The North Face Thunderhead Review

"Hello everyone!! This is a Great bag for the money (try Dick's Sporting Goods: $79.99...best price I've found). Keeps you warm when necessary and is very comfortable. The fabric is silky smooth. I am six foot one and the large (long) gives me enough room to "stretch out." The Thunderhead is extremely lightweight for a 20degree bag (+/-3lbs.) It also packs down pretty small. And, since it's synthetic, it keeps you warm even if you decide to take an involuntary dip in the water...unlike a bag with down filling which loses its warming abilities when wet. Some people have commented that the zipper on the Thunderhead gets stuck in the fabric around the zipper but I've never had a problem with this. All and all, it's probably the best bag out there for the money...but, make sure and get it on sale ;)"

"A good bag for the money. Could use tougher fabric around the zipper, it does snag. Draft tube a nice feature. I have found the 20 degree rating to be a bit ambitious though."

"I have owned this bag for a while now and it has been on many backpacking trips. For the money you cant go wrong -- I got mine for about $60. And since I am allergic to down the polar 3d fill was ideal. However, after some long-term use I have found a few problems. First, the zipper gets stuck frequently!!!, not a big issue if you pay attention to what you're doing, but worth mentioning. Also the rating of 20 degrees is far to low, I would say its more in the upper 20 to lower 30 range at best -- 30 degrees sounds fair to me. I have had it in all kinds of weather from near zero to the upper 60's (during nights) and you can make it work if you're willing to wear clothes to bed. The largest problem I've had is that the loft after a good amount of use seems to have shifted and compressed greatly creating cold pockets. And no I do not store my bag in the stuff sack either, but this also lets you compress the hell out of the bag which may have caused the problem in the first place. Then again my bag has seen over a 100 miles on the trail so its held up pretty well. Overall this has been a great bag. If I were to do it over again I think I would go with something a little smaller and lighter as my cold weather hiking days are hopefully all behind me."

"I've had this sleeping bag for a few years now, and I've grown pretty fond of it. I like that it packs into a small space and is so light. The downside is definitely the temperature rating. It's rated to 20 degrees, but at temperatures well above that I've had to sleep with multiple layers of clothing. I'm a little sad that if I decide to do trips involving really high altitude or cooler times of the year, I would have to get another bag. This one does okay in the summer, but even that's pushing it sometimes."