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Simba Tested - Rab Mythic 600 Sleeping Bag

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Simba Tested - Our gear guru & resident thru-hiker, Bryden Bowley (Trail Name = Simba), spent the summer of 2019 thru-hiking the Continental Divide Trail over 2,000 miles across Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. While hiking, he chose 22 products to use, abuse, and give his unbiased review. Bryden's hiking resumé includes over 5,400 miles of trails since 2017 - for comparison that's about the same distance from LA to NYC and back again.

21 day hike across the Swedish Kungsleden trail - 270 miles
The Anna Purna Circuit in Nepal, topping out at 17,800 feet above sea level - 175 miles
2017 thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail where he earned his trail name "Simba" - 2,650
2019 Continental Divide Trail - 2,300 miles

Each week we'll release a new review that Bryden shot while on trail last summer - plus a follow up with his honest feedback about each product. We're proud to share Bryden's unbiased opinion about these products, and you can ask him questions directly through our Instagram Page. This is Simba Tested.

Rab Mythic 600 5-Degree Sleeping Bag

Alright, give a quick summary on why you chose this bag?

The CDT goes through extremely rugged terrain with drastic weather changes. I had just finished up hiking the Wyoming Great Basin, and as I entered into Colorado the temperatures were dropping like crazy. I was using my Western Mountaineering Ultralite, which is a 20 degree bag. I didn’t think that it was going to cut it, so I was in the market for something new. I did a bit of research on Rab and found the Mythic series and went with the 600.

What was your first impression of the sleeping bag - from opening it up to your first night in it?

When I opened it up I immediately took note of the quality of the bag. The materials felt soooo nice and I felt like I was holding something with high quality. It just felt like it was a great choice. The first night sleeping in it was good. It wasn’t a very cold night, so I didn’t get to see how it would fair in cold temperatures. It was cozy and comfortable.

Rab makes some really quality stuff! Tell us about the first night you slept in cold temps though.

This is where my opinion started to shift on if this was the proper bag for me or not. With the advertised 5 Degree Temperature rating, I was expecting to be toasty warm in nights that were in the teens.

To put it bluntly, I wasn’t warm. The next 500 miles of Colorado I was cold every night. I was wearing all of my layers too. I was disappointed. I started to think that maybe my Western Ultralite would’ve been the same warmth, even though it's a 20 degree bag.

Wow, thats a bummer. Is there anything you think you could’ve done differently to make yourself warmer?

Maybe use a sleeping bag liner. I know that they add quite a bit of warmth. I don’t carry one and I’m starting to think that maybe I should next time I’m hiking in cold temps.

So what type of season would you recommend someone to use this sleeping bag in?

I would say that if you’re hiking in temps that are in the 20s at night at the coldest, you would be warm enough. Shoulder seasons like spring and fall would be good. Bring a sleeping bag liner and warm layers though. Keep in mind my experience with this bag and know that I’m a warm sleeper, so pack appropriately.

Colorado temps in October are cold to begin with, but in the alpine it gets soooo cold. It's basically winter. Some of nights out there were in the single digits and I felt like a popsicle! Several times out there I would begin setting up my tent, and before I was done the water had completely frozen in my water bottles... So maybe take all of this with a grain of salt, because I put this bag to the absolute limit and it would do just fine in a more casual setting.