Sierra Designs Zissou 23 Degree Sleeping Bag Review

February 27, 2017 Mack Paradowski

Next to Making Dad Jokes, Sleeping Outdoors is My Favorite

Campfire Guy here. After a long day on the trail or herding a Pack of Cub Scouts on a campout, one of the things I most look most forward to is when I can finally crawl into my tent and curl up in my sleeping bag. I like this form of curling since it doesn’t require a broom or an ice rink.

Sleepy time awaits inside these blue walls.

Hard to Pronounce, Easy to Use

My go to bag the past two years has been the Sierra Designs Zissou 23 Degree 700 Fill Sleeping Bag. It does a lot of things really well. I have light weight travel sacks for early Fall trips when it’s in the 80s at night and an ultralight quilt that will keep me toasty in the 20s. Night time temperatures during most of the camping I do in North Texas seem to fall somewhere between 60 and 40 degrees. The Zissou 23 is spot on for that range.

I’m 5’11”, weigh 208 lbs on the nose and can move around easily inside the Zissou 23.

Sorry Grandma, Sierra Designs Used an Appropriate Swear Word

Sierra Designs has been putting out quality gear since 1965. Their marketing team hits a homerun when they say, “We make bad*** outdoor products so you can have a happier experience”. (censored for grandmothers everywhere). The Zissou 23 certainly has made me happy. This bag is a “mummy” style bag, which tapers along the body to eliminate material and cut down on weight vs. a traditional rectangular sleeping bag. I wanted a mummy bag, but I toss and turn at night, so I don’t like to be too constricted. The Zissou stood out because it has just enough room to move without leaving too much dead space in the bag, creating cold spots. Once I got over my shock of seeing a mummy bag stand like a human, I took one home.

The bag has a draw string to cinch down the hood and a great draft stop at the neck.

A Dry Bag is a Happy Bag

The Large version of the bag weighs 2.4 lbs and has 700 fill down that is treated to help shed moisture. In spite of that treatment, make sure any sleeping bag, be it down or synthetic stays dry. The Zissou comes with a large mesh bag for storage and a smaller stuff sack when using the bag. Make sure to store down bags in a large, breathable sack to help maintain the loft and prolong the life of the bag.

I invited my new CamelBak 32 oz. water bottle to the photo shoot to give some scale to the bag in both the storage and stuff sacks. For the price, fill and the weight, the Sierra Designs Zissou 23 makes an excellent option for your sleeping system. For more on my sleeping system, take a peek at this article from a few weeks ago. More info on the Mountainsmith Genesee tent from the photos above can be found here.

Zissou 23 in the included stuff sack. Still plenty of compression to be had if needed.

Pros

Lightweight
Very compressible
Wide foot box to allow more movement

Cons

Like every sleeping bag I’ve ever owned, the zipper can be a little snaggy at times.

Specs:

Manufacturer: Sierra Designs
EN Temperature Rating: 23 Degrees
Weight: 2.4 lbs
Down: 700 fill DriDown

This article contains affiliate links which help buy food that gives me the energy to type on a computer and to go camping. The sleeping bag was purchased by Campfire Guy with his own sheckles.