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Mountain Equipment Glacier 700 - Women's Review

We love the clever design features focused on warmth, but think this bag is too expensive for what it is
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mountain equipment glacier 700 for women sleeping bag review
Credit: REI Co-op
Price:  $530 List
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Manufacturer:   Mountain Equipment
By Jessica Haist ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  May 14, 2020
73
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#7 of 17
  • Warmth - 25% 8.0
  • Weight - 25% 5.0
  • Comfort - 20% 8.0
  • Packed Size - 15% 7.0
  • Features - 15% 9.0

Our Verdict

The Mountain Equipment Glacier 700 - Women's is a new product for us this year and we were pleasantly surprised in a few ways. It has very well thought out construction and design, which seems intended to keep you warm while spending time on a glacier. We're not super fans of the very pink color, considering it seems to be the only thing about this bag that Mountain Equipment changed from its men's version, and we wish it was a little lighter for carrying around with us on backpacking trips, especially considering its warmth-to-weight ratio and its price tag. All that said, it's a decent choice for overnight or multi-day backpacking trips, but we can recommend several other models that offer better value.
REASONS TO BUY
Very warm
Thoughtful design of features
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Low quality down
Heavy

Compare to Similar Products

 
Awards  Editors' Choice Award Editors' Choice Award Best Buy Award Top Pick Award 
Price $530 List
$316.93 at REI
$569 List
$529.00 at Feathered Friends
$589.00 at REI
Compare at 2 sellers
$340 List$274.39 at Amazon
Compare at 3 sellers
Overall Score Sort Icon
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72
Star Rating
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Pros Very warm, thoughtful design of featuresHigh-quality down, warm, lightweightHigh-quality down, warm and lofty, light, a top tier productComfortable, lightweight, excellent materials, not constrictingVery lightweight, small packed size, high-quality down
Cons Expensive, low quality down, heavySizing not for everyone, fabric is a bit noisyExpensiveComforter sometimes does not stay tucked inTight-fitting mummy bag, not very warm, expensive
Bottom Line We love the clever design features focused on warmth, but think this bag is too expensive for what it isThis high-end bag will keep you warm and comfortable from Spring to Fall in all conditionsA high-tech, high-quality backpacking sleeping bag with more roomy dimensions than mostA great, high-quality choice at a relatively low price for those looking for a lightweight bag that doesn't sacrifice comfortThis super-lightweight, compact bag is a great choice for fast and light, warm-weather adventures but does sacrifice some comfort and warmth for weight
Rating Categories Mountain Equipment... Feathered Friends E... Sea to Summit Flame 15 Sierra Designs Clou... Therm-a-Rest Hyperi...
Warmth (25%)
8.0
10.0
9.0
5.0
4.0
Weight (25%)
5.0
9.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
Comfort (20%)
8.0
8.0
9.0
8.0
5.0
Packed Size (15%)
7.0
8.0
9.0
9.0
10.0
Features (15%)
9.0
9.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
Specs Mountain Equipment... Feathered Friends E... Sea to Summit Flame 15 Sierra Designs Clou... Therm-a-Rest Hyperi...
ISO/EN Comfort Rating 21 F 20 F (not EN rated) 15 F 26 F 32 F
Fill Type Duck down Goose down Goose down PFC-Free DriDown 900-fill-power Nikwax Hydrophobic goose down
Measured Weight 2.6 lbs 1.7 lbs 2.0 lbs 1.7 lbs 1.2 lbs
Total Weight 41.6 oz 27.5 oz 31.2 oz 27.4 oz 19.0 oz
Fill Power 700 950+ 850+ 800 900
Women specific features Women's specific fit Extra fill in footbox and chest Women's specific fit - more insulation in key areas More insulation per square inch than men's version Available in a "Short" length, which is a standard women's size
Fill Weight 23.0 oz 17.3 oz (medium) 22.9 oz 14.8 oz 12.0 oz
Material DRILITE LOFT 50-denier Pertex Endurance UL Ultralight 10D Nylon Shell 15d nylon risptop 10D Nylon RipStop w/ DWR
Neck Baffle Yes Yes Yes No No
Pocket No No No No No
Sleeping Pad Sleeve No No No Yes Removable attachment straps
Zipper Length 54 in 62 in 56 in N/A 35 in
Shoulder Girth 62 in 54 in 60 in 59 in 55 in
Hip Girth 54 in 56 in 58 in 58 in 48.5 in
Foot Girth 40 in 38 in 40 in 39 in 36 in
Stuff Sack included? Stuff sack and storage bag included Stuff sack and storage bag included Compression stuff sack and storage bag included Stuff sack and storage bag included Compression sack and storage bag included

Our Analysis and Test Results

This super warm and comfortable bag has a lot of bells and whistles to keep you cozy during chilly nights in the backcountry.

Performance Comparison


mountain equipment glacier 700 for women sleeping bag review - the mountain equipment glacier 700 is a well thought out design...
The Mountain Equipment Glacier 700 is a well thought out design, focused on warmth and comfort.
Credit: Ian McEleney

Warmth


Warmth seems to be the Glacier 700's main area of focus (we guess we could have guessed that by its name). Although it's EN rated to 21 degrees, we think it is actually much warmer than a few of the other products that have this temperature rating, mostly because of it's thoughtful baffle design and features to store warmth. The Glacier's hood punches well above its weight class with huge amounts of down to insulate your head from the cold, which is important to feel warm. It also has a whopping 23 ounces of down fill, much more than other bags with the same EN temperature rating, which makes us wonder what all does the EN testing actually take into consideration?

Weight


Weighing in at 2.6 pounds, the Glacier is a bit on the heavy side for our liking. It's shell materials seem pretty hefty, and if it had a higher fill power there could be a lot less down weight for the same amount of warmth.

Comfort


The Glacier 700 is a very comfortable bag. Its mummy shape fits just right on our 5'5 tester and doesn't leave too much space for cold air to get in. We like its lofty baffles and cozy hood, as well as its soft liner materials.

Packed Size


The stuff sack that that comes with the glacier is on the large side and is not a compression sack, so its packed size is rather large. We think you could get the Glacier slightly smaller when using a different compression sack.

mountain equipment glacier 700 for women sleeping bag review - the glacier 700 in its included stuff sack. we think it could...
The Glacier 700 in its included stuff sack. We think it could compress down smaller inside a compression sack.
Credit: Ian McEleney

Features


As far as any women's specific features go, it seems like Mountain Equipment literally used the philosophy "shrink it and pink it" as the only difference we can find from the men's' version is it's smaller and pink.

mountain equipment glacier 700 for women sleeping bag review - the glacier 700 has lots of clever features including a great hood...
The Glacier 700 has lots of clever features including a great hood and drawstrings to help adjust it how you want.
Credit: Ian McEleney

Mountain Equipment seems to have designed this bag with care. Its baffles are carefully thought out, and the foot baffle design is especially interesting in a "peace sign" structure to keep the down in place where it counts.

We weren't sure about the "Lode Lock" closure that closes the neck baffle and it took us a bit of time to fumble around with it until we discovered the handy pull tab that easily opens it up. It's fun to hear it find itself (there are magnets) and close when you're in the bag.

mountain equipment glacier 700 for women sleeping bag review - the glacier's lode lock magnetic closure for the neck baffle.
The Glacier's Lode Lock magnetic closure for the neck baffle.
Credit: Ian McEleney

We prefer the anti-snag style of zipper many manufacturers are using these days to the Glacier's traditional-looking zipper with burly materials along either side of it to keep it from snagging. The extra material seems to add unnecessary bulk and weight and could be easily solved with a different zipper.

mountain equipment glacier 700 for women sleeping bag review - one of the last bags in this review to have a traditional zipper. we...
One of the last bags in this review to have a traditional zipper. We prefer the standard anti-snag zippers over the Glacier 700's "classic" style one
Credit: Ian McEleney

Value


The price point of this bag seems a little off. It is one of the more expensive bags in this review, but when its weight and materials are compared to the high-end bags we tested, it falls very short. The middle of the road 700 fill down and its 2.6 pound weight puts it in a category with much lower-priced products. Although it could be argued that there is a higher level of engineering in some of the features, we don't think the Glacier 700 is a great value for what it is.

Conclusion


This well thought out sleeping bag will keep you warm on cool nights in spring through fall. We thing some tweaks need to be made to its materials (upping the fill power, reducing weight) or its price point for it to be the right value.

Jessica Haist
 

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