James H. from United States, SC Public Profile

As you'd expect from BA, the bag is very well made. I am a BA fanboy but overall I wasn't as pleased with the Thunderhead as I hoped I would be. The closure system is manageable but a bit cumbersome and it would near impossible with gloves. Also, I often have to relieve myself in the middle of the night and the opening isn't long enough to do this while still in the bag. The limited length of the opening also means that you have to slide down into the bag, so if you have a less than roomy tent you may have issues. Also, the design of the bag had me worried about it being drafty which would definitely be a negative for me. If the bag works for you, then I am sure it is great. For me, though, there were just too many issues to make it work for me.

Love the comfort and weight, but the 15* rating is a bit optimistic. I have used mine in temps from 35* down to 19* and at the lower extremes it is quite cold. At 30* its sufficient but I wouldn't call it warm. I was a little disappointed because I am a Big Agnes fan. I have several of their bags and the temp ratings on those seem to be on point and the confidence from those was misplaced on the SLX. Still, its a great product overall.

Works

Nice tent. Well made and light weight. However, it could have been lighter without costing much more (if any). The LineLocs along the rainfly seam as attachment points for the guy lines are unnecessary and the zippers on the vestibule and tent door are beefier than necessary. The Jake's Feet in the corners for attaching the poles and rainfly to the tent body also seem unnecessary. I personally don't care for them as I find them far more cumbersome than traditional side release buckles for attaching/detaching the rainfly. Also, the full netting at the foot and head of the tent body essentially turn the tent into a wind tunnel if you don't stake the fly low and close at the foot (something we learned the hard way). Aside from these items, the tent meets our needs and we will be keeping it in our gear bin.

(NOTE: if you have two people in the tent and you're using any pads wider than 20" you will have issues with your bags compressing against the tent walls.)

Great quilt.