Feathered Friends Vireo UL Review
Our Verdict
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Feathered Friends Vireo UL | |||||
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Awards | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Price | $389 List $429.00 at Feathered Friends | $469 List $469.00 at Feathered Friends | $450.00 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $320 List | $200 List |
Overall Score ![]() |
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Star Rating | |||||
Pros | Super simple and light, highest quality down, spacious and comfortable | Highest scoring ultralight sleeping bag, best features, and most versatile | Warmth-to-weight ratio, excellent fabric, best bag with a hood, versatile | Very affordable, highly customizable, versatile, lots of features | Very inexpensive, versatile, good feature set |
Cons | No zipper, hard to tell the difference between variable fill zones, must be paired with warm jacket, feet can get hot in warmer weather, not as versatile as other ultralight bags | Not as warm as others (in the version we tested), neck draw cords loosen over time | Tight fit, shallow hood, expensive | Long wait for product to be custom made and shipped, foot box draw cord still leaves a little hole, lots of buttons and straps | Not as warm as similar quilts, doesn't seal at the bottom very well |
Bottom Line | A lightweight, variable fill, hoodless mummy without a zipper, designed to be used for alpine climbing in conjunction with a belay parka | The highest scorer because of its versatile design that allows it to be a fully opened blanket or a fully zipped hoodless mummy | A stellar choice for those looking for a warm, lightweight, fully hooded mummy | Offers the versatility of sleeping under it as a blanket or fully wrapped up, with a huge range of customizable options | A quilt with good features at an unbeatable price |
Rating Categories | Feathered Friends V... | Feathered Friends F... | Western Mountaineer... | Enlightened Equipme... | Hammock Gear Econom... |
Warmth (30%) | |||||
Weight (25%) | |||||
Comfort (20%) | |||||
Versatility (15%) | |||||
Features (10%) | |||||
Specs | Feathered Friends V... | Feathered Friends F... | Western Mountaineer... | Enlightened Equipme... | Hammock Gear Econom... |
Manufacturer Stated Temperature Rating | 25F lower half, 45F upper half | 40F | 32F | 20F | 20F |
Measured weight, bag only (ounces) | 16.4 oz | 19.1 oz | 19.0 oz | 20.9 oz | 25.0 oz |
Stuffed Size | 7" x 10" | 7" x 10" | 6" x 12" | 7" x 12" | 6" x 10" |
Stuff Sack Weight | 0.8 oz | 0.8 oz | 1.0 oz | 0.6 oz | 0.6 oz |
Manufacturer Claimed Weight | 16.7 oz | 20.0 oz | 19.0 oz | 20.2 oz | 22.2 oz |
Fill Weight | 9.4 oz | 8.4 oz | 10.0 oz | 13.0 oz | 13.2 oz |
Shell Material | Pertex Endurance UL | Pertex Endurance UL | 100% nylon ripstop | 10D nylon fabric | 20D nylon taffeta |
Fill Power | 950+ goose down | 950+ goose down | 850+ goose down | 850 Downtek | 800 fill duck down |
Style | Hoodless, zipperless mummy | Center zip mummy bag or unzip for quilt | Hooded mummy | Quilt | Quilt |
Construction | No hood, no zipper and a variable fill | Continuous baffles | Continuous baffle | U-shaped baffled quilt | Box baffle consruction |
Shoulder Girth | 64" | 62" | 59" | 55" | 55" |
Hip Girth | 48" | 48" | 51" | 55" | 50" |
Foot Girth | 38" | 39" | 38" | 55" | 45" |
Zipper Length | No zipper | Full-length center zip | Full-length | 1/3-length at bottom | 1/3-length at bottom |
Sizes | 62", 68", and 74" | Regular, long, and wide | 5'6", 6', and 6'6" | Short/regular, regular/regular, regular/wide/ long/wide | Short, standard, long, wide-short, wide-standard, wide-long |
Temp Options (degrees Fahrenheit) | 25, 45F | 20, 30, 40F | 32F | 10, 20, 30, 40F | 0, 10, 20, 30, 40F |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Vireo UL is unique in that it has a few different design elements not found on any other sleeping bag in this review. It is the only mummy bag to forego the use of a zipper, which we somewhat lamented. No zipper meant this bag is not easy to get in or out of (can you say wriggle?), and for a bag that is designed for climbing, creates quite a conundrum as to the best way to stay tied in. Well, there is no debate, the only way to stay tied in is to run the cord out the top of this bag, but we find this to be annoying and less than ideal.
What we did like was the unique variable fill: the bottom half of the bag is rated to 25F, and the top half to 45F. The idea is to use an insulated jacket that you must carry anyway to keep you warm at night. Because it is meant to be paired with a bulky jacket, the fit in the torso is the most spacious of any mummy bag we tested, and on warm nights you can always sleep in this bag without the belay jacket. That's what we did most of the time when using it for backpacking, and we simply loved the extra space.
Feathered Friends products are not sold at major online retailers. Go directly to their website to purchase:FeatheredFriends.com.
Performance Comparison
Warmth
As we have mentioned many times already, the Vireo UL has a variable fill of 25F on the lower body and 45F on the upper body. To be honest, observing from the outside, it is hard to discern the difference in lofting insulation between the two halves. To accomplish this, Feathered Friends uses 9.4 ounces of 950+ fill goose down, which is amongst the highest rated down of any bag we tested. The baffles are horizontally oriented, rather wide, and sewn through. Unfortunately, we noticed that down seems to be able to move around quite freely in these large and wide baffles, and toward the end of our testing period, we noticed that a few total dead spots had developed where the down had migrated out of a certain area, leaving it devoid of insulation.
While it doesn't have a hood, we still found this bag to be pretty warm. We tested it primarily while backpacking and camping out on climbing trips, and found that on nights where the low temperature was in the 40's, we still felt comfortable without needing to add our puffy down jacket.
Weight
We tested a 74 inch long Vireo UL, which is the longest size that they make. Our test model weighed in at 16.4 ounces, slightly lighter than the advertised 16.7 ounces, and the included stuff sack weighed an additional 0.8 ounces. This made it one of the lighter sleeping bags in our test.
Comfort
Since this is a hoodless mummy bag that is only meant to come up over the shoulders while being worn, the size choices are a bit short compared to most that we tested. For this test, we purchased a 74-inch bag, which was the longest option (it also comes in a 62-inch option). This length easily fits our head tester's 5'11" frame, comfortably coming over the top of the shoulders. While the legs and feet of this bag are quite narrow, the torso and upper body region are the widest and most spacious of any mummy bag tested, significantly adding to how comfortable we felt. When we didn't wear an extra jacket inside, this bag felt downright palatial! Even with the down jacket on, as it is designed to be used, the upper body is not too restricting.
With no zippers and only one single drawcord at the neck, there were virtually no features or cords that could annoy us while sleeping, and the score of 8 out of 10 for comfort was near the top of the ratings.
Versatility
With no zipper or enclosure system of any sort, this bag suffers in the versatility department. Not only is it a pain to wriggle in and out of, but it is literally impossible to ventilate on a warm night to let out some of the built up heat. Used in the mountain setting as it is designed to, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you intend to stretch this bag's usage to camping at the base of a mountain, or a simple backpacking trip, then it's a tad annoying.
The variable fill of this bag does add to the versatility a bit, as you always have the option of wearing an insulated jacket on cold nights, or foregoing any extra layers on warm nights. We also liked how the outer shell fabric is made of naturally water-resistant Pertex Endurance UL fabric, lessening the chances of water being an issue in the mountains.
Features
With very few features, there is not a whole lot to talk about here. The only feature that hasn't already been discussed is the single drawcord and buckle on the collar. We liked how the cord is made of static cord, as opposed to stretchy bungee cord, and the buckle does a fine job of holding the cord tight. Like many of the other bags, we still had the complaint that the long cord, when fully tightened, dangles in one's face and near the neck.
Value
The Vireo UL is about average when it comes to price. While we think the craftsmanship of this bag is excellent, ensuring that you get what you pay for, we have to concede that the design is a bit quirky, and probably is not ideal for very many people. Unless you are going alpine climbing and you don't mind the inconvenience of staying tied in while in this bag, we wouldn't recommend spending this much money for the Vireo UL.
Conclusion
The Feathered Friends Vireo UL is a specialty bag designed with alpine climbing in mind. Its variable fill is meant to take advantage of the insulation you are already carrying with you in the form of a belay parka, thereby saving weight. With no zipper at all, entering and exiting this bag is best described as awkward, and we aren't sold on the idea of needing to run our tie-in cord down through the top of our bag while bivying. That said, the very spacious fit was among the most comfortable we tested, and it is an adequate lightweight bag for backpacking during the shoulder seasons, not just while alpine climbing.
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