I have a drawer full of socks just for hiking and backpacking. Winter blends, summer blends, tall, short, wool, synthetic, thick, thin, you name it and they are probably in there if you dig. Despite all the options I find myself going to the same few time after time and am always a little nervous when trying new pair.
While I have learned to accept that lukewarm water is a fact of life when spending long days outdoors, that doesn't mean that I don't dream of having a cold refreshing drink on hot days at the crag or on long summit approaches. Unfortunately in Southern California cool refreshing mountain streams are hard to come by. Always trying to be conscious of weight… I contemplated the pros and cons of an insulated water bottle.
The enjoyment of our Feathered Friends sleeping bag began on my first phone call to the Seattle based company, the person who helped me spent a good amount of time on the phone as we figured out the build of my new bag. We discussed down fill choices as well as the coating and material of the bag and color options.
The bag I chose was their award winning Spoonbill UL, which is a specialty bag that is built for two. It has the same fill as their 20 degree bag, but because two people are in it the rating of the bag is dependent on how warm a sleeper the residents are, Saveria is a warm sleeper so I knew we would be in good shape for our WTC snow camp.
When I received the bag it was in perfect AdventurUs colors, which was an added bonus. We were so excited we tried to sleep in it on our bed for a couple of days, but it was a bit too warm for indoor use.
The first time we used it was on a weekend trip to Joshua Tree NP in late February, it was actually a little warm but with the half zips on either side we were able to regulate our temp very easily. We finally got to put the bag to the real test over a March 2 night / 3 day trip in the Eastern Sierras. Our first night was just under 9000 ft. near a stream on dirt where it dropped to 19 degrees, the only thing cold was my nose. It easily stuffed away, about the size of my 15 degree bag and Saveria carried it (don't feel too bad I carried the whole tent...and our Jetboil Sumo too). Our second night was just under 10,000 ft on snow above a lake, the temp felt warmer and was a perfect nights sleep.
We got a "regular" length, I am 6'2" and Saveria is 5'1", sorry 5'2" :) and we both fit in easily with any clothes we wanted to stuff in the bottom.
My experience ordering to using the Feathered Friends Spoonbill could not have been better. A big thank you to them and a big recommendation to anyone looking for a great 2-person bag .
