The North Face Mercurial Liner Bag Sleeping Bags Metallic Silver Centennial Red One Size AJSD Review

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(More customer reviews)Northface has built its name in large part on making rugged and dependable products for the extreme outdoors.If you want to climb Everest, a Northface tent, sleeping bag, and outerwear will be top of your packing list. And for the majority of us that only dream of climbing one of the seven summits, buying a piece of their equipment invokes the spirit of outdoor adventure even if you are just camping out in a state park.

Over the years, I have purchased several Northface products, from mountain jackets to one of their famous blue kazoo sleeping bags.Generally, I have observed that their high end products, say a $450 jacket, provide class-leading design, features, and durability. In contrast, their lower-end lines, such as a $100 jacket, are about on par with almost any other brand.You are probably paying a premium for the name on either end of their pricing spectrum, but their differentiation is at the more expensive end.

This past month I was looking for a sleeping bag to take on a trip that would cover a spectrum of mild to cool climates: I was crewing on a 55' sailboat crossing the North Pacific.The temperatures of the sleeping quarters would range from about 50 degrees to 70 degrees.The new Northface Mercurial sleeping bag caught my eye.It is lightweight (at under 2 lbs), compact (stuffs to 6"X14"), and has a novel design: by turning the bag on one side or the other or inside out, you you can adjust the level of warmth or coolness to, in theory, three different levels.To accomplish this, Northface added more fill to one side than the other and on the thinner of the two sides made one of its sides fabric.So to adjust the warmth:

1. coolest - thin side up and inside out
2. warm - thin side up (but not inside out)
3. warmest - thick side up

Works great in theory.If you are using the bag on a big flat surface, in daylight, and take the time to adjust properly it is ideal.In practice, however, you are usually using a sleeping bag in a confined space, or at night in partial or complete darkness, or you are tired and just want to roll in without thinking about sleeping bag "set up." Moreover, if you roll over at night you will find half your body in one temperature zone and your other half in another.For example, it is a cool night so you have the thick side up.You roll one way or the other and the thin side is the part covering your back and your back is now cold.And even in ideal circumstances you feel a little cheated with the thin side down: you would like as much cushioning on the ground as you do the top.

At home, it is great for use as a blanket.You can take time and adjust it as you like.In the "outdoors," I gave up on the cool, warm, warmest idea and just used the thing like a sheet and threw a blanket over it.

5 stars for the three temperature idea
5 stars for lightness and packability
5 stars for cost - at $100-110 this a good "value" for Northface product
4 stars for construction - great zipper, great exterior surface
3 stars for the interior fabric surface (the black webby stuff) - it feels flimsy
2 stars for outdoor, practical use

Tough to rate between a 3 and 4 star.For an outdoor product overall, might give it a 4 star, but rating against other Northface products, believe this is closer to a 3 star since their products are meant for the real outdoors.

(One side note: this bag is sold alternatively as a sleeping bag "liner" as the exterior is not water-resistant.Would still say you have the same issues on temperature regulation and it is too thick, too heavy, and too expensive to just serve as a liner.)

If you like the Northface name and need a light blanket for a car trip or in the back yard, this is a good bag.If you need a bag to use in the great outdoors, pick another and just use the zipper to regulate the temperature.

Hope this review helps.

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Product Description:
The North Face Mercurial Liner Bag Sleeping Bags Metallic Silver Centennial Red One Size AJSD A light packable travel bag with an innovative baffle system that yields three comfort ranges. Three temperature configurations for wide range of uses Stuffsack inverts to use as pillow Travel friendly packed size Ultralight trims including mini drawcord and #5 YKK zipper Hang loops Weight Avg: Regular- 1 lb 10 oz (751g) / Long - 1 lb 13 oz (818g) Stuffsack Size 6 in x 14 in (15 cm x 36 cm) Sleeping BagsSleeping Bags

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