The Therm-a-Relaxation Parsec 0 is a VERY light-weight cold-weather sleeping bag appropriate for year-round use. It’s a really heat bag with premium field baffling and 60% of the insulation positioned over the chest and 40% on the underside with the intention to present enhanced heat when used with an applicable sleeping pad. It has a draft collar and zipper draft tube to carry in your physique warmth with a two-way zipper so you may vent the bag when you really feel too heat. The Parsec 0 has beneficiant girth measurement to accommodate additional clothes layers and to allow you to retailer gear inside like boot liners or water bottles which you don’t wish to freeze in a single day. Particular sleeping pad straps assist forestall you from rolling off your pad at night time, whereas exterior loops allow you to layer appropriate quilts or blankets on high to spice up the Parsec’s temperature score so that you don’t want to purchase a separate sleeping bag for colder situations.
Specs at a Look
- Gender: Unisex
- Temperature Ranking: 0F (-18C)
- EN Examined Decrease Restrict: 0F
- EN Examined Consolation Restrict: 14F
- Insulation: 800 fill energy goose down
- Water-Resistant Down: Sure, Nikwax Hydrophobic (PFC-free)
- RDS-Licensed Down: Sure
- Building: Field Baffles
- Shell and liner: 20 Recycled Nylon
- Zipper: YKK Snag-Free, 3/4 size
- Weight: 2 lbs 6 oz / 1077g
- Down Fill Weight: 26 oz / 738g
- Size: 72 inches examined (66″, 78″ additionally obtainable)
- Girth: Shoulder (63″), Hip (58″)
- Compression Sack Weight: (included)
- Storage Bag: Included
Sleeping Bag Options
The Parsec 0 has all the normal options you’d count on on a premium cold-weather sleeping bag, together with a draft collar, two-way YKK snag-resistant facet zipper, zipper draft tube, taped zipper stiffeners, spacious dimensions, and a really heat hood. However a few of the issues that set this bag other than others embrace field baffling building with lets the down loft absolutely whereas stopping downshift, a 60/40 distribution of goose down insulation with extra on the highest and fewer beneath, and kit loops built-in into the shell that allow you to connect Therm-a-rest quilts or blankets. Whereas I haven’t used this layering performance but, it’s a really compelling characteristic for winter use when tenting in minus 10F to minus 20F climate.
Steady Draft Collar and Zipper Draft Tube
The draft collar is a dow-filled tube that wraps below your higher again or shoulders when you lie in your facet, and continues with no break to cowl your higher chest. It prevents heat air heated by your decrease physique from escaping whenever you transfer round at night time. The collar is definitely a steady extension of the zipper draft tube operating alongside the facet zipper, so there aren’t any gaps between the 2 the place leaks or drafts may happen.
You possibly can’t stress the draft collar to tighten it on this bag, which is a plus as a result of it makes the bag easier and much more snug to make use of in comparison with sleeping baggage which have extra elaborate velcro and or cordlock tensioning, however it will also be a destructive if the bag quantity is simply too giant to create a draft-free seal. It’s straightforward to compensate for, nonetheless by looping a sweater or light-weight insulated jacket round your neck to create a tighter seal.
Two-Manner Zipper
The Parsec 0 has a 3/4 size zipper that ends round your knees and has two sliders. Either side of the zipper are taped with grosgrain to stiffen the zipper and stop snags. The highest zipper has additionally a particular YKK zipper cowl designed to forestall snags and whereas it’s not foolproof, it’s fairly efficient. Whereas snags are annoying, their largest hazard comes from ripping open the shell material alongside the zipper and leaking the insulation. I’ve achieved it earlier than on different baggage and it actually sucks.
There’s a snap on the high of the zipper at chin peak that you must shut earlier than pulling the zipper up, whenever you’re mendacity within the sleeping bag. This helps take the stress off the zipper whereas serving to it to trace extra simply. When the snap is closed you may as well vent the chest space by flattening the highest zipper whereas retaining the hood snugged round your head. As acknowledged above there’s a thick draft tube operating alongside the zipper, which slides over the zipper when it’s closed, and blocks chilly air from leaking via the zipper and chilling you.
The underside zipper slider doesn’t have the identical YKK zipper cowl, since there may be a lot much less stress on the zipper and the edges keep effectively aligned. That backside zipper is sweet for venting the foot space of the bag and helps lengthen the bag’s vary in hotter climate.
Pad Straps
The pad straps complement the 60/40 high and backside distribution of the goose down within the Parsec 0 by guaranteeing the correct ulilization of an approirately rated sleeping pad. While you sleep in a sleeping bag, the insulation beneath you may’t lure heat air since you’re mendacity on high of it and stopping it from lofting. Referred to as Synergy Hyperlinks, these pad straps are detachable when you don’t wish to use them, however they do assist maintain you on the pad, particularly when you roll round loads at night time.
Therm-a-Relaxation has been supplying sleeping pad straps or sleeves like these Synergy Hyperlinks with their cold-weather sleeping baggage for a few years. They use the identical method with their quilts, together with the superior Vesper 20, Vesper 32, and Vesper 45, which I additionally extremely advocate.
Huge Girth
Dimensionally, the Parsec 0 is reduce large so you may put on additional clothes layers, and retailer additional gear, your boots, boot liners, or water inside with you whenever you sleep to forestall them from freezing. That additional width additionally helps you to sleep in your facet or transfer round at night time with ease. If you must spend 12 hours in a sleeping bag in winter, you’ll respect the additional room!
Mummy Hood
The Parsec 0 has a closely insulated mummy hood with a reasonably standard form that favors again sleepers. There’s an exterior cordlock that controls the dimensions of the hood opening and may be cinched down fairly small for optimum heat retention. Nevertheless, when you’re a facet sleeper, the hood is not going to rotate together with your head just like the jacket-style hood on the NEMO Sonic 0. Which means that the within of the hood will get moist as you exhale at night time, which may get nasty and uncomfortable when you’re out for a number of nights in a row and don’t have an opportunity to dry the bag out within the solar.
Exterior Chest Pocket
There’s additionally an exterior pocket on the facet of the higher chest which offers good place to stash a headlamp so you could find it for a nighttime toilet break. It’s fairly giant truly, however it’d be a complete lot extra handy when you may entry it from contained in the bag, with out having to unzip the higher half of the sleeping bag to succeed in it. I want placing my headlamp within the pocket of the hoody I put on to mattress in chilly climate as an alternative. Should you’re a facet sleeper or roll round at night time, I’d warning in opposition to placing a smartphone into this pocket until it’s in a sturdy protecting case.
Comparability desk: 0-degree sleeping baggage
Suggestion
The Therm-a-Relaxation Parsec 0 is a cold-weather down-insulated sleeping bag with premium options together with a box-baffled building and body-mapped 60/40 down insulation. Along with being heat. I prefer it as a result of at 2 lbs 6 oz, it is among the lightest-weight 0 levels sleeping baggage obtainable in the present day, which is an actual win for chilly climate or winter use when your skin-out pack weight is edging near 40 kilos. With glorious options and good air flow choices, the Parsec 0 is versatile sufficient to be used throughout a wider temperature vary than simply winter, ranging into autumn and spring when nights drip near freezing.
Be aware: The temperature score for the Parsec 0 is predicated on the ISO sleeping bag temperature score normal, in order that 0 diploma Fahrenheit temperature score is sweet for males and heat sleepers. If you’re a chilly sleeper or a girl, the temperature vary be nearer to 10 levels Fahrenheit. The distinction is because of the truth that ladies aren’t usually as giant as males and don’t generate as a lot physique warmth.
Disclosure: Therm-a-Relaxation donated a sleeping bag for evaluation.
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