LabHightail 900
Last winter we asked The
North Face for a lightweight, no-frills sleeping bag for our nights out
in the Dolomites. Exactly a week later we received a parcel in the
post: the Hightail 900, part of the fast and light Flight Series. We
realised that our nights were going to be... protected. We were able to
stuff into our rucksack an extraordinary conundrum of TNF's entire
mountain know-how: 900 fill goose down, Pertex(r) Quantum outer shell
fabric, -10C temperature rating, all in just 800g... on paper this bag
seemed to have it all. But what about outdoors?
Not all that glitters is gold
What
immediately struck the eye were the bag's size and volume; the Hightail
appeared immense, heavy and bulky. But we soon realised that exactly
the opposite is the case: the bag is ultra-lightweight, supple,
compressible and all loft thanks to the top-of-the-range 900 fill goose
down. This down, currently the best Mother Nature can produce, offers
the highest warmth to weight ratio available compared to other down.
Its superb loft also means that it is immensely compressible, easily
packing down to an incredible 20cm x 43cm - the size of the stuff sack.
If necessary, it can get even smaller...
The construction - core warmth
As
mentioned above, the warmth retaining ability of a sleeping bag is
obviously directly related to the quality of the insulating material. A
fundamental role is however also played by the sleeping bag
construction - for this reason The North Face has introduced an
interesting new design feature: the "ripple" baffle construction.
Unlike traditional baffle shapes (V, diamond, etc) the 12 wave-like
ripple baffles have been specifically designed to distribute and,
contemporarily, prevent the down shifting from side to side throughout
the night, creating fastidious heat holes.
Lining
The
Hightail 900 is lined internally with 20 denier Pertex(r) Quantum, an
extremely smooth and "quiet" lining, which made sleeping at night a
dream. The outside shell is 20-denier ripstop Pertex(r) Quantum, which
prevents down from poking through and offers significant protection
against the elements - wit is ater resistant, breathable, and
windproof. Furthermore, the Pertex is ripstop, guaranteeing that a
small rip won't travel, enabling precious down to escape.
Design curves
As
you can tell from the photo, the Hightail is tapered into a tear-drop,
with a 152cm circumferance at the shoulder, 147cm at the hip, and 97cm
at the foot. This design eliminates all non-essential space and allows
precious weight to be saved. Talking of which - the zip finishes above
half-height... we would have preferred it somewhat longer for ease of
entry. It goes without saying though that the zip is protected by a
draft tube, and that the snug fitting hood can be adjusted single
handedly by pulling on the two draw cords.
Storage
When not
in use, the sleeping bag is best maintained in its mesh storage bag,
which enables the down to loft and therefore keep its warmth retaining
properties.
We're sure you've gathered that we were extremely
satisfied by this sleeping bag, above all because of the quality of the
material and the meticulous attention to detail, both of which result
in a robust, enduring bag. Last but not least, like all other The North
Face products, the Hightail 900 comes complete with a renowned quality
promise.
