REI HunkerDown 20 Sleeping Bag Review

Bottom Line

The REI HunkerDown 20 adeptly balances comfort and versatility in a practical design that’s warm, spacious, and affordable. Nearly identical to the REI Siesta Hooded 20 sleeping bag, the HunkerDown distinguishes itself with cozy, lightweight 600-fill-power down insulation. 

The bag is rectangular, providing plenty of room for a range of sleeping preferences and allowing more unrestricted movement for those who shift around during the night. A wrap-around zipper also enables the HunkerDown to transform into a quilt, for even greater options for your sleep setup or as a toasty layer when hanging around the campsite. 

Down filling gives the HunkerDown leeway for use as a mostly three-season bag. It’s most comfortable in the mid-30s and up, making it less practical in early spring or late fall as temperatures start to cool. Although its weight and less technical design don’t make it as well-suited for backpacking, the REI HunkerDown 20 is a budget-friendly addition to your car camping setup that offers the perfect blend of roomy coziness.

Comfort

The REI HunkerDown 20 is a rectangular sleeping bag, making it more accommodating of varied sleep positions. Whether you stick to your back, sleep on your side, or do a combination of everything, the wide cut of the HunkerDown allows for a range of movement and body positions. We loved being able to spread our arms and legs and shift from one angle to another without restriction. REI also offers the HunkerDown in four size options, providing even more flexibility in fitting the bag to your body type. 

Another aspect that gives the HunkerDown an edge in comfort is the soft and smooth interior fabric. Sleeping bag fabric can be slippery, causing unwanted sliding when you’re inside the bag. We particularly liked that the HunkerDown’s fabric was smooth but secure.

Another final touch of coziness in the HunkerDown’s design is its hood. Primarily functioning as an insulator, it also fits a regular-sized pillow. If you want the comforts of home while camping, the HunkerDown lets you feel a bit more like you’re in your own bed, while still comfortably tucked into a sleeping bag.

Warmth

The REI HunkerDown 20 is a reliable three-season option thanks to its cozy down fill and insulating design. Although rated for 20°F, REI doesn’t provide a suggested comfort rating. Using the bag during a night in the low 30s in the high desert of California’s Inyo National Forest, we found ourselves feeling a bit chilly. Although we could have opted for wearing thicker layers that night, our experiences testing the HunkerDown point to peak comfort at temperatures from the mid-30s and up, making it well-suited for use from late spring to the first frosty days of autumn. 

REI uses 600-fill-power down insulation for the HunkerDown, evenly distributed throughout the bag and kept in place by horizontal baffles. Its rectangular shape allows for more air pockets that make the bag slower to heat up, but the HunkerDown incorporates several elements to maximize heat retention. 

The bag features a generously sized hood that cinches with a drawstring for a snugger fit around the head, fully trapping heat. The bag has a large draft collar at the neck, which helps keep heat from escaping. It also includes a thick draft tube that follows the bag’s zipper, wrapping around the bottom of the bag. Zippers can sometimes allow air to seep through, but the plush draft tube helps prevent heat loss, particularly at the bottom of the bag, where the wrap-around zipper leaves feet more vulnerable to the cold. 

To top it all off, the interior fabric, the shell, and down filling are all treated with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish that wicks moisture and helps the HunkerDown to stay dry and warm even in wet conditions.

Weight & Packed Size

Although too heavy for backpacking, at 3 pounds, 8 ounces, the REI HunkerDown 20 is on the lighter end of the camping sleeping bag spectrum. The majority of its design elements overlap with REI’s Siesta Hooded 20 sleeping bag. But the use of pliable down filling in the HunkerDown, as opposed to the Siesta’s synthetic fill, not only provides solid insulation but also better enables the bag to remain lighter. The HunkerDown is 2 pounds lighter than the Siesta and less bulky when packed. 

The HunkerDown easily slides into a standard stuff sack, packing down to a convenient, compact 12 by 8 inches, which can be squeezed into tighter spaces when you’re transporting a lot of gear. We tested the bag in one of our compression sacks and found we could shrink its overall packed size by several inches, making it an even smaller profile for streamlined portability. 

REI also includes a mesh sack, which we recommend for storing the HunkerDown between uses to maintain loft and allow the down fill to breathe.

Features

The REI HunkerDown 20 is enhanced by a series of thoughtful features perfectly attuned to outdoor use. The bag has a zipper that extends its entire length and wraps around its bottom. With a two-way zip, the bottom of the bag can be selectively opened to allow full foot ventilation on warm nights or for sleepers who run hot. The wrap-around zipper also enables the bag to fully unzip into a quilt, offering more flexible, ventilated sleeping options, as well as making it possible to use the HunkerDown as an extra layer around the campsite. 

The zipper is fully protected by a draft tube, bordered by a strip of nylon that prevents snags. So when you’re fumbling with the zipper in the dark, you won’t have to worry about it getting caught. Most uniquely, though, the HunkerDown has a second zipper that runs partway down its opposite side. When unzipped, the top of the bag can fold over like a blanket for cozy ventilation or greater upper-body flexibility.

Should You Buy the REI Hunkerdown 20?

The REI HunkerDown 20 is an all-around reliable sleeping bag pick, offering solid warmth, useful features, and a comfortable design that’s easy to bring on all your camping adventures. The bag’s wide cut is roomy. The down fill is cozy and warm. And elements like a foldable draft collar and a large hood help insulate and provide the comforts of a frontcountry bed. 

Those looking for a sleeping bag that can crossover between car camping and backpacking will not be as well served by the HunkerDown, due to its weight and less-technical rectangular build. The bag also performs best in temperatures in the mid-30s and up, so if you find yourself in cooler climates or camping later in the season, a bag with more robust fill will prove a better option. However, overall, the REI HunkerDown 20 is an approachable down sleeping bag thoughtfully designed for outdoor use that will keep you feeling cozy and comfortable from car to tent.

What Other Camping Sleeping Bags Should You Consider?

Are you wondering how the REI HunkerDown 20 stacks up against our other top picks? Find out on our best camping sleeping bags list. And consider these awesome alternatives:

REI Siesta Hooded 20 Review: Prefer synthetic as a lower-maintenance alternative to down? The Siesta Hooded is essentially the HunkerDown, but with a synthetic fill. Featuring the same roomy rectangular shape that offers comfy spaciousness, the two bags are nearly identical. The Siesta packs on a couple of extra pounds but will fit your budget better. 

REI Trailmade 25 Review: For those looking for a cozy sleeping bag but want something that can better handle the jump from car camping to backpacking, the Trailmade 25 is a crossover option that’s warm, durable, and easy on the wallet. The Trailmade has the useful features and comfort of the HunkerDown, but packaged in a mummy shape that’s perfect for shorter backcountry trips.  

Teton Sports Celsius XXL 0F Review: For all your cold-weather adventures, the thickly padded Celsius will keep you toasty. The Celsius shares the HunkerDown’s large hood and rectangular build. But a soft flannel lining and comforter-like loft enable it to have an even lower temperature rating. With their many design similarities, the Celsius is an ideal cold-weather alternative to the HunkerDown.