The Sierra Designs Zissou Plus is the company‘s latest offering in a mummy style sleeping bag. Sierra Designs has been hard at work producing some really different options to traditional sleeping bags. The creativity behind the Backcountry Bed and Mobile Mummy style bags was used on a more traditional mummy style bag. The Zissou Plus is the result of their effort and I like it a lot. For the ladies, Sierra Designs offers the same design in the Eleanor sleeping bags. The women‘s version gets a little extra down for the same temperature rating.
The Zissou Plus is different from a traditional mummy bag in one big way. The sleeping bag has a left side zipper but also has a short zipper on the right hand side. When both sides of the top of the bag are un-zipped, the top of the body of the Zissou Plus becomes a comforter. You can cover up or push this blanket away however you wish for great temperature control. When fully zipped, the comforter can be tucked in around the face or can almost totally cover the face. I think this feature is terrific. It is a lot more comfortable than the more usual drawstring that is used to bunch up the top of the bag body. Instead of hard squished sleeping bag at your chin, there is a fluffy blanket, just like at home.
Just like a regular mummy bag, the Sierra Designs Zissou Plus has a draw string to cinch up the hood . Some bag hoods have what I would call a circular opening, and some have an oval shape. The Zissou Plus has a wider or more oval opening for the face but it draws up well with the cord. There is no fumbling around with upper and lower drawstrings to try and figure out which one to tighten. Since the bag body tucks around the face and does not need a drawstring, the second cord is eliminated.
Sierra Designs uses 700 fill power duck DriDown. The down has been treated to resist moisture to stay drier and dry more quickly than untreated down. When down gets wet, it loses most if not all of its insulation value. Ideally, your sleeping bag will be kept dry but everyone knows there is a lot of moisture out in the wild, so treated down technology is a big advantage. Sierra Designs has also incorporated a side baffle into the Zissou Plus. This continuous baffle goes all the way around the sleeping bag to hold the down in place. Because down can‘t keep you warm if it all gets shifted out of place.
Sierra Designs says the men‘s regular length Zissou Plus fits a person up to 6 feet tall and the long fits up to 6 feet 6 inches. I am 6 feet and ¾ inches tall. The regular length bag fits me just fine but I would not recommend the regular length for anyone taller. My shoulders measure 21 to 22 inches across and my chest size is about a 45. There is plenty of room in the Zissou Plus for me. The 3 season sleeping bag has an EN comfort limit of 27° F with a lower limit of 15° F. I slept warm, all the way down into the mid-twenties, so the temperature rating appears to be spot on.
The Sierra Designs Zissou Plus 3 season regular length tips my scales at 2 pounds 11 ounces in its stuff sack. The sleeping bag easily fits into this 8 by 16 inch stuff sack. It can be compressed to about 8 by 12 inches with a little effort. The outer shell material is 30D polyester ripstop and a 30D polyester taffeta is used on the inside for a nice feel.
MSRP on the Sierra Designs Zissou Plus 700 3 season is $269.95. Click here to visit the Sierra Designs website.
– Mark
Thanks to Sierra Designs for sending out a Zissou Plus for testing and review. We at Industry Outsider have limited budgets for gear, and being able to pass along useful information on these products benefits everyone.
I’ve had a few mummy bags in my day as a boy scout but this one looks really nice!!!