A sleeping bag designed for getting busy. Marketing ploy or ingenious idea? Read more for our review.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of innovation in outdoor products. Too often it seems that all the companies out there are copying each others designs. Rarely do truly innovative products come along.
Last July I was at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City. It was here that I ran across a previously unknown (to me) design firm called Alite Designs. On display were quite a few products for enjoying the outdoor. Their big draw though was the sexy hotness. The company claimed it was designed around one thing, getting busy in the woods. A bit gimmicky perhaps, but at least it seemed that there would be something different about it. Fast forward to this spring, and the sexy hotness is ready for production. Alite contacted me and wanted to know if I’d like to test their sleeping bag. How could I say no?
The sexy hotness itself is a synthetic fill bag rated down to 20 degrees. It’s not the lightest bag on the market at 3.5 pounds, but it’s also nowhere close to the heaviest. The designers at Alite saw fit to put zippers on both sides of the bag, so there’s no need to pick one over the other. The bags can also zip together for sleeping with your significant other (or tonight’s one night stand). Dual pockets on the front will hold small items like a head lamp or car keys for a quick morning getaway.
That’s where the normal sleeping bag features end. Open up the bag and you’ll notice something a bit strange about the lining. There’s a reflective Kama Sutra pattern printed on it. Obviously, Alite likes to have a bit of fun when they design their products.
So where does the ‘sexy hotness’ part of the bag come from? Well, that’s due to the zipper you can see in the picture on the left. The entire bottom of the sleeping bag zips in half and there are insulated slippers built into the bottom of the bag. If you unzip the side zippers a bit you can stick your arms through them and walk around while wearing your sleeping bag. From my personal testing, this is extremely nice for getting up to pee in the middle of the night. While it’s a bit awkward to unzip the bag and your legs do get cold while making the walk to the latrine, it’s still better than the alternative.
This is what I love about Alite Designs. Their designers aren’t afraid to take some risks in the name of improving the products they make. Clearly, this isn’t an ultralight bag. However, it will work perfectly fine for 90% of the people that do go camping. So while the ‘sex in the woods’ marketing angle is a bit gimmicky, I do really like the bag overall.
It hasn’t been cold enough to test the sexy hotness down to its 20 degree rating, but I was never cold in the bag. The extra long zipper pulls are a nice touch as they’re incredibly easy to find in the dark. The inside of the bag leaves more than enough room to toss and turn at night without feeling claustrophobic.
The sexy hotness retails for $149 and you can buy it directly from Alite’s website. From the rumors I’ve heard, it may also be available in your local outdoor stores too (sans Kama Sutra pattern). At $149, it’s priced roughly at the same level as all the other synthetic sleeping bags out there. If you’re looking for a sleeping bag that’s a bit more playful than the average Coleman, you might want to give the sexy hotness a look.
Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.
