Nemo Equipment Men's Forte Men 35 Sleeping Bag

Product Information

In my opinion, NEMO’s Forte experiment was a success. The Forte Endless Promise sleeping bag held up its end of the bargain, both for the environment and the consumer. And, improvement updates like the draft collar and gills are awesome. I honestly expected nothing less from a NEMO product. While this was practical for those wanting the functionality of a blanket with a sleeping bag feel, it added weight and allowed some warmth to escape at the feet. The Enigma eliminated this, shaving off some ounces, and trapping precious heat. Of course, this makes naming conventions more difficult, as most sleeping bags have a specific temperature as part of their name. This means it’s up to the manufacturer to decide how they want to distill the tested ranges into the naming of their bag. The Forte’s specifications sheet shows that its lower limit is 31F, so I think naming it as a 35F bag is overly optimistic for many users. The Comfort rating for the Forte is not listed. ISO/ EN Standards describe the Lower Limit Transition Range as the temperatures at which a standard man is “in a situation of fighting against cold (posture is curled up inside the sleeping bag), but in thermal equilibrium” and not shivering. Since the hood is oriented facing upwards, when sleeping on my side with a pillow inside the hood, it exposed the side of my face, but still kept my ears covered. As we said before, down is warmer than synthetic insulation gram for gram. As the fill power (also called CUIN) rating for down climbs higher, so does the price. A 950-fill down does a much better job of trapping heat than a 600-fill down.

Some sleeping bags have a women’s-specific version that you can choose (which sometimes just means it’s shorter), while other models are designed solely for women. Sometimes the changes make a noticeable difference for women, other times a men’s or unisex model will work just fine. Value While this bag is on the upper end of the price range, the construction and materials justify the cost. Our only complaint in testing was that it is very tight to get in and out of. This is par for the course for a lightweight mummy bag, but worth considering if you are larger or prefer side sleeping. When we first saw this bag at Outdoor Retailer , we knew it would advance tech in the sleeping bag market. Leveraging what the brand calls its Thermo Ionic Lining Technology (TILT), the Mythic Ultra boasts an incredible warmth-to-weight ratio. At 1 pound, 8 ounces for the 20-degree, this is one of the lighter three-season mummy bags out there. The superior warmth and wind resistance match that of heavier models, but the minimal weight is achieved by a pretty slim, simple design, which we found does cut down on overall comfort. This wasn’t too much of an issue for us, as we actually like the close-cut feel of a down coffin, but some may want more room to stretch out or splay their legs.Its 650 fill-down lofts to 5.5 inches and is protected by a DWR (durable water repellent) ripstop nylon shell. The 20-denier shell holds up well to abuse, and the 30-denier liner is soft against the skin. At two and a quarter pounds, this bag is an average weight for its class. By accepting the challenge of mono-polymer construction and building Forte from just a single type of material, this product is fully recyclable, further keeping waste out of landfills.

The main thing to consider when buying the Disco 15 is this: how important is having that extra space for you? For some people, being more comfortable is priceless and carrying an extra pound is just an afterthought. It’s filled with 650-fill-power down certified to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). The shell is made of 20 denier ripstop nylon and has a DWR finish to help product from moisture and stains. Personally, I would go with a lighter sleeping bag that costs more because I would rather carry more food than more sleeping bag weight.THERMAREST & MSR: Sale! 30% Off all MSR Tents and Thermarest Sleeping Bags including the award-winning Parsec 0! And after 15 different prototypes, it had created a fully recyclable, mono-polymer sleeping bag made up of 90% polyester without sacrificing any of the durability and performance its products are known for. Same Well-Loved Bag, New Features, Different Impact (Photo/Gabriela Daugherty)

You can also choose between 7D, 10D, or 20D fabrics for the outside, and 7D and 10D for the inside to adjust the durability of the quilt. We found that a 10D outside and 7D inside held up just fine over months of abuse. The baffles are thoughtfully designed into a continuous U shape which reduces feather shifting, and the stitching between the baffles doesn’t go all the way through the quilt, eliminating cold spots. The vertical baffling design makes it near impossible for the down material within to shift and produce the much dreaded down-less cold spots. The NEMO Forte 35 is a spoon-shaped synthetic sleeping bag designed for side sleepers. As a rotisserie sleeper myself, I had a hard time using this bag. As I moved from side to side, I got tangled up. When I’m in a traditional body-hugging mummy bag, I tend to stay more in one place, and when I do move, the bag moves with me. There is enough girth in the Forte that the bag didn’t turn when I did, so I found the zipper ending up in a bunch of different places, having to readjust the Blanket Fold, and fighting the oversized hood.The Cosmic 20 is rated with an ISO Comfort of 32°F or 0°C and a lower limit of 21°F or -6°C, so it ought to keep you warm even if temps dip just below freezing. Unlike most low-cost rivals, this cosy down is exclusively sourced from Allied Feather + Down, which in turn is an RDS (Responsible Down Standard) certified supplier. The bags’ shell fabrics additionally only use environmental and health-friendly PFC-free durable water repellent (DWR) treatments. Similar to the Forte, the Disco has the Nemo spoon shape design offering additional room in the knees and hips for women, and shoulder and hips for men. It’s great for side sleepers who need extra room around the knees. We also appreciate the removable straps on the bottom of the bag which can be secured around your sleeping pad, preventing you from slip-sliding around at night, and boosting the thermal efficiency of your sleep system as a whole. We take these off for missions where weight is a concern, but appreciate them when we can afford the luxury. Baffles in a sleeping bag are sewn separations that keep the down in place to prevent it from bunching up. It is important to consider baffle size and placement in a down bag. After years of use, the feathers tend to migrate into clumps. A little care and proper maintenance can prevent this. Comfort Rating: This is the temperature at which an average female should experience a comfortable night’s sleep. On average, women sleep colder than men, so this rating is some degrees above the "comfort lower limit" for a man.

The highly successful Nemo Forte 20 Sleeping Bag has been updated for 2023 with new insulation and fabrics. It retains the comfortable and spacious 'spoon' shape, so it is still wider at the elbows and knees, meaning you can toss and turn as much as you want without the bag restricting you. For thru-hikers and ultralight fanatics, the name of the game is cut weight at all costs. If you want to have the best warmth to weight ratio, you’re going to have to splash out on something like the REI Magma 15 (1 lb 14 oz.). And though both bags have a spoon shape, Forte uses a Classic spoon shape while Tempo uses a Relaxed spoon shape. Virtually all modern, high-quality sleeping bags (like those in this guide) use a hydrophobic down, such as the Nemo Disco 15. Hydrophobic down requires treating the down material with a durable water-repellent (DWR) product.Along with hitting the mark to make it a part of the Endless Promise collection, the Forte’s comfort and performance were clearly still priorities for NEMO. Sizes, Specs, and Prices (Photo/Gabriela Daugherty)