Big Agnes Roxy Ann 15 Review

This is one of Big Agnes' System Bags, and it has a sleeve on the bottom to attach a sleeping pad. We spent some cold nights out with Roxy Ann, and she did not keep us as warm as we would like. She is very comfortable and cozy on warmer nights, and we like the quality materials.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

We put this bag to the test this spring in some harsh conditions. The Roxy Ann is rated to 15F but is not EN tested. We slept out in 25F temps for a few nights in the Roxy Ann and did a lot of shivering. Part of the problem is in the interface of the bag with a sleeping pad. It has no insulation on the ground-side, and we used its pad sleeve with our 3.9 R-rated Therm-A-Rest Neo Air XLite - Women's pad. This combination made us cold. Because the Roxy Ann is so roomy and the pad stretched out the top of the bag, it created more dead air that we needed to heat up, and we couldn't pull the bag closer to us to snuggle in. After our first night out in these temps, we ended up not putting our sleeping pad in the sleeve, and that helped. Regardless, we still had to stuff every piece of extra clothing we were not wearing (although we were wearing our down jacket and long underwear already) into the bag to try to stay warm. We think this bag would be better described with a 32-degree rating.

The Roxy Ann uses DownTek hydrophobic down that makes it more resistant to moisture and will, in theory, keep the down's loft longer, and thus keep you warm when wet. We think this is a relatively versatile bag, but it is still too heavy for extended backpacking trips, and not warm enough to stretch it to the limits of the three seasons it is meant for.

Weight

We are disappointed in how heavy this sleeping bag is, weighing in at 2.75 lbs. We think having the fill on only the top of the bag is very clever and a great way to save weight, but this bag seems to get a lot of extra weight from its pad sleeve. The sleeve is very large and made from heavy, bulky material. We think a lot of weight could be saved by using a lighter weight material and having a sleeve that is not the entire length of the bag. If you're a person that goes on car camping trips more often, this contender would be easy to throw in the backseat, and weight would not be an issue.

Comfort

The Big Agnes Roxy Ann is extremely comfortable. It is a roomy semi-rectangular shape that allows the occupant to move around at will. The shell material is soft, and the bag's 650 fill power down lofts up nicely. This bag is surprisingly long — its regular size fits someone up to 5'10" in length, and its petite size fits up to someone 5'6"; this is somewhat irregular for a women's bag. Typically a regular size will fit someone up to 5'6" or 5'8", so the sizing is something to consider when purchasing this bag.

Packed Size

This bag comes with a nice mesh storage sack as well as a medium sized stuff sack. The Roxy Ann can compress down smaller if you purchase a compression sack, but because of the bulky pad sleeve materials, it's still fairly bulky and not the most packable.

Features

We like the idea behind Big Agnes's quilt-like design with the loft only on top, but think the pad sleeve could use some tweaking to help with weight and warmth. We also like the small exterior storage pocket although we prefer interior stow pockets. We also enjoy its quality materials.

Best Application

This bag is great for two to three season camping trips, especially for someone who wants lots of room to move around. We would take it on short backpacking trips and other camping trips where weight is less of a concern, in warmer climates.

Value

We think the Roxy Ann is decent value for its $280 price tag. It is made from high-quality materials and makes sleeping quite comfortable.

Conclusion