Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed 700 - Women's Review

The Backcountry Bed 700 is a stomach sleeper's best friend. This comfortable and versatile sleeping bag allows you to sleep in all different positions and regulate your warmth with its quilt insert. It wins our Top Pick Award because the quilt makes you feel like you're sleeping in an actual bed and is very comforting.

The Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed a great choice for hanging out on a portaledge in Zion.

Warmth

The intricacies of the bag/quilt interface took some time to get used to. At first, our testers found this bag a bit drafty in colder temperatures if the quilt wasn't properly tucked. This is one drawback to the design of the Backcountry Bed, but once you get used to it, it becomes easier to use. When the quilt is completely tucked in, it seems to stay put, even when you move around. This bag has no zippers, so once it's all tucked in, there are no draft points to worry about. It also allows you to be stealthier getting in and out as not to disturb your tent mate undoing your zipper.

The temperature rating of EN comfort 20F seems slightly ambitious. We'd hesitate to take the Backcountry Bed out below freezing. We feel comfortable and warm in this bag at night when temperatures get down into the mid-30s. It has 24 ounces of 700 fill down, which is lower quality and loft other competitors but still feels fluffy and cozy. Luckily if you're a warm sleeper, it is effortless to regulate your temperature with the integrated quilt and foot vent. If you are too hot at night, you can open up the bag by lowering a corner of the quilt or throwing the whole thing off. The Backcountry Bed has cozy hand pockets in the edges of the quilt that you can use when the quilt is untucked, like a folded down comforter, or put your hands into wrap it around you inside. We like that the bag does not have insulation on the back through the torso, as it is meant to have a sleeping pad insulate you from the ground. But it is insulated all the way around the foot box — an area that women tend to get very cold. If you're looking for a product to stretch into the shoulder seasons the Feathered Friends Egret UL 20 is the warmest we tested.

The Backcountry Bed's quilt tucked in with the cord closure system done up.

Weight

Even though the quality of down is lower in the new version of the bag, we are impressed to see that Sierra Designs shaved 3 ounces off the old Backcountry Bed's. Weighing in at 2.55 lbs, it's a lofty and comfortable bag but not the lightest out there. While it's great for the average backpacker, this bag isn't a top choice for women looking to go ultra light on the trail. The very similar but higher quality Sierra Designs Cloud is almost a pound lighter and a great choice for lightweight backpacking.

The Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed's quilt un-tucked for stomach sleeping.

Comfort

Earning a Top Pick for this metric, this is the bag if you're seeking the ultimate in comfort. The quilt feature allows you to do virtually anything with your arms, including sticking them out of the bag…making the fit of the bag quite versatile.

When the quilt is all tucked in it feels very cozy, almost as if you are being cradled in it. The ability to regulate your temperature by adjusting the quilt and the foot gasket make it extra comfortable at many different temperatures. The Backcountry Bed has more room for the upper torso and arms. Side sleeping is still quite easily done — your legs just rotate inside the bag.

The Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed's quilt folded down, you can see the hand pockets on the corners.

In this new version of the Bed, the bottom of the bag seems to have been widened to allow for more leg room, offering a more restful sleep. Because of its ability to allow you to twist and turn with ease, it's a perfect option for stomach-sleepers or those who look for a bag that will simply stay in place.

Packed Size

Luckily this bag's shell material and fill are quite compressible. We can just barely fit it into a small compression sack when we are trying to keep the size of our pack down. That said, it's a great option for the traditional backpacker or car camper. However, if you're limited on space, you might seek a different option that offers a little more compressibility, like the Cloud.

The Backcountry Bed in its stuff sack. It compresses pretty well and could be made smaller in a compression sack.

Features

Sierra Designs has put a lot of thought into the design and features of this sleeping bag. We like how well all the features work together to create the whole package. The catenary shaped opening of the bag is somewhat womb-like, cradling you and keeping your arms tucked in, holding the quilt in place as well. Sierra Designs has added a cord closure system in the new 700 version to help keep the quilt tucked in when you want it. The quilt itself is lofty and cozy, and the hand/arm pockets work well when your arms are outside the bag, either on your back or stomach. We like the zipper-less foot-venting gasket, although it is quite easy to stick your feet out of it accidentally, this is only a minor problem.

The DriDown hydrophobic down fill will give you a bit more piece of mind if things are starting to get wet and soggy, and should keep the bag loftier longer. The updated version also has PFC free down. Read more about hydrophobic down in our Buying Advice Article.

Two of our most comfortable bags, Sierra Designs Cloud 800 (left) and Backcountry Bed 700 (right).

Best Application

This sleeping bag is great for three season camping and backpacking trips. If you are a stomach sleeper or feel claustrophobic in a regular mummy bag, the Backcountry Bed could be a great solution. As we have already mentioned, it is very versatile. It allows you to sleep in any position — except for starfish since your legs are still confined to the mummy bag shape. The ability to tuck and un-tuck the quilt allows you to regulate your temperature easily. The only downside is that this bag will never be able to mate with another sleeping bag if you have the desire to combine bags with another human.

Value

With the drop of quality and quantity of down fill, the price on the Backcountry Bed has dropped significantly with the new 2018 version and is now a more reasonable $320.

The Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed 700 (left) and Cloud 800 (right) in their stuff sacks. The Cloud packs down smaller.

Conclusion

This unique, versatile sleeping bag is a good, comfortable choice for backpacking and camping. It wins our Top Pick Award because it is so comfortable. We like the innovative partial quilt design and how the bag cradles us. It has lots of great features and high-quality materials. The 2018 version is less expensive, lighter and more compressible, but has lower quality down and doesn't seem as warm to us. Nine times out of ten we would recommend a lighter, more conventional sleeping bag over the Backcountry Bed, but for those who need more room for their torso to move around and want to feel more like they're in their bed, this could be the solution.