Review of Kelty Light Year 45 degree Down Sleeping Bag
By Matthew Smith

After experimenting with several options for staying warm at night on ultra-light canyoneering trips, I have settled on warm weather down bags. Down is more compressible the synthetic fill, and warmer per weight. The major drawback with down is that it looses its insulative value if it gets wet. I have circumvented this by placing my sleeping bag in a dry bag.

The Kelty Light Year is very light at a pound and a half. Kelty has cut weight by using a half-length zipper. The bag is just warm enough to be used into early fall in warmer climates. A nice feature is a zip across the foot of the bag. In warm weather, I found that I could just open the foot zip and regulate my temperature quite well.

The Light Year is also very packable. Fitting into a stuff sack just 6" by 6", the Light Year can be taken on most any trip. It is small enough and light enough that it can be taken as an emergency bag on longer day hikes.

I found that at 40 degrees I was just at my comfort level sleeping in just my underwear. With a full-length base layer I might venture into cooler weather. The bag was roomy enough that my 6'-0" frame fit in comfortably. I move a lot in my sleep, but didn't feel as restricted as I have in other bags. The hood cinched up nicely around my face. Independent drawstrings for the hood and neck make it easy to get the open in the right place on your face.

Summary: The Light Year is a good warm weather and ultra-light bag. It is very light and very packable. At $125 the Light Year is a very affordable sleeping bag.

Matt Smith is the canyoneering specialist at GearReview.com.

For more information, contact:
Kelty
6235 Lookout Road
Boulder, CO 80301
800.423.2320
AObenchain@kelty.com