With quite possibly the best name on the market, the Wolftrail Down -7 from German outdoor gear giant Jack Wolfskin aims to be a versatile and ergonomic sleeping bag for hikers.
By versatile we mean a 3-season sleeping bag that can cope with the often chilly overnight temperatures of spring through to autumn. And by ergonomic we mean easy to get in and out of, and quick to pack away.
At £350 (at the time of writing), the Wolftrail Down -7 is a mid-priced sleeping bag of this type. So, does it actually perform well? Let's find out.
www.jack-wolfskin.co.uk
Description
Pros
- Good all-round comfort
- Decent temperature ratings
- Tougher fabrics than ultralight alternatives
- Clever, ergonomic features
- Good eco credentials
Cons
- Heavier and more bulky than many rivals
Temperature ratings
The Wolftrail Down -7 is intended for nights in the low positives or low negatives, with a comfort rating of 0°C and a comfort limit of -7°C.
These are competitive ratings for a 3-season bag, although the Wolftrail Down -7 is a bit heavier than some of its more pricey competitors such as the Rab Neutrino 400, which uses higher fill power down and lighter fabrics.
If you’re not in need of a sleeping bag with temperature ratings this low, Jack Wolfskin also has its Athmos Down +5 sleeping bag, which is essentially a 2-season version with the same S-shape zip – we’ve tested the Athmos Down +5 too, and it's a great option for summer.
Insulation type, fill power, and fill weight
The Wolftrail Down -7 uses 700-fill untreated (i.e., not hydrophobic) down. Down sleeping bags tend to use anything from 650 to 850-fill down. So, although the Wolftrail Down -7 hasn’t got the loftiest down around, it’s in line with a lot of rivals of a similar weight and price – 650 to 750-fill down is pretty typical.
We found that the down – despite not being of the very highest quality – still lofts well. In fact it lofts better than some other sleeping bag we’ve used with higher quality down. This is perhaps due to the Wolftrail’s down not having a hydrophobic treatment or the unique diagonal box baffles.
Jack Wolfskin hasn’t skimped on the amount of down used in the Wolftrail Down -7. The 195cm version we tested has a healthy 670g fill weight of down, while the smaller 180cm version has a fill weight of 610g.
Pack size and weight
This is where the Wolftrail Down -7 lags behind some competitors. On its site, Jack Wolfskin says the Wolftrail 195cm weighs 1.13kg. In actual fact it’s more like 1.5kg, as stated on the compression sack.
With many rivals such as the Therm-a-Rest Questar 20F/-6C and Sierra Designs Cloud 800 hovering around the 1kg mark, the Wolftrail is noticeably heavier – 1.5kg isn’t intolerable but fans of ultralight gear probably won’t be too impressed.
In terms of packed size, the Wolftrail Down -7 measures 37 x 22cm. Again, that’s fine to fit into a trekking pack, but by no means class leading. It’s quite similar to the popular Rab Ascent 700 sleeping bag, which is intended for the same conditions.
Materials and sustainability
One of the benefits of a slightly heavier construction is that the Wolftrail Down -7 does feel relatively durable. The shell and lining fabrics of lightweight sleeping bags usually feel delicate and rip-prone but the Wolftrail’s 20D nylon shell and lining don’t feel so fine.
Jack Wolfskin has a reasonably high standard when it comes to sustainability too. The brand is PFC-free and is a Fair Wear Foundation member with ‘Leader’ status, which, according to Fair Wear, means Jack Wolfskin shows ‘best practices in complex areas such as living wages and freedom of association’.
The Wolftrail Down -7 sleeping bag is also a bluesign-approved product, and the main 20D nylon fabric (called Dreamtouch Crossrip – again, great name) is fully recycled. So, with the Wolftrail, you can sleep with a clear conscience.
Size and shape
The Wolftrail Down -7 is a mummy shape but doesn’t have the aggressive tapering you get on more technical sleeping bags. We think it strikes a nice balance between thermal efficiency and spaciousness.
Regarding sizes there are just two: a regular version for those up to 180cm tall and a long version for those up to 195cm tall. There is no wide version of either, although we were quite happy with the width (about 80cm at the shoulders for the long version and 75cm for the regular). In a more relaxed mummy shape like this regular and wide versions aren’t as necessary as those with a more technical, tapered shape.
Features
The most obvious feature of the Wolftrail Down -7 is the curved zip. Rather than opening down the side of the bag, this one crosses over the centre, following the natural through movement of your arm as you open and close the zip. It’s kind of similar to Sierra Designs’ zipperless sleeping bags that have a curved, wraparound ‘comforter’ – similar in the sense that both approaches open wide across the bag, which allows for easy entry and exit.
At the face, the Wolftrail has quite a beefy draught collar, plus a face warmer. The bag zips up close around the face, and the combination of these features means the Wolftrail is effective at retaining heat around the head, which is where most of the heat is lost.
The Wolftrail also has some other neat features such as the stash pockets – one pretty standard internal security pocket but also a clever external pocket next to the hood into which you can put your pillow/makeshift pillow.
The baffles are a box construction, which is what you want because it allows the down to loft properly. But where most box baffles run horizontal across the bag, those on the Wolftrail are a diagonal cut. Is that a pro or a con? Frankly, we don’t think there’s any difference – the horizontal and diagonal box baffles both work well.
Verdict
The Jack Wolfskin Wolftrail Down -7 is competing in arguably the toughest part of the sleeping bag market: mid-priced 3-season sleeping bags.
While it doesn’t have the best warmth-to-weight ratio in its class, it is a dependable, well made, sustainable, and comfortable sleeping bag with a clever S-shaped zip, and is suitable for hiking or camping for most of the year.
Versatile? Absolutely.
How we tested
The Jack Wolfskin Wolftrail Down -7 was tested by Chris Williams (pictured above), one of our staff writers and gear testers. Chris is a journalist and hiking fanatic from New Zealand with several years of both journalistic and outdoor industry experience who has been with us since 2021.