REI Co-op Magma 15 - Women's Review

The Magma will keep you warm just below freezing temperatures and is roomy in the legs, but the placement of the zipper is awkward and can be uncomfortable.

Performance Comparison

The REI Magma 15 will keep you warm on cool nights in the alpine.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Warmth

Warmth is the Magma's highest-scoring metric; it is very warm. We slept in it in the alpine of the Sierra Nevada in late September and were too hot! However, the placement of the Magma's zipper is strange. It winds from your right shoulder to the middle of your chin, so when the bag is partially unzipped, your neck and shoulder are exposed. The way the zipper is placed makes the bag feel cooler than a conventional zipper because it gapes open unless completely zipped up. Whereas with a conventional side-zip bag, you can still drape it over yourself unzipped, and it won't feel as drafty as when it's open up down your front.

The Magma 15 has a very warm 23.5 ounces of 850 fill to keep you warm at high elevations and on cool nights.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Weight

In the grand scheme of things, the Magma is a relatively light bag. However, if you're looking to shave off ounces in your lightweight kit, it is almost a half a pound heavier than the lightest competitors in this review. This is a trade-off for its impressive warmth offering.

The REI Magma is on the heavier side for longer trips into the backcountry.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Comfort

We love how cushy and lofty the Magma's 850 fill feels. The foot and leg area feels surprisingly roomy and comfortable. Unfortunately, the shape of the zipper is uncomfortable and caused lots of tossing and turning on our pads.

The Magma's asymmetrical zipper design means you have to have the bag completely zipped up or your shoulder and neck will be exposed, making this bag difficult to vent and uncomfortably drafty for side sleepers.

Credit: Ian McEleney

When the zipper is completely closed, the bag is very warm and cozy, but some people may feel claustrophobic as the hood is a very tight fit and comes right up to your mouth. As we mentioned already, it's hard to vent and difficult for side sleepers to stay warm unless it's fully zipped up because your shoulder sticks out of the opening.

We find the Magma's hood shape very fitted and it can feel claustrophobic when zipped up all the way.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Packed Size

The Magama is super lofty and is not as compressible as the other bags in this review with a similar or higher fill power. However, it does have more fill overall, which contributes to a bulkier bag (and a warmer one!). We couldn't fit this into some of the smaller stuff sacks that came with other products.

The Magma is not as compressible as other high-end down bags, but does have more down fill than most.

Credit: Jessica Haist

Features

We wish the Magma had an inner pocket! This is the one feature we really like in a sleeping bag so we can stash things like earplugs, headlamps, and phones.

We like the Magma's anti-snag zipper pull but wish the zipper didn't wrap around to the center of the bag.

Credit: Jessica Haist

As mentioned, we're not fans of the shape of the zipper. We think the neck baffle is silly and gets in the way unless the bag is fully zipped up. It sticks out because it's meant to cross over where the zipper comes up. If REI just made the zipper a normal shape, then they wouldn't have to create the annoying neck baffle feature. We do like that the Magma has snag-proof zipper pull.

The Magma's neck baffle is awkward because of the way the zipper is.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Value

In general, REI's products are of good value, and the Magma is no exception to this rule. We think it's a great value for a product with 850 down. However, we would still think some of the lighter and slightly more expensive products are a better value if trying to save weight.

We like how cushy and lofty the Magma is.

Credit: Ian McEleney

Conclusion