Gear Review: Outdoor Research Wallcreeper

Generally speaking, bivying is not something to be enjoyed. O.K., you can have a comfortable evening out in the elements, but if it were really fun we wouldn’t spend good money (relatively good money) on homes… we’d just bivouac all the time. I digress. Whatever the outdoor industry can do to make a bivouac more comfortable while not adding weight is always appreciated, and Outdoor Research has just hit a home run in that department.

For those who don’t know it, Outdoor Research is not your fathers Outdoor Research. This company used to be all about gaiters and hats, but it changed hands a few years ago and is now truly doing outdoor research. Across the board they are making good stuff, but the Wallcreeper and Exped DownMat are especially innovative.

The DownMats are air mattresses similar to the well known Thermarest. However, these pads have taken the Thermarest concept through a whole new door. The pad is baffled and filled with 700-fill goose down. When it inflates the down fluffs up, creating an insulation layer between you and the ground (no more sleeping on the rope). Being goose down, the insulation compresses to a much more convenient size than the synthetic Thermarest. I personally used the smallest one, which at 47 X20 inches and 665 grams was specifically designed for bivying. With an R-Value of 5.9 it kept me warm, and the 2-3 inches of space between me and the rock meant I didn’t suffer a night of bruised shoulders. The next morning I deflated it and compressed the thing down to a convenient ball roughly the size of a cantelope.

The DownMat was a pleasure, but the Wallcreeper sleeping bag was a true innovation. As the name implies, the Wallcreeper is specifically designed to be used on walls and big alpine climbs. The Wallcreeper is a 750-fill sleeping bag that works like a large down coat. You unzip it and slip in like a sleeping bag, but zippered opening for your arms allow you to work the stove, sort the gear, and gobble up those stale, crushed bagels you brought along. The arm-holes also allow you to stay clipped into the anchor without pulling the rope down over your face and chest. If you want to bundle up, just pring your arms in and zip the arm-holes closed. A draw cord on the hood allows you to synch it snuggly against your head (or helmet). The bottom of this bag is open, but synches tightly shut with another draw cord. This allows you to change shoes or stand up and walk around without leaving the warmth of the bag.

The Wallcreeper also comes in a less compressable Primaloft design. I had the down version, but the Primaloft is rated as a slightly warmer bag and will hold in heat even if you pop open a water bottle in the pig and soak everything. The down bag is only rated to 45 degrees, but by wearing a down jacket, as I generally have with me on any overnight jaunt, you would bring that rating up at least 20 degrees. Our recent trip to Zion in the last week of September probably gave us a 40 degree night, but I snoozed through it with only a t-shirt and light pair of pants on inside the bag.

Both of these tools are welcome aditions to my overnight trips. With the Exped Downmat I get warmth and comfort without having to bring both a foam mattress and an air pad. The Wallcreeper is such a pleasure I’m tempted to turn the heat down this winter and wear the thing on the couch while I watch T.V. Give both of them a try and I’m sure you’ll agree… Outdoor Research just made the overnight bivouac way more comfortable than it has ever been.

Basically a knockoff of the Feathered Friends Rock Wren, which has been on the market for well over a decade. At least with the original you have all sorts of custom option (better down, overfill, different fabrics) though it costs more.

The down mat is a rip off of big agnes sleeping pads out of steamboat springs. I love mine.

Actually, Exped (a German company) predates Big Agnes by quite a bit. But Jack Stephenson was selling down-filled airmats when they were all in diapers.

thumbs up for "Prima-Loft" one of the warmest (and quick drying) insulators. It's stuffed into my Ice-Gloves... speakin' of which ~ are you sharpening yer tools yet Sam..?

btw thanks for the review

Clyde wrote:Actually, Exped (a German company) predates Big Agnes by quite a bit. But Jack Stephenson was selling down-filled airmats when they were all in diapers.

Chet,

good one!! you've been thumbing through those old catalogs again''!!

Marmot actually came up with with a synthetic design like this years ago. I've still got mine and it's pretty warm for bivvys when you need just abit more than what a big, puffy jacket will offer but don't want much bulk.

clyde, let's go climb. There's ice in The Park!!

Jack

At 2 pounds, the Wallcreeper seems a bit heavy for the amount of warmth. A full-on 15 degree sleeping bag weighs less.

Kai, I see your point, but a few years ago I quit looking at the numbers and just started going with what I found. I was warm in this bag and it compressed down real nice. I can tell you that this winter, alpine climbing, it will be the thing I throw in the pack for emergencies. It doesn't seem that heavy.
The main point was that it is versatile... it kept me warm, took up little space, and allowed me to be comfy in the morning and evening while I sorted gear and ate. The biggest down side to this thing was that I didn't want to get out of it in the morning. Also, I do now recall that FFF did something similar to this. No doubt its warm and functional, but without looking up the numbers I bet the Wallcreeper is thing is 2/3 the price. As per the mats, I did not know anyone was dong the down mats. My experience with inflatable's is in Thermarest and dolls. This one was more comfortable than either.\

Kirra... tools are sharp... still. I sharpened them for a trip to the Mooses Tooth last APril. Three days before departure I pulled 4 pieces in an unplanned rapid descent from the crux of The Witch. That did in my ankle. We shall see how said ankle works in plastics this winter. ONe thing for sure.... no french-technique.

This reminds me of an Armed Services surplus product I saw back in the 60's-70's. I think it was from the Air Force vintage Korean War. In their survival kits was a can. In the can was a down survival suit which was a jacket, integrated down pants or sleeping bag depending on how it was zipped. Although I looked for one in unused condition for years I have only seen the one and it wasn't for sale. I'm sure these products mentioned arr just futher down the evolutionary chain from that. this was quit the piece though. Zip the legs up under the arm pits inside the coat for a beefy jacket, drop them down and individually zip them for an integrated pant jacket combi or zip everything around the ouside for a sleeping bag. Still seems like a great idea. This thing was packaged in a small can and vacuum packed. Once out of the can it was stuff sack fair but you couldn't beat the size when canned.

Nice review, Sam.

The concept is innovative, but OR wasn't the first to try and market it; I had a friend that actually took a similar product on an alpine climb, when we knew we'd bivy... arm holes, drawstring at the feet, etc. I believe that was around 1999, and he'd had it for some time.

I think that one might have been a Feathered Friends product.