Kelty Mistral 20 Review – Affordable & Warm

Founded way back in 1952, Kelty has blossomed over the years from a small-scale outdoor gear company to one of the world’s best-known outdoor brands. Despite its success as a company, Kelty has always managed to keep things real. Its teams are comprised of genuine nature enthusiasts and all of its products are tried and tested out in the wilderness, so you know they’re the real deal.

Initially, backpacks were Kelty’s flagship product but, as it’s grown into a larger company, Kelty has branched out into other products too, primarily ones designed for camping. And what fun is camping if you get a rubbish night’s sleep? Not much.
Fortunately, Kelty’s sleeping bags are proving to be extremely popular among campers from around the globe. They’ve manufactured quite a range of bags, including rectangular and mummy-style bags as well as bags with temperature ratings of anywhere between 0°F and 40°F.

Here, we’re going to explore the Kelty Mistral 20, which you’ll be pleased to know is one of Kelty’s more economical sleeping bags. But what trade-offs have been made to keep the price so low? And will this bag really keep you warm when things turn frosty? Let’s take a closer look.

Warmth

Keeping warm is crucial to getting the good night’s rest you deserve when you’re out in the wilderness – you’re not going to enjoy your trip if you’re awake shivering half the night after all. The Kelty Mistral 20 has been comfort rated to 20°F, which is pretty decent for a 3-season bag, but can Kelty really put its money where its mouth is? Let’s see what’s gone into this bag and whether it’s enough to make it worthy of its rating.

The Great

So, starting off with the good news, this bag is packed with a solid amount of CloudLoft insulation (46 ounces worth in the regular and 49 in the long). The fill is formed from a mixture of solid and hollow polyester fibers and is one of Kelty’s most affordable fills. It’s arranged in dual layers, with an extra coating over the chest to keep you warm where you need it most.

Polyester is a popular choice for outdoor gear because of its abrasion-resistant properties but, on top of that, it’s also naturally water-resistant. This is a huge advantage of synthetic-filled sleeping bags over down-filled ones, as down readily absorbs water and loses loft when they’re wet, which means it will struggle to keep you warm.

In contrast, the water-resistant polyester fibers will keep you warmer when wet, and they’ll also dry quicker too, winning.

The Good

On top of all that insulation, there are also tonnes of other features packed into this budget sleeping bag to help keep in that precious body heat. These include a full-length draft tube collar to stop any heat escaping via the zipper, and it’s protected by a strategically placed ground-level side seam that keeps the draft collar correctly positioned throughout the night.

Plus, baffles and a smaller inner layer help to keep the insulation where it should be and at a consistent thickness, eliminating cold insulation-free patches. Finally, the hood can be tightened too, keeping your head nice and toasty (which is super important as you lose a lot of heat via your head).

The Bad

The main drawback of this bag is the fact that, although it will certainly keep you warm for a season or two, with heavy use, you’ll find that it loses loft quicker than other types of bag. Synthetic bags in general are known for losing loft quicker than down bags but, even for a synthetic bag, we expected the loft to hold out a little longer.

Overall, this bag can stand up to the challenge of its nippy temperature rating, and it will do so for a long time with casual use. It can also stand up to some drizzle far better than a down-filled bag. However, if you’re planning on using this bag heavily and at very cold temperatures, you might find yourself needing a new one quicker than expected.

Comfort

Perhaps above all else, a good sleeping bag needs to be comfortable enough that you can drift off to the land of nod without any trouble. You need to find a fit and style that’s right for you, there needs to be enough padding, and you don’t want any harsh materials or zippers jabbing you at night. So, how does the Kelty Mistral 20 perform in this department?

As we mentioned, the Mistral has a good level of insulation, which makes for an extremely comfortable layer of padding, although it will gradually become less cozy over time. The lining itself is constructed from 190T Polyester Taffeta, which is super soft to the touch and is actually used frequently for clothing, so you can be sure you won’t be kept up by scratchy fabric.

One of the things we like best about this bag is that it’s surprisingly spacious for a mummy-style sleeping bag. You can tuck a pillow away inside the hood no problem, and the drawstrings mean you can fit the hood to cushion your head just how you like it.

We absolutely love the ‘natural fit’ footbox allows plenty of room for you to stretch out your feet – after all, there’s nothing worse than feeling like your feet are bound tight after hiking all day.

Another fantastic feature is the pad loops that let you attach your bag to your pad, so you can say goodbye to rolling onto the cold hard ground in your sleep, yay. Finally, this bag is available in a men’s regular and large and a women’s size, so you can find the length that’s right for you.

Constructed from super-soft materials and with heaps of extra features usually reserved for more expensive bags, comfort is certainly a category in which the Mistral excels.

Portability

For a bag to be considered portable, it needs to be two things – lightweight and compact. Mummy-style bags are generally less bulky than traditional rectangular bags, and down-filled mummy bags are the number one choice among minimalist backpackers. The Kelty Mistral 20 has the advantage of being a mummy-style bag, but does it’s synthetic fill let it down in terms of portability?

Weight

For how comfortable and well-padded this bag is, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it doesn’t weigh a tonne, especially considering that synthetic-filled bags are notoriously heavier than down-filled ones. With a regular bag weighing in at just over 3 lbs, weight certainly won’t be an issue with this bag for all except the lightest of backpackers.

Dimensions

Ahh… the dimensions. This is, unfortunately, one of the major flaws of this bag. While the synthetic filling used is affordable, comfortable, and will keep you warm while wet, it doesn’t compress particularly well. Even when packed into its included stuff sack, this bag remains a fairly large size that will take up a fair chunk of any backpack.

Although the large dimensions can be partially overcome by squidging the bundle into yet another stuff sack, there’s only so much you can do.

Extra Touches

We’ve already mentioned the cinchable hood, pad loops, included stuff sack, and draft collar, but are there are any other features of the Mistral 20 you should know about?

Yepp. There are internal loops for sleeping bag liner attachment, hang loops for drying and storage at home, and the entire thing opens up for use as a quilt too, winning.

Value for Money

So, overall, how much bang for its buck does the Mistral 20 offer? Tonnes! Not only is it super warm, but it’s also got loads of high-end features usually reserved for more expensive bags. You’ll have to shell out more for something lighter that will last decades but, overall, it’s great to see a budget option in the Kelty range.

Rating

With an overall rating of 88, the Kelty Mistral 20 has scored well well against our rating system. It lost some marks for the fact the insulation will wear thin eventually, reducing warmth and comfort and meaning the bag won’t last as long as others. It also lost marks due to its bulk…. however, it still has lots to offer and is a great budget option for non-backpackers.

Verdict

The Kelty Mistral 20 is super comfortable, warm, and has some lovely extra touches usually reserved for bags with higher price tags. Sure, it’s too bulky for minimalistic backpacking but, for car camping, it offers fantastic value for money.