The Slumberjack Country Squire 0 is no stranger to OutdoorGearLab. We enjoyed every minute of examining this bag, especially the sleeping-in-the-bag part. This bag is ideal for trailer, tent, truck-bed, or right-on-the-ground camping. Its impeccable construction makes this bag something you could use for a lifetime. However, if you do a lot of warm or hot weather camping, this bag is too warm.
Have you ever slept with the bedroom window open on a cool Fall night, only to wake up the next morning with that snug as a bug in a rug feeling? Your room is chilled, your pillow is cool, and you're feeling toasty and warm under your covers — that's the feeling you get after a night's rest in Slumberjack. We spent several chilly nights staying completely warm in this bag and never once woke up cold.
We found the Slumberjack to have a very unique feeling of warmth when compared to the other bags we tested. This bag's cotton-based liner, 12oz cotton duck shell, Slumberloft synthetic insulation, and two-layer, offset construction are a symphony of warmth. In particular, the bag's natural fiber fabrics seem to completely absorb and neutralize cold air, leaving no cold spots. It maintains steady warmth like no other bag we've slept in.
Coming in at a whopping 84 inches long and 42 inches wide, the Slumberjack is one of the largest bags we've tested. In fact, one of our testers took a wrong turn inside the bag and actually got lost for an hour (You get our point, right?). This bag is cozy, soft, homey and very spacious.
The poly/cotton, bed-sheet interior lining gave us a sense of being snuggled up in our own beds. In our testing, we found that the interior fabric allows for easy tossing and turning, even when we slept with our clothes on. Although noticeably thinner than other bags on our list, the Slumberjack's dense insulation and thick exterior liner provide a noticeable amount of natural padding.
We also liked how the weight of its 12oz cotton duck shell pushed down on us during the night. We rarely lost our covers because cotton doesn't really slide and the overall heaviness keeps everything in place. This bag's natural fabrics cause it to be the heaviest bag on our list. We thoroughly enjoyed pulling its top layers over us at night. Its extra weight really gave us that tucked-in feeling.
A removable interior liner that can be washed separately from the bag — brilliant. A detachable storage bag that can double as a full-size duffel to carry all kinds of camping stuff — really cool. Supersized zipper. Bed-sheet interior liner. Super thick exterior cotton duck exterior. Zipper draft tube. Velcro closure tab. Solid construction. Limited lifetime warranty…need we continue?
This bag is chock full of features that don't come with any other bag. Our favorites are the removable liner, which allowed us to do a quick wash job. We also really like the large removable storage duffel. It zips off in a snap, and quite often transported various loose items from the car to camp.
The were only two features we were disappointed in: The bag's inability to resist water and the color of the interior liner. First, we found that the bag has virtually no water resistance. However, in all fairness, it is normal for natural-fiber bags like the Slumberjack to lack the ability to repel water.
Second, although the bag's interior liner is incredibly comfortable, its light cream color makes it susceptible to dirt and stains, especially for families with young kids or for campers who like to unzip the bag all the way open to use as a picnic blanket.
Let's just address the elephant in the room. This bag has the largest packed size of any bag we've ever seen — BUT — there's a reason, and it's really not that big of a deal. After all, to us, packed size isn't just about how big the bag is after it's rolled up. We also wanted to find out how easy the bag is to roll up, how easily the bag fits into its storage sack, and if the bag small enough to double as a backpacking bag (we didn't even ask that question on this bag).
Most traditional rectangular bags are folded-in-half before being rolled up, but not the Slumberjack. Its full 42-inch width easily rolls up and flops, without effort, into its over-sized, attached duffel. We found it to be one of the easiest bags to roll up. All in all, we really didn't care that its packed size was triple the size of some of the bags we tested.
Is this bag worth the price? We believe so. Especially if you like luxury and unique features. However, in the case of our second Editors' Choice, the Teton Sports Polara 3-in-1, there are other bags that may lack the luxury and craftsmanship but are just as warm, very cozy, and far less expensive. We feel you really can't go wrong either way. It's kinda up to you. If you love luxury and don't mind spending a little extra, then you'll love this bag.
This bag is the bomb… and it's tough enough that it could probably withstand one. Not only is it tough, but it's also very roomy, very comfortable, and very warm. The Slumberjack Country Squire 0 is a perennial favorite of ours and we hope we've given you a good idea as to why we love this bag so much.
