OZtrail Explorer Camper

Versatile and extremely comfortable – We bought this for our 11 year old who doesn't like the crinkly sound of sleeping bags. We have used it in weather from hot summer nights down to -7C and he was comfy and warm in this (his "tent" is one of those cot tents). It's bulky and heavy so fine for car camping (couldn't use it hiking). The soft inner blanket is thin and soft, we love the versatility. Wouldn't trust my child to care for a down sleeping bag, so this is a great alternative and suitable for all Perth camping weather.

Zipper and construction a let down – I really like this bag except for the zip I've had issues with. I am a large person and need a bag 1m wide or more as I don't like being "mummyfied". I like some room to move around when I sleep. This bag is big, and can also be unzipped to form a double sized "doona". I mostly camp when I do conservation work in the state forests of NSW during March to November. I get hot when I sleep, but later in the early morning I can get cold, especially when it's -5DegC in a pine forest with snow falling. This bag allows me to sleep in the inner liner, then pull up the outer if I get cold, or if it's not going to get below 5Deg, I can just pull the liner out altogether if I want, or just use the bag unzipped as a "doona" / blanket.

But I have had issues with the zip breaking in the middle near my hip during the night, and that's a real [inappropriate language removed] in sub zero temps, as inside a swag I have to struggle to undo the broken zip all the way to the end, and then reconnect and re-zip the bag. When I finally returned it to the store to complain, when I went to show them how the zip breaks, the stitching holding the zip all came apart as well.

It's been at the camping store since Aug (3 months) and Nothing has been done about it. The bag is 14 months old! I've been told Oztrail only have 12 month warranty. I expect a zip in a sleeping bag to last more than 12 months. Darche Cold Mountain or Mallee bag with a liner is looking very good right now. The removeable fleece liner and width. Weak zip and stitching, poor warranty.