Mountain Hardwear Hyperlamina Spark sleeping Bag

Mountain Hardwear knows that to make something better is to make it lighter without sacrificing function or form. The HyperLamina Spark sleeping bag is another product in Mountain Hardwear's arsenal that delivers on comfort, warmth and all round good looks. The HyperLamina is the lightest and most compressible synthetic bag on the market but that's just the beginning of why we love it so much.

The Backcountry Skiing Canada Team.

Mountain Hardwear's new HyperLamina Spark is designed to be the lightest, most compressible synthetic bag on the market. Does the Spark live up to this high praise? Well from this reviewer’s standpoint it does come in with some great features that make it hard to beat for those fast and light summer trips. The thermally mapped insulation made with proprietary Lamina welded construction, help in reducing weight and bulk. This also helps with a higher warmth rating for a reduced weight penalty. Lamina welding is essential a technique where the insulation is welded to the shell and lining to eliminate stitching. If you look closely at the HyperLamina you’ll notice very few sticked seams and none across the top of the bag where you traditionally see the stitched baffles. This in addition to different insulation weights in different locations eliminates cold spots and places more insulation where it's needed. Most notably, there is more Thermal.Q synthetic insulation in the core and foot area while the underside is noticeably thinner. This helps keep you warm but also reduce weight which is important.

The footbox follows natural foot position for maximum warmth and comfort.

 It’s also worth noting that the Mountain Hardwear HyperLamina Spark Sleeping Bag comes with a top of the line highly water-resistant 63g, Sil-Nylon compression sac. This will compress the HyperLamina down to a paltry size of 24cm x 17cm and save you a few bucks on purchasing a compression sac as many sleeping bags only come with a stuff sac which are pretty much useless as reducing the overall bulk of your sleeping bag.

For 2015, the Spark took the Backpacker Magazine Editors' Choice award, a high honour in the outdoor industry.

Features:

- Engineered to be lightest and warmest synthetic bag available.
- Proprietary welded Lamina™ construction enhances loft and eliminates cold spots
- Zoned insulation maximizes warmth where it's needed most
- Thermal.Q® insulation has outstanding compressibility and maintains excellent loft
- Single #5 half length center zip with dual sliders minimizes weight and still allows for ventilation
- Performance mummy cut is snug, reducing girth, weight, and bulk and maximizing thermal efficiency.
- Comfort footbox follows natural foot position for maximum warmth and comfort
- Ultralight shell is soft and highly wind resistant
- Face gasket and tailored hood comfortably block drafts at the hood opening and seal in warmth
- Sil-Nylon compression stuff sack and mesh storage sack included

Face gasket and tailored hood comfortably block drafts at the hood opening and seal in warmth.

Single #5 half length center zip with dual sliders minimizes weight and still allows for ventilation.

Center zip can vent from bottom up.

Easy to grab zipper pull which is handy in the middle of the night.

Ultralight shell is soft and highly wind resistant.

Performance mummy cut is snug, reducing girth, weight, and bulk and maximizing thermal efficiency.

Verdict:

The Mountain Hardwear HyperLamina Spark temperature rating of zero degrees celsius is right on the money for this reviewer. I am usually a sound sleeper but in the backcountry find it hard to sleep when I feel cold, so I was a little skeptical of a good night’s sleep with the temps hovering around zero outside when I tested this sleeping bag. To my delight, I slept like a baby. An added bonus was the silky smooth feel of the minimal seam insides (since the bag is lamina welded it has few internal seams); it was akin to sleeping on silk sheets.

The centre zip was not a feature I really liked on this bag however as I personally like to fully open my bag when things get too warm. I do see this feature being quite useful when you want to work inside a tent with your bag wrapped around you however. In addition, the ability to zip from the bottom up for ventilation was a very useful feature.

The tailored hood fits well and feels comfortable around the face, not too snug and not too loose. Sometime I can get claustrophobic with hoods but this one was akin to sleeping with a beanie on. One feature I really appreciated was the loft of the bag, some synthetic bags can feel like a sheet over you but the Spark has a respectable 3-inch loft which is not only kept me well insulated but it just felt comfortable. The performance mummy fit however made me feel a little restricted in my movement at night. I know this feature adds to the warmth of the bag, but because I move in my sleep it felt a little tight for me, if you are s stationary sleeper then this won’t be a problem.

Overall a good combination of innovative technology and well thought out design makes the Mountain Hardwear HyperLamina Spark a sleeping bag worth considering if you are in the market for a three season synthetic bag.

If you are interested in other three season sleeping bags reviews then have a look over here and if you are interested in the Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina sleeping bag then have a read of that review here.

The HyperLamina Spark packs down to 15cm x 33cm in the compression sac included.

Mesh storage bag also included.

SPECS:

Price: $240 CDN (reg), $255 CDN (long)
Colour: Ginkgo (Yellow) with orange inside
Bag Shape: Performance Mummy Cut
Temp Rating: Comfort 5°C / 41°F, Comfort Limit 0°C /32F, Extreme -16°C/3°F
Weight: reg: 788g / 1lb 12oz
Bag Loft: 8cm / 3in
Stuff sack size: 15cm x 33cm / 6in x 13in

PROS:

- Lightweight
- Wind resistant ultra light shell
- Minimal stuff size
- Impressive temperature to weight ratio, especially for a synthetic bag
- Comfortable fitting hood

CONS:

-Center zip is not for this reviewer but may be fine for others
- Snugger performance fit
- Colour would be hard to keep clean, although it is a great looking colour
- No internal zippered pocket to store ear plugs

Rating: 9/10

Warmth:              2/2
Compressibility:   2/2
Features:             1.5/2
Weight:                1.5/2
Quality/Price:       2/2

This is only our opinion. Do you disagree? Did we miss something? Are we totally out to lunch? Join the discussion in the forums here, and let us know what you think. People like/dislike gear for different reasons so chime in and we'll get a well-rounded evaluation.

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