Big Agnes Torchlight UL 20 - Women's Review

The unique Torchlight UL 20 Women's has interesting features, like the expansion panels that increase roominess significantly. Unfortunately, they add unwanted weight and bulk to this good quality down sleeping bag. We aren't convinced this tradeoff is worth it for most folks, but backpackers consistently uncomfortable in narrow mummy sleeping bags may find some relief here.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

Although the Torchlight has "20" in its name, this product is EN rated to 24 degrees. We don't think most people would be comfortable in this bag down to those temperatures and would not use it in lower than freezing temperatures. Because of the ability for this bag to get super wide, we think it is not very warm if it is fully expanded because of all the air that needs to be warmed up. In short, utilizing the expansion panels means decreasing the warmth of this bag. When the zippers are done up we believe that a lot of down is getting compressed and therefore is not as effective. We like that the Torchlight has 850 fill down, which will help contribute to its warmth, but only if it is not being compressed.

Weight

We were disappointed at how heavy this bag is considering it has the Ultra Light designation. The Torchlight weighs 2.4 ounces, which is much heavier than the other down bags at its price point and with a similar amount and fill power of down feathers.

Comfort

This bag can definitely get very roomy. Folks with wider hips and/or shoulders will really like this fit. However, if the point of having the expansion zippers is to address the fact that some people feel claustrophobic in a mummy bag, they do not entirely succeed. By opening the expansion zippers up there's definitely a lot more room for your legs and torso, but it doesn't open the head/hood area up at all. When the bag is fully zipped up, it still feels claustrophobic and hard to get out of. This problem could be addressed by making the head/hood area wider and including a drawstring to cinch it down.

When the Torchlight's zippers are zipped up it's quite a tight fit, so you could undo one side and leave the other done up for a more custom fit. We also like how quiet and soft the shell material is. We tested the "Petite" size that is supposed to fit people up to 5' 5", and we found it fit our 5' 5" tester with room to spare, so if you're on the cusp of sizes we think this bag would fit up to 5' 6" or 5' 7".

Packed Size

The Torchlight comes with a lightweight stuff sack that is somewhat large. We think this bag could fit into a much smaller compression sack and would recommend purchasing one for this product. However, because of its extra zippers and material, the Torchlight is not as compressible as other similar down bags.

Features

This model has quite a lot of features. We like the internal pocket to stash things like our headlamp or earplugs in the night. We also like the Torchlight's high-quality down and soft liner materials.

The expandable panel feature is the most prominent and we don't think that the extra weight and bulk of this feature is worth the added comfort, unless you plan to keep the bag expanded all the time to fit your body shape - in which case this could be a good "fit" for you. The small zippers used to open and close the panels are very delicate and often catch the shell materials.

Value

The Torchlight UL is one of the more expensive products in our review and we don't think it represents a good value. It does have high-quality down fill and nice materials, but it is heavier and not as warm as its competitors at this price point.

Conclusion