Kelty Cosmic 20 - Women's Review

The Cosmic Down has once again had a makeover, as Kelty continues to tweak this long-standing product in their line-up. Some of the things we like, like the PFC-free water repellent coating and extra efforts to increase warmth with “trapezoidal baffles” (although we're not sure how they're supposed to be warmer). On the other hand, the quality of the down fill decreased with this iteration, which increased the weight significantly. This inexpensive option works best for car camping and overnight backpacking trips of shorter length.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The bag is EN tested to 25°F, so the “20” beside its name is a bit misleading. We spent two nights out in below-freezing temperatures, and this bag fared okay. We were definitely wearing all our layers and were on a warm sleeping pad. Paired with a high R-Value sleeping pad, the Cosmic could be stretched from spring to fall use in warmer climates. We think most people will feel comfortable sleeping in temperatures around the 30 degrees Fahrenheit and up range in the Cosmic. The low-quality 550 down fill did loft up quite nicely once it had time to recover from being crunched in the stuff sack. Kelty has introduced “Trapezoidal Baffles” to their design intended to keep warmth in—we're not sure if they worked, but the bag was pretty cozy.

The Cosmic incorporates a draft collar to keep warm air in and cold drafts out. We think this feature adds an element of warmth, although the Cosmic's draft collar does not have drawcords to enable you to cinch it down around your neck, but we could cinch the whole hood close around our faces for extra warmth. Several other bags have this feature and we find it helps to stay warm. We discovered that this bag incorporates synthetic materials into its neck baffle and draft tube, which could potentially be because these areas are more prone to receiving moisture, and down doesn't hold warmth when it's wet. While this ultimately provides more warmth in the wake of precipitation, it contributes to its weight and bulk, too.

Weight

The Cosmic Down has put on some weight over the last year, going from a reasonable 2.71 lbs to currently 3.4 lbs, and is among the heaviest of the down bags we tested. While most down bags boast a great warmth-to-weight ratio, we are disappointed by its weight. Once competitive with other bags in weight and price, this latest version is now only competitive in price.

The Cosmic uses lower fill power down that is more cumbersome for the amount of warmth it provides, as well as more substantial synthetic fill components (which we suspect are in there to cut costs), both of which add weight. A heavier bag is an unseen price you pay when getting a budget sleeping bag.

Comfort

We think the latest version of the Cosmic is quite comfortable. Interestingly, we think the materials Kelty used for the shell are slightly softer than the lining materials. The lining is still soft and comfortable enough. It fit our 5'5" tester well, and she had enough room to put on additional layers without it feeling too restrictive. We think this bag would be comfortable for ladies up to 5'7" or 5'8".

Packed Size

This bag was difficult to get into the provided stuff sack. Its packed size is slightly larger this year again because of its downgrade in fill power. Compared to a synthetic bag, it compresses relatively well because it is down, but does not compress as well as the other down bags we tested.

The synthetically filled draft collar and zipper draft tubes make the bag less compressible as a whole and contribute to its overall packed size. It comes with a small, lightweight stuff sack, but not a compression sack. We would recommend purchasing a compression sack to keep your pack smaller. While it does get relatively small, it's not our top choice for those looking to go slim down their backpacking kit. Bags with higher fill power have the best compression and warmth-to-weight ratios.

Features

The Cosmic is a smaller and narrower version of the men's version, and has two ounces more fill to add warmth, concentrated around the hips and foot box areas. Kelty has addressed the low-quality zipper that caught on the material of previous models and improved this feature, adding tougher material to the side of the zipper. We like the small stash pocket inside the bag. All of the Cosmic models now come with water repellent treated “DriDown” fill which helps this bag retain its loft when it gets wet.

This bag only comes with a small stuff sack; we think every down sleeping bag should also include a large storage sack so that the down does not stay compressed when we're not using the bag. Compression contributes to a shorter lifespan for the down fill and it's important to store down bags fully lofted to help with their longevity. For this bag, we recommend hanging it in a closet to maintain its loft longevity, since there's no storage sack. Otherwise, the Cosmic does not have any exceptionally unique bells and whistles, which is fine since extra features often add to the weight of a sleeping bag.

Value

The price tag on this hydrophobic down bag is hard to beat. It is a great value for a budget-conscious camper who wants a down sleeping bag and needs a go-to bag for all of her camping needs. If you primarily car camp, but go on occasional overnight backpacking trips, the price, warmth, and coziness of this bag might provide more value than spending more money to get a smaller and lighter sleeping bag.

Conclusion