The North Face Cat's Meow - Women's Review

The Women's Cat's Meow has slimmed down on unnecessary features included in previous versions. It's added warmth by putting insulation in all the right places, piling more on top and less on the bottom, making it more effective. Its shell and insulation materials make it super compressible as well, despite being a synthetic model. This is a great value bag for a tight budget, and a good option for wet or humid weather.

Performance Comparison

The Cat's Meow is our favorite synthetic bag and our favorite steal-of-a-deal under two hundred bucks.

Photo: Ian McEleney

Warmth

The Cat's Meow is rated at an EN comfort rating of 22-degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature rating is slightly warmer than average, and we would agree that the Cat's Meow performs similarly. This bag is warm and cozy, keeping us warm on cold nights, be it dry or wet. Much of its ample warmth is attributed to its new design.

The North Face has gotten clever with constructing the Cats Meow. They have moved the majority of the insulation to the top layer and just left a thin layer on the bottom. We think this is super smart and way more efficient. Insulation keeps heat in by trapping air molecules in the loft. This air warms up, keeping you warm. Any insulation that is under your body is being compressed, and therefore not lofty, so it is ineffective at containing heat and keeping you warm. Your sleeping pad is what should be keeping you warm and insulating you from the ground, not the insulation on the bottom of your sleeping bag. The Cat's Meow does a great job keeping you warm with its smart design.

Not only that, but the loft is made of synthetic fibers that will retain their warmth, even when wet. This adds to its overall warmth in all types of conditions. Our verdict? This is a super warm synthetic option that will keep you cozy in all sorts of conditions, down to almost 20-degrees Fahrenheit.

The North Face Women's Cats Meow has most of its insulation on the top of the bag to take full advantage of the heat storing loft.

Photo: Ian McEleney

Weight

Weighing in at 2.5 pounds, the Cat's Meow is a light synthetic bag. In comparison to most of its down competitors, it's not as lightweight, but it does beat out some budget down models and is our top option if you're in search of a synthetic bag that offers a lightweight design.

One way to lighten your load with this product is to choose a different compression sack. The Cat's Meow's included compression sack weighs 4.2 ounces, which is unnecessary weight. By purchasing a lighter sack, you can shave off the ounces, making it a more viable option for adventures that require lightweight gear. While 2.5 pounds is fairly lightweight for short backpacking trips, it is not our favorite for long adventures that will have you trudging for hours, day after day, on repeat. Avoid it for super long thru-hikes.

We like that The North Face slimmed down the Cat's Meow's features and it is now a lighter and more versatile bag.

Photo: Ian McEleney

Comfort

We love the Cat's Meow's soft shell and liner materials. They are very comfortable and feel soft on the skin. It is also nice that this bag still has a thin layer of synthetic on the bottom layer so you don't feel the more coarse materials that would otherwise cause discomfort. Sleeping in it is plush and comfortable, offering a nice sleep all night long.

The fit of this bag is on the snug side. Our 5'5" tester, who is usually exactly the right size for most women's sleeping bags (which often come in a single "women's" size) found that she could barely get her head into the hood, making it feel slightly claustrophobic. We couldn't find any sizing materials on TNF's website, but Amazon says that the max height for size Regular would be 5'6". We think it is closer to 5'4".

The North Face Women's Cats Meow is a bit of a snug fit for a regular size woman. Our 5'5 tester found she could barely get the hood up.

Photo: Ian McEleney

Packed Size

As with most synthetic bags, the Cat's Meow is not very compressible. As we mentioned, the compression sack is huge and bulky. We like the idea of a compression sack for synthetic bags, but it should be smaller and less weight. We can cinch the compression straps all the way down and it could still be cinched smaller.

While most synthetic bags aren't as compressible as down options, this model stands out above the rest. Other down bags that sport additional features are not as compressible as the Cat's Meow. Overall, this is a great packed size among synthetic sleeping bags.

The Cat's Meow's included compression sack is too large for this bag and could be much smaller. Here we see it cinched down, but it could be compressed further with a better-fitting sack.

Photo: Jessica Haist

Features

We were pleasantly surprised when we received the Cat's Meow and discovered that The North Face had eliminated the "hand warmer pocket" that had been inside this bag's previous version.

We thought that this feature on the previous version of this bag was very unnecessary and added bulk and weight. The North Face has streamlined the features to create a much more versatile and higher performing product.

The Cats Meow is quite warm, especially when you cinch down the hood to keep all the warmth in.

Photo: Ian McEleney

Our favorite sleeping bag feature is the small stow pockets many manufacturers include inside their bags. Unfortunately, this product does not have one and we wish it did. They are convenient for keeping a headlamp or phone warm, preserving batteries, and at hand should they be needed in the night.

Value

The price has jumped around in the last several years, but we think the current price makes the Cat's Meow a great value product. It's a very light and compressible synthetic option. Its insulation will keep you warm when wet, making it a great option for humid or wet weather. All this wins it our recognition for anyone looking for a great sleeping bag without breaking the two hundred dollar price level. Its compressibility makes it decent for short backpacking trips while its warmth is sufficient for cold nights. Overall, it performs well for a lower price.

The North Face Women's Cats Meow is a great choice for wet or humid weather. Take it rafting or through the rain on the coast. It'll keep you warm and cozy through it all. Best of all, its price-to-performance ratio is excellent.

Photo: Jessica Haist

Conclusion