Eureka Dual Temp 30/50 Review

Likes
Loft, measured by the number of inches of insulation between your body and the exterior environment, is the best indicator of the warmth of a sleeping bag or insulating garment. The Dual Temp series by Eureka (Mountain Hardwear and other companies also make similar bags) intends to reduce weight by minimizing the amount of insulation underneath your body. This insulation gets compressed beneath you, thereby creating little loft and minimal warmth. Backpacking sleeping bags address this problem by either having continuous baffles, which allow you to move the down from the top to bottom and vice-versa, or by eliminating the bottom of the bag entirely, like the ten or more quilt style bags we've tested. Reducing insulation on the bottom of a bag is highly effective at reducing weight. Unfortunately, Eureka's DualTemp series bags are far too heavy and too bulky for backpacking. This concept is useful in a synthetic bag when it's applied to a high performance bag with better insulation and fabrics. For example, Mountain Laurel Designs makes a synthetic quilt for extended backpacking trips in wet conditions. But in this case, we believe the dual temp design is a drawback.

The best part of this bag is its neck drawcord. Few rectangular synthetic bags offer these, and they're critical to trapping hot air.

Dislikes
Less insulation on the bottom of this bag reduces its comfort. The bag isn't suitable for backpacking (many tents weigh under three pounds) so this just reduces its performance.

Like all budget bags, this one uses low quality polyester fabrics. Nylon is widely regarded as a superior material in high performance applications; it's used in all high performance bags included in our backpacking sleeping bag review.

Value
All bags in the DualTemp series are comparatively expensive for their warmth and comfort.