When I went to Canada with my parents in September 2017, we vastly underestimated how cold it would be. In every campground, everyone else was sleeping听in trailers, while we huddled in a tent with our very unhappy听seven-pound Jack Russell mix. We got in our sleeping bags when the sun had barely vanished and stayed there until the craving for caffeine outweighed the desire for warmth.听
My sleeping bag was a decade-old down model, at its peak only expected to be warm down to ten听degrees. That night it was in the teens, and I鈥檓 a cold sleeper, so to fortify its insulation, I layered it inside a flannel-lined sleeping bag inherited from my grandpa that weighed about ten听pounds. My mom dubbed this combo the 鈥溾 as she snuggled up in her then brand-new .听She attached it to my dad鈥檚 matching bag, and the dog鈥攁 living space heater鈥攃urled up blissfully between them.
I survived the trip鈥攎y hacked-together sleeping solution was warm enough. But I did test out the Lamina one morning when my mom got up to make coffee, and I instantly coveted its pillowy coziness. I dreamed of all the cold-weather adventures it could afford. That said,听I couldn鈥檛 justify using my limited college-kid funds to upgrade a piece of gear I already had in my kit. I went home, put my bag back in my apartment closet, and convinced myself it was fine. I was听thrilled, then, to find my very own Lamina under the Christmas tree that December. I climbed into it headfirst in the middle of my parents鈥 living room, overjoyed. This bag wasn鈥檛 just fine鈥攊t was luxurious.听
The bag鈥檚 name听comes from its听laminated synthetic insulation, which is attached directly to the shell to prevent cold spots caused by traditional baffle stitching. The smooth surface also helps shed moisture in damp winter conditions,听and because it鈥檚 synthetic, it听still maintains warmth when wet. The inside feels like a cloud wrapped in silk sheets, thanks to the polyester-taffeta lining. The tough ripstop shell is super quiet; there鈥檚 very little of the plastic听rustle that most bags make. The added flap of insulation at the top of the bag is designed to prevent drafts and feels like pulling a fluffy comforter up around your shoulders. The听roomy footbox lets you wiggle your toes without compressing the bag.听Sadly, this specific model has been discontinued, but the updated model is the 听($220), which has an improved draft collar, stuffs smaller, and comes in red instead of Pepto-Bismol pink.
The Lamina Z Torch听has extended my car-camping season by at least a month on either end听(at nearly five pounds and 9 inches by 18 inches when stuffed, it鈥檚 too heavy and bulky to take backpacking) and has lent me many nights of blissful sleep under the stars (or rain fly). It saved me in Ouray, Colorado, when I woke up one late-fall morning to more than an inch of rain turned snow on my frozen-stiff tent. And it听temporarily听salvaged听a relationship, when I graciously lent it to an ex while I toughed it out in my old bag with a puffy jacket and two pairs of socks.
I love it dearly, but it鈥檚 not something I ever would have spent my own money on, which has made听it the perfect gift. It lets me enjoy the outdoors even more and reminds me听that my parents want me to be out there on adventures鈥攚hile staying warm and safe. And isn鈥檛 that Christmas cheer at its finest?