The North Face Gold Kazoo Eco sleeping bag: Tested
With summer fast approaching, we can begin to lighten the load on our bikes, in our kayaks and on our backs. This means putting away four-season sleeping bags in favour of something more suited to warmer nights. A lightweight down sleeping bag is a great option that offers relief for our backs and more space in our pack. The North Face’s Gold Kazoo Eco offers a unique twist on the traditional summer bag, delivering a water-repellent, 2°C bag made with 100% recycled materials and repurposed 700-fill down insulation.
Design
The North Face Gold Kazoo Eco sleeping bag is a comfortable and affordable +2 degree to +7 degree (Comfort rating) bag from the brand’s sustainable range and designed to be eco-friendly, with 100% recycled 20D nylon shell fabric, and a non-PFC durable water-repellent finish. Weighing in at a light 602 grams, the bag delivers a lengthy design, fitting users to 183cm tall and offering a spacious 157cm shoulder, 145cm hip and 107cm foot circumference.
This bag varies from many traditional mummy bags in that it offers a generous interior with unique hand pockets to allow sleepers to curl up like in a quilt, as well as two 2/3 two-way side zippers (comes in Left and Right) and an oversized lay-flat hood (that can be cinched close). The bag also offers trapezoidal side-chamber baffles to reduce cold spots and retain loft. A 22.9cm x 39.4cm stuff sack is supplied and the compressed bag will happily ‘squidge’ (tech term) down to an impressive 20 cm x 20 cm (58cm circumference) ball.
In the field
The Gold Kazoo Eco sleeping bag offers a great combo of insulated warmth and packability for adventures in warmer climates. The large internal volume fits most users and allows for extra room to throw in clothes to keep warm for those chillier mornings. The compressed bag is super light and super small, easily shoved into a corner of a pack, but lofts large when allowed to air. The spacious shoulder-width coupled with lay-flat hood means the bag is great for warm nights, but a lack of any foot zips can limit airflow if needed. Dual self-locking 2/3 zips are a bonus but can be finicky and took an occasional jiggle on our bag to ‘unlock’.
The hand pockets are a personal preference we’re still debating. One tester fell in love with the system and ability to snuggle the bag around like an eiderdown while another found the large air-gap in the chest/shoulder area difficult to seal, and thus too cool for chillier nights.
The final word on The North Face Gold Kazoo Eco
There’s no doubt that The North Face Gold Kazoo Eco is a fantastic lightweight goose-down bag for general adventures like bikepacking, kayaking and trekking. For some, the relaxed fit with plenty of room and hand pockets for curling up will be a blessing, for others the extra space and idea of curling up will have no appeal. The good news is whether you’re a lover or hater, The North Face Gold Kazoo Eco sleeping bag is one step better for the environment – and a decent summer sleeping bag, hand pockets or not.
RRP: $550 See The North Face for more info on this and all the brand’s outdoor gear.
