REASONS TO BUY
Warm
Comfortable
Removable pad sleeve
REASONS TO AVOID
Heavy
Somewhat expensive
Big Agnes Hazel SL 15 Review
Big Agnes' traditional shaped mummy bag will keep you warm and comfortable, but is a bit on the heavy side
Credit: Big Agnes
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Our Verdict
With a plethora of products to choose from Big Agnes, the Hazel SL 15 is this company's version of a down “Traditional Mummy” bag. It has a mid-range price, but it's materials and weight fall short of other competitors in this range. We think the Hazel is a comfortable product that will keep you warm down to around freezing temperatures.
This bag could be good for short backpacking trips or car camping. If you are afraid you'll roll off your sleeping pad in the night this is one of the lighter bags that include a sleeping pad sleeve and we appreciate that the Big Agnes trademark pad sleeve is removable.
Our Analysis and Test Results
This middle of the road mummy bag has low quality down fill power and is heftier than many of the other women's models we tested.
Performance Comparison
The Big Agnes Hazel is one of the few bags we tested with vertical baffles, meant to contour your body better.
Credit: Ian McEleney
Warmth
Big Agnes rates this bag to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it is not EN tested. Although we don't necessarily think the EN rating is the be-all and end-all of measurements, we do not think this 15 degrees Fahrenheit temperature rating is accurate in comparison to bags that are EN rated to 15F. We would put the Hazel SL somewhere in the 25-degree range.
Despite the Hazel's low-quality 650 fill down it is lofty and warm.
Credit: Ian McEleney
We do like the insulated hood shape, and interior draft tube that prevents drafts coming down the front of the neck and the “petite” size fits our 5'5 tester like a glove with no room for extra cold air to hang around.
Weight
The Hazel SL weighed in at a hefty 2.61 pounds, almost a full pound heavier than our lightest bags. Most of the down bags in this review are lighter than the Hazel with a few exceptions. The bag feels heavy on top of us, and we can tell the difference in down quality between the Hazel and other bags with high quality 850+ down that feels way lighter and fluffier.
Our favorite part about the Hazel's pad sleeve is that it's removable and we don't have to bring it with us! The attachment clips are very hard to remove and even more difficult to re-attach.
Credit: Ian McEleney
The removable pad sleeve weighs an additional 3 ounces. We think the contributors to the high weight of this bag is all the additional features and a lot more fill weight is required with low quality 600 fill down than a higher fill power to achieve the same warmth.
Comfort
This product is quite comfortable for a standard mummy shaped bag. We were surprised to see that our 5'5 tester fell at the upper limits of the “petite” size and we were apprehensive that this bag would be too small. However, we were pleased that the sizing was right on and the bag fit our 5'5 tester perfectly. It has just enough room in the hips and shoulders without being too roomy.
We tried out the Hazel SL's exterior cinch system, but didn't feel like we needed to make the bag any smaller.
Credit: Ian McEleney
Packed Size
Since this is a down sleeping bag, it does compress down relatively small in comparison to the synthetic products we tested. However, this isn't our most compressible product by a long shot. The Hazel is even less compact when you factor in the huge pad sleeve to the equation, which thankfully is removable and you can choose to leave at home.
Features
Big Agnes is known for feature-laden bags. We're not impressed. In general, we believe that most features add to the weight of a bag and don't add much functionality; which is the case with the Hazel. We think that pad sleeves are the biggest culprit of weight adding and we're thankful that you can remove the included pad sleeve - although it is challenging to do so and to put it back together.
The Big Agnes Hazel's pad sleeve also acts as this bag's storage sack.
Credit: Ian McEleney
The Hazel also has an “exterior cinch system” that's meant to help with sizing your bag. We think it just compresses the down to make the bag less warm although it's meant to shrink the size of the bag, so there is less air inside to keep warm, but by compressing the loft of the bag, it makes it less warm overall.
We like the Hazel's small stash pocket.
Credit: Ian McEleney
We do like the Hazel's small stash pocket for evening needs like headlamps and earplugs.
Value
We were disappointed to see that the Hazel rings in at a relatively high price tag. We do not think this is a good value for such a heavy bag with low quality 600 fill down and would recommend some of the other products at the same price point that are warmer and lighter.
The Hazel's zipper does not have an anti-snag zipper pull, but it is lined with this grosgrain ribbon which we suspect is to help stop snags.
Credit: Ian McEleney
Conclusion
The Big Agnes Hazel SL 15 is a relatively warm and comfortable product. However, if this bag had a lower price tag we would be more inclined to recommend it, but it is heavy for a backpacking sleeping bag, and we don't think the included features do much to increase its functionality. There are many other high-quality bags in this review that we would reach for before the Hazel at a similar price point, or we'd pay much less for similar quality products from other manufacturers.
—
Jessica Haist
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