A review of the Big Agnes Anvil Horn 0-Degree sleeping bag and Divide Sleeping Pad System from a 10-day, 226-mile self-support kayak trip wont the Grand Canyon in November (by Lucas Rietmann).
Self-support kayaking is a special way to see a river corridor. The freedom to travel fast and light can bring experiences that you just can’t often get with other crafts. But it does come with it’s challenges as well. There is a balance between comfort, weight and space that can be tricky to master on long multiday rivers. Often, comfort is sacrificed when using specialized lightweight gear, but for longer trips, comfort is a sacrifice I am not willing to make.
I recently was fortunate enough to embark on a 10-day, 226-mile, self-support kayak trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I am no stranger to this section of river as it was my eighth trip through its depths, but all of my previous trips were rowing large rafts where space, weight and beer storage were an afterthought. With the trip being from late October into November, the variability of weather is a huge factor in the type of gear needed to make a trip comfortable, so I wanted it dialed.
Considering we would be sleeping out for nine nights on the river and with a fairly unpredictable weather forecast, I chose to bring along the Big Agnes Anvil Horn 0 degree sleeping bag and paired that with the Big Agnes Divide Insulated sleeping pad. I feel like this was a great choice that balanced comfort with size and weight. I was able to pack both the pad and sleeping bag into small dry bags that easily fit in the back of my boat with plenty of room to spare. After doing some initial packing before the trip, I realized I’d even have plenty of room for a chair and the Big Agness Skyline fit the bill, which was a nice accessory to have on the trip.
Being a side sleeper, I often find myself rolling around and end up off of the pad at some point in the night. With the Flex Pad Sleeve, the bag nicely connects to the pad and eliminates ever finding yourself on the bare ground after rolling around. I had never used a sleeping bag with this feature before and I was amazed. Paired with the Divide Insulated sleeping pad, I was definitely staying toasty in the cool canyon temperatures.
After using these on a handful of trips now, this is my go to sleeping set-up for any cold weather outing where space and weight are a factor but comfort is a necessity.
— By Lucas Rietmann
Anvil Horn Zero Degree pad at MSRP $349
Divide pad at $89 MSRP
