Top Rated: Cocoon Mountain Wanderer Sleeping Bag (8.3 / 10)
Category: Modular Sleeping Bag 1: 1 Season and 4 Season Inner
Cocoon's Mountain Wanderer (MW) is a stripped-down, straight-forward, near-minimalist synthetic sleeping bag which tapers in an unaggressive mummy fashion to a standard 50cm footbox (55cm size L). No attempt has been made by Cocoon to re-imagine anything, rather they've concentrated on the basics and stuck to them. They've used a light yet durable ripstop nylon fabric with minimal top stitching to prevent heatloss. The Ecopet Performance insulation is made from recycled polyester and according to EN 13537 it does its job.
The Mountain Wanderer works fine as a solo summer bag (with a Comfort Limit of +8°C) where nighttime temperatures aren't expected to be drop below +10°C. However, where it really shines is as a liner bag, providing at least +10°C (stated / rated +12°C) when paired with accommodating bags like those in Carinthia's Defence series and Carinthia's excellent G-90 (size L). Would we like it to be lighter? Of course, we'd be happier if the Mountain Wanderer was in the 450g range (like the Cloud Cover) rather than ~550g. But when we compare the two offerings, Alpkit's vs. Cocoon's, it's easy to see why, for our modular system, the Mountain Wanderer wins : It's an EN-rated sleeping bag, not a quilt; it weighs about the same as Alpkit's down Pipedream 200 (which is 0.6°C warmer and costs more than twice as much); unlike the Cloud Cover it has a zip rather than poppers and has a hood and can be cinch-sealed at the neck; it functions better in wet conditions and is at least 2°C warmer. On top of all that, it costs less than 60% of the Cloud Cover's ever-inflating price (based on RRP).
Cocoon's Mountain Wanderer improves a modular system that we were already quite pleased with; extending its range down to -25°C (-27°C based purely on ratings) and creating a more uniform temperature ratings descent with each sleeping bag / combination. We feel the 110g - 120g weight premium is well worth it, for those that don't agree, there's nothing wrong with the Cloud Cover (it has its advantages, afterall we recommended it for about eight years). However, as far as our core, three sleeping bag modular system goes, it's Austria with a clean sweep. Cocoon's Mountain Wanderer is a great value sleeping bag and our top pick for "Sleeping Bag 1" (1 Season and 4 Season Inner).