ProView – Big Agnes Storm King

There are few things I don’t camp without: strong coffee, big racks, and a great sleeping bag. For about the past month I’ve been testing the Big Agnes Storm King 0 Degree Sleeping Bag while climbing in the high desert of Colorado.

The Storm King is fantastic: I bivied right on the ground, crashed in my van and slept most places in-between without even a shiver! I sleep cold, not crazy cold, but cold (blame it on my climber body fat) but even on a 20-degree night, I was toasty in this bag.

A few things I really liked:

• The neck baffle comes up high but is not overly thick which allows you too cinch up the bag and still move freely.

• With the pad sleeve underneath, you never roll off your pad in the night, a huge plus for me since I move a lot when sleeping and would always wake up with a rock in my back with my other bags.

• It is made with DownTek, a great fill that is also water-repellant so morning dew or even light rain is not a problem.

• The zipper is a beefy, easy to pull rig, and it never bound up on me in all the time I used it. Zippers catching on me is generally a big gripe of mine when using other bags. Big Agnes provides a generous fabric piece along the zipper of the Storm King that keeps it running up and down with out a glitch.

Sizing: I’m 5’11 and I got the long version which gave me plenty of room to move about without jamming up my feet in the bottom. This, combined with a nice-sized hood, allowed for a very comfy night’s sleep.

I went with the 0 degree because, as I said, I tend to sleep cold. Most nights in the Storm King I would wear a light pullover to sleep but never a hat, which I used to wear often prior to this bag. Even sleeping in my van on cold nights, I just left it unzipped part way and the comfort was fantastic. The bag comes with a stuff sack that fits it perfectly and can be stowed in your pack easily. Even being a 0 degree, the bag can smash down to a very manageable size for backcountry or wall use. The Storm King 0 Degree Bag has already moved into the van full-time kicking out my other less warm and comfy bags for good!

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Craig DeMartino has been a climber for the past 24 years. He climbs around the US and the world chasing routes of all types… In 2002 he was accidentally dropped 100 feet onto the talus of Rocky Mountain National Park which resulted in the loss of his leg, a fused back and neck, and a lifetime of chronic injuries. It is also what led him to Paradox Sports. He leads clinics for Paradox teaching other disabled climbers how to get back to climbing, and life, with humor, psych, and a love for their new “normal”. Craig was the first amputee to climb El Capitan in Yosemite in under a day, part of the team on the First All Disabled Ascent of El Cap, and a Bronze Medal winner in the Paraclimbing World Championships in France. He is a dad and husband and loves to spread his love of climbing to the world through our programs at Paradox. – Paradox Sports