clever zipper system that wrangles the excess fabric better then a typical toggle or belt. Attached hood with a 1/4 zipper opening gives it a pretty big wearability advantage over it's competition. Uses Primaloft insulation unlike the bulk of the poncho liners out there, what I've read/heard seems to imply that climashield has better warmth to weight but Primaloft deals with water better. I think in general this product has introduced the idea to a lot of users that otherwise wouldn't have thought twice about a "silly ultralighter" product like the JRB quilt. Better marketing and customer interaction has made this a more popular option then some of the similar products.

also usable as a half-zip sleeping bag:

2.4oz fill
40*? (general consensus from Mt. Serape users, seems very optimistic)
25oz
$175


Probably the most sleeping-baggy of the group, the previously mentioned Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy:

http://www.sierradesigns.com/product/mobile-mummy-800-3-season

Perhaps the least intuitive as well, but no less clever. You unzip the bottom a ways and stick your legs out while you button the bottom out of the way behind you (seen below center):

Very similar to the Exped but without the hole at the bottom and with a more nuanced shape and design. No zippers blocking the armholes, relies on wide overlapping baffles instead.

2 season:
39*F
29oz
$330

3 season:
27*F
36oz
$380

The Ecotat was an earlier option but I knew it had been more or less discontinued. I recently found out it is still being made by Wiggy's as the Freedom shelter:

http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=299

very little information on their website about it, but I think it safe to assume lamilite is involved and it is on the heavier end of things. Built like an Exped Dreamwalker but with no armholes and no pockets. instead it has a head hole to wear it as a poncho.

unknown fill
temp unknown
weight unknown
$262

A lesser known option, Wiggy's Insulated Poncho:

http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm/252

By far the most affordable option, just a quilted poncho liner with attached hood. Despite the comparatively hefty fill weight word is that the stitch-through quilting inhibits its warmth. Only other thing I've ever heard about it is that it does not pack down very well. Uses lamilite and climashield insulation in an unknown combination. Available in MARPAT which is hard to find these days.

6oz fill
temp unknown
weight unknown
$80

A higher end version of the same, the 782 Gear Smoke Kloke:

Uses climashield insulation, square poncho with hood. Multicam option will appeal to some.

2oz fill
temp unkown
19oz
$132


Perhaps the least known option I've found, the Integral Designs Poncho Liner:

http://www.fellfab.com/military/poncho-liner-blanket/

I've never heard anyone mention, recommend, or otherwise acknowledge this product, I found it just poking around on their site. Uses Primaloft Sport insulation, has a silly half-circle zipper head hole and a perimeter zipper for sleeping bag use.

3oz fill
temp unkown
28oz
$220 (listed elsewhere on their sight for $150)

And finally, last and in my mind least; the Poler Napsack:

http://www.polerstuff.com/products/the-napsack

A shameless rip off of the Exped Dreamwalker, (I really hope there is some licensing agreement no one has bothered to mention) if you handle one in person you can feel the cheapness radiating out of it.
I include it only out of a determination for completeness.

unknown fill
50*F
42oz
$130


*ADDED 5/29/2014*
I'm simply shocked I forgot to include this option, I've know about it for some time but it just slipped my mind:

Feathered Friends Rock Wren:

(photo from Outdoor Gear Lab)

a very light, high quality option from a reputable dealer. It functions like a cross between the Mobile Mummy and the Dreamwalker, but could be older then both. Unfortunately this bag has gotten critisized for poor hood seal and no baffles over the arm zippers. A warmer version is available as the "Winter Wren."

35* F
28oz
$340

25* F
33oz
$355

So what are my thoughts about all these? The Sierra designs is the only one I'd really consider for my only sleep insulation. The JRB might work but the verdict is still out for me on top quilts.
I am mostly interested in one of these as an emergency layering/sleeping piece (coupled with a poncho in a car bag or day pack) and as an overbag for a normal sleeping bag.
For this purpose the HPG Mountain Serape definitely seems to offer the most versatility and value, but I would change a few things about it. Since it is made by and for larger guys I could get away with a considerably narrower width and would trade that weight to bump it up to 3oz or 4oz of insulation.

What I will probably do is buy the Wiggy's poncho just because of the price and cut and sew on it till I get a better idea of what works for me. If I love the system I will probably upgrade to the HPG.

If you know of an option I forgot or have never heard of please point it out and I will add it to the line-up.

Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy

This last weekend I made it up to Seattle to visit some family and managed to fit in a stop at the REI flagship store where, after making the poor employee dig through the sleeping bag stock for 15 minutes, I finally got to try out the Sierra designs mobile mummy.

Now for those of you that don't follow these things, Sierra Designs has been a fairly mediocre brand for quite a while. Fairly typical sleeping bags with typical stats, cheap proprietary rain coats, tents (I don't know a thing about tents, they could have been fabulous) and generic apparel. Recently they've been making a push, mostly with some treated down products (still in the "gimmick" category in my book, but I will be as happy as a clam to be wrong in this case). I picked up a thinner down puffy for my wife at an REI sidewalk sale but I haven't noticed anything spectacular about it, my wife is new to puffys and doesn't have anything to compare it too.

Well, recently SD unveiled their new sleeping bag line and I'll admit I was pretty skeptical. While I'm always in favor of innovation, I wasn't sure they'd hit the mark. the backcountry bed for instance has huge areas of dead air on both sides of the head that give me pause, but they did manage to score an editor's choice award in the latest Backpacker magazine. After some online discussion I began looking closer at the mobile mummy, I've been wanting to try out a center zip bag for a while and the old Golite Adrenaline is darned hard to find on ebay, the new USMC 3-season sleeping bag is paper thin, and the newest Kifaru slick bag is beyond my reach to test-drive.

The "mobile" part of the mummy I could take or leave, but it turns out being able to stick your arms out to fiddle with the zipper is pretty darn convenient; ever notice how much of a pain it is to cinch in the hood on a normal bag? for one you have to fight your arms up to face level and then fiddle with some draw cords you can't really see, and then fight your arms up again when you want to get out. With this design you pretty much have to stick an arm out to zip up the last few inches, but since there is no closure on the armhole it didn't feel to tedious.

The main thing that drew me to this design is the hood. I've been having a lot of trouble with my current sleeping bag and the bulk of it is the gaping hood opening and the lack of a draft baffle. This bag has a snug, jacket-style hood with no cords, bungees or toggles and a generous draft baffle around your neck. This might curtail my current habit of wearing a hooded down jacket to bed, but I'd give it up in a heartbeat. I've seen very few bags (by that I mean one or two) that have such a narrow hood, the Exped Wallcreeper (now called the "dreamwalker"I think) is one, and is functionally very similar to the mobile mummy in that it has armholes, a center zipper, and the ability to walk around with it on. BUT the Exped hood is much more open, and there is a gaping hole at the foot so I never got super excited about it.

I was dubious of the armholes leaking heat but there is something like 5 inches of overlap and initial reviews seem to say it's not a problem. Another issue I've had with my current bag is not being long enough, even with the long size I sometimes compress the down in the foot box and freeze my poor toes. Initial "lying down in REI" tests suggests adequate length for this bag.

The cost is of course a problem, even with an REI 20% off coupon it comes in at $320 (for the long size) and I suspect it will be awhile before they make it onto ebay. My only hope is the odd design will be off-putting to a few early adopters and one will magically fall into my hands at another sidewalk sale.

Hey, thats how I got pretty much everything else I own.