The following is a Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20 review by Brittany Bailey, one of the HPL Pin Team members.
The one piece of gear that I think is essential to any traveler or adventurer is a good sleeping bag. A sleeping bag is useful for backcountry camping, car camping, staying in hostels or crashing on a friend’s couch.
The Women’s Lamina 20 from Mountain Hardwear is a women’s specific mummy sleeping bag. It has synthetic fill and is rated down to 20 degrees F. From Mountain Hardwear’s website it retails for $180.
>> Check deals and pricing for this sleeping bag on Amazon
I bought the sleeping bag to use for backpacking and camping. I chose synthetic fill over down because it will keep me warm even in if it gets wet. Synthetic sleeping bags also tend to be less expensive than down sleeping bags. I opted to get a women’s specific bag because of my height since women’s bags are typically shorter in length than other sleeping bags.
What I like about this bag:
It has a nice stash pocket located near the hood of the sleeping bag. It’s perfect for stashing anything small that you might need in the middle night. I keep my headlamp there so it’s always within reach. The pocket zips shut too so whatever you stick in there won’t fall out in the middle of the night.
The bag has a double zipper so it can be unzipped from the top or from the bottom. This means you can unzip the bottom to let air circulate around your feet to help keep you cool if you get too warm.
It comes with both a stuff sack and a compression sack. The stuff sack is a mesh bag that is meant for long-term storage. The compression sack can be used while traveling with the pack. It’s not recommended to store a sleeping bag in a compression sack for a long time but if you really needed to keep it packed down small you could do that. It packs down to being fairly small as you can see in the picture. It could probably get packed down even smaller if you pulled on the straps even more. This is nice for backpacking but also just any kind of travel where space is limited.
What I don’t like about this bag:
The only real issue I have with this bag is the color. I like the fact that it’s a brighter teal color, but since it’s lighter, it also shows dirt more. This isn’t a huge issue for me because it’s a piece of gear. It’s meant to be used and get dirty. But this might bother some people so I just wanted to point it out.
This bag is great for someone who does a lot of different kinds of traveling. It works well for backpackers, car campers and world travelers. It is warm but isn’t too warm, and it doesn’t take up a lot of space. I really would recommend it to anyone that’s looking into this kind of sleeping bag for the first time. It’s a good price no matter what kind of traveler you are. It packs up fairly small and doesn’t weigh a lot either. It isn’t the least expensive, smallest, or lightest option available, but it’s a good middle of the road option.
About Brittany: I’m a college senior studying anthropology at James Madison University in Virginia. I love doing anything that lets me be outside enjoying nature, especially camping. I’ve been hiking and exploring the outdoors all throughout Virginia and hope to explore the rest of the states and the world after graduation in May. Some of my big plans include hiking the Appalachian Trail sometime in the next couple years. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
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