Review: The North Face Blue Kazoo Sleeping Bag

- product provided for the purpose of review, with thanks to outdoorkit.co.uk -

Making the most out of the good days in winter sometimes means spending a night out wild camping or on a commercial campsite, if you want to be able to perform at your best the next day then you need a good night's sleep, for a good night's sleep you need a good sleeping bag and this is where I found myself lacking. 

Weighing in at 1.12kg, with an RRP of £250 and regular height of 183cm it's all round average 3 season sleeping bag. 

Not the most expensive, heaviest or longest.

Manufacturer's description:

• The North Face Blue Kazoo is a fully featured technical sleeping bag for three season use stuffed with 650+ Hungarian goose down.

Technical features:

• Comfort temperature -2
• Limit temperature -9
• Packing size of 16.5cm x 53cm  
• 650 fill goose down
• DWR finish
• Climashield™ Prism thermal pads
• Internal draft tube pockets
• Lightweight compression stuffsack

Feature breakdown:

The Blue Kazoo's -2 rating makes this a three season bag, remember to take sleeping bag ratings with a pinch of salt as they're often a degree or two off depending on how warm an individual sleeps and the type of sleeping mat used. The packing size seems large to begin with but this is uncompressed and one of the big benefits of down is how small you can squish it. The 650 fill goose down is pretty standard for sleeping bags, providing good warmth for weight and cost. The DWR finish will be crucial to the down bag's success when it starts raining, down is famous for failing as soon as it's wet so the DWR will have to keep all the moisture out or the bag's ability to insulate will fall. The Climashield Prism thermal pads are areas of synthetic insulation which provide better insulation under compression, stopping cold spots from forming.  

Now let's see how well these features perform when the sun goes down!

Field testing:

Dartmoor is a beautiful place during the winter and early spring, cold and crisp mornings with blues skies - if you're lucky! It's been a while since I last went camping so it was great to have an excuse to get out on the Moors and do some wild camping. 

The Blue Kazoo compresses really well, the large packing size which they include in the feature list just doesn't do it justice. The sleeping bag fits easily into the stuffsack which then rolls down before you clip straps around it and really squeeze the air out. I was really impressed how small the bag went compared to a synthetic bag with the same comfort rating. 

Left: uncompressed stuff sack. Above: fully compressed.

The bag lofts quickly once removed from the stuff sack, it's ready to use in no time - great if the temperature's dropping quickly. The 650 fill goose down provides a good level of warmth to weight, it's positioned well throughout the bag, there's definitely more on top where it's free to loft to its full potential. The footbox felt a little chilly and could probably do with a little bit more down, something for The North Face to think about if they make any changes to this bag next year.

The different features worked well, and there were some subtle features which I really appreciated. The zip pull glows in the dark, something I'd never think of including on a sleeping bag but great when it's pitch black and you need to escape the bag. There's something about the construction of the bag which makes it want to be the right way round, I've used sleeping bags in the past which move around a lot but the Blue Kazoo stays in the right position with the down on top. 

Glow in the dark zip pull.

Apart from the footbox, the Blue Kazoo is a really warm bag - it easily lived up to the -2 comfort rating for me, I was using my Thermarest Pro regular mat with the bag and had some really comfortable nights on the Moor. Easily compressed, loft quickly and weighing in at just over a kilo makes this a great 3 season bag. Impressive stuff from TNF.

Long-term use:

As we slowly move out of winter and into spring the Blue Kazoo is becoming too warm to sleep in, I've begun opening it up otherwise I risk overheating during the night. Not bad when the night temperature is still only a couple of degrees. The bag is holding its down well, with very little making its way out of the bag. 

The DWR coating is still strong, keeping moisture away from the down, it beads well and water runs off the bag easily with no wetting out. 

I've been thoroughly impressed with the Blue Kazoo and it's definitely got a place in my gear cupboard, I'm even looking forward to the cold weather coming back! 

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Thanks for reading, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank outdoorkit.co.uk once again for providing the Blue Kazoo for review. If you'd like any more information about the sleeping bag then please click here to go to the product page. 

If you have any questions about the TNF Blue Kazoo sleeping bag you can ask me or contact outdoorkit.co.uk through their Facebook or Twitter.

Review: The North Face Point Five Jacket & Pants

- product provided for the purpose of review, thanks to outdoorkit.co.uk -

Today's review - The North Face Point Five Jacket and Trousers. Seen here on top of Cairn Gorm.

First impressions: 

TNF over the past few years have appeared from the outside as a brand which cares more about fashion than performance. The Summit Series gear, to me, is a way of getting back into the technical market and I was eager to see what they'd produced. None of the modern fabrics here, just good old Gore-Tex Pro, this and The North Face's knowledge of jackets and extreme environments meant I couldn't wait to get this partnership out and about, the first test was my Hill and Moorland leader assessment after that I had a 4 day winter skills course up in the Cairngorms, where a "weather bomb" was due! 

A good fit straight away, I went for the Large in both (6'2 and XL with Rab shells), TNF still fit pretty big compared with other manufacturers so you have to try their stuff on to know what you're getting. Not too heavy, good construction quality and good length at the back in the jacket. The pants were comfortable, felt absolutely bomb proof and come with a nice set of braces to keep them up, impressive construction once again with no loose thread anywhere and solid stitching. 

Jacket features - 

Standard features on the Point Five jacket: helmet compatible hood, drawcords around the bottom and helmet with two large harness compatible "alpine" pockets, 1 internal zipped pocket, Velcro wrist tabs, pit zips and a performance fit. 

Pant features - 

Front attachment braces, zippered thigh pocket, two zippered hand pockets, full length zips and internal gaiters with kick patches. 

Out and about on the Moor: 

Jacket - 

The jacket got hit with some testing conditions on the moors, some very high winds and brief spells of rain and sleet before the sun came out. A mix of wet and dry, cold and warm meant the jacket needed to be breathable for the warm stuff and bombproof for the wet stuff, luckily for me, it was! 

Really impressive stuff from the Point Five jacket, the water beaded well and ran off quickly without pooling in areas on the jacket. A great fit when out and about keeps the jacket down and stop. old and moisture getting in while giving it some wellie up a hill. 

The pit zips helped with breathability and moisture control within in the jacket, keeps a god breeze through the jacket means condensation won't form and form in cold conditions. 

Pants - 

I've never used internal gaiters before and I was eager to see how they compared with my Rab Hispars, we haven't had much rain on the Dartmoor but there were still some boggy areas and the occasional unexpected stream to cross. They did well with the wet stuff, stayed down on the boot and kept my feet dry. The pants weren't quite as breathable as the jacket, luckily the fill length zip allowed me to get some air in there and stop the moisture build up. 

The pockets are ok, the thigh one is a good place to store some cereal bars or snacks but there isn't much room for more stuff in there and the hand pockets are just that, not much room in those either. while I understand having baggy pockets on these pants would be much more of. hindrance than a help it would have been nice to have some more room to play with. 

Very windproof and very waterproof thanks to the Gore-Tex Pro material, unfortunately after a few days of heavy use the pants started to wet out a bit quicker as the Gore-Tex membrane became more clogged. It seems that all the materials in use at the moment require constant treatments to keep them operating at a acceptable level, a shame when prolonged use is required. 

Out and about in the Cairngorms: 

Jacket - 

Colder temperatures, stronger winds and snow instead of rain provided a different challenge for the Point Five jacket. Sweatier days and a greater need for breathability due to the sub zero temperature. The best bit about snow is that it's dry, it's only when it gathers and melt from your body heat or gathers and freezes that it becomes a pain! 

The jacket handled the conditions very well indeed, a real confidence booster when out in the mountains. I struggled to find any faults with it after getting the extreme weather out of the way on the first day, we experienced some really heavy winds, a brief whiteout and some sleet on the way down. I stayed dry the whole time and very happy in my bubble of Gore Tex. 

Trousers -

The trousers sturggled a bit more with the snowy conditions, they continued to keep the snow off but rain was beginning to wet out the trousers after such heavy continuous use. Any time I sat down on snow or cold rock my bum was quickly aware and began feeling damp, I expected the trousers to be a bit stronger on this front as sitting down is a vital part of a day in the snow!

The internal gaiters couldn't handle the deeper snow and my boot was full of snow in no time, perhaps the designers of internal gaiters need to have a long think about making a product which actually works. A real shame when keeping feet dry is such a key part of morale over the course of a day. The zip maintained its level of waterproofness and didn't become an easy way in for rogue rain or sleet. I loved the braces, they were great and a definite positive addition for the pants, making them front and back would have been nice but not crucial. 

Overall:

Jacket -

I was really impressed with the Point Five jacket, The North Face have done really well to get back into their technical kit with the Summit Series range and this jacket can stand proud with that badge on its arm. It handled wind, rain, snow and sleet all in intense situations where its ability was relied upon. Gore Tex has lost some of its followers over the years but this jacket has won me over, it's definitely on the way up and I look forward to seeing how the fabric develops over the next few years. 

Trousers -

The trousers didn't perform quite as well as the jacket over ther 8 days, while the jacket continued to shed liquid the trousers had begun to wet out and let a damp feeling creep in. The lack of bum protection for sitting down really disappointed me, I'm not a fan of a damp bum and I doubt many walkers and mountaineers are! They're still good, and I still trust them out in the mountains - I'll just be sure to clear a suitable spot to sit down in.


Positive points:

Jacket -

• Good cut and length provides all round protection
• Gore Tex Pro provides great protection and breathabilty
• Helmet compatible hood keeps wind and rain off and the noggin safe
• Part of the Summit Series range, the highest line up of equipment from TNF
• Comes in some seriously vibrant colours!

Trousers -

• The internal gaiter can handle "good" conditions very well, especially hillwalking
• Full length zip allows for easy access
• Gore Tex Pro provides great protection and breathability 
• Front braces keep the pants up and skin covered
• 3 pockets allow for storage of snacks and hands.

Not-so-positive points:

Jacket -

None! I'll keep trying to find a negative but I'm struggling at the moment.

Trousers -

Deep powder beat the internal gaiters.

• Internal gaiters couldn't handle heavy amounts of powder snow, quickly riding up and allowing snow in
• They begun wetting out after intensive use while the jacket continued to shed water
• They let my bum get damp!

Damp bum time!

Thanks for reading my review of the TNF Point Five duo, thanks to outdoorkit.co.uk for providing the products for review. If you'd like to keep up to date with what they're up to then check out their facebook and twitter.