The Mountain Equipment Glacier 700 is a very clean looking bag, a classic mummy outline with horizontal baffles and no extraneous features at all. Even the hang loop for drying and airing at the foot is as minimalist as can be with just a single small shell fabric tunnel to thread your own loop through.

Peter Macfarlane recommends

The Glacier 700 is an warm and lightweight bag for high winter camps but it does limit movement with a close cut
Pros
  • comfort
  • performance
Cons
  • slightly narrower fit
Quick specs
Price: £400
Weight: 1180g regular
Fill: 699g of minimum 700 fill power Down Codex-approved duck down
Shell: DRILITE® LOFT™ polyamide outer with FC free DWR, recycled polyamide inner
Construction: trapezoidal and slated box wall baffles, zip baffle, adjustable hood and shoulder baffle, lode lock magnetic closure
Zip: ¾ length two way
Length: 205cm regular
Rating: comfort: -6°C limit: -13°C extreme: -34°C
Sizes: regular and long
Women/Men’s version: yes
www.mountain-equipment.co.uk

The performance is high and it’s the second warmest rating in the bags I tested. When inside the feedback and warmth is instant. The Mountain Equipment Glacier 700 is an excellent bag to climb into at camp but it is a cut quite close and I find movement not quite as easy or as natural inside as I did on the other bags in the review, especially on legs as I often sleep with one leg bent up a little.

The footbox is well shaped and roomy and at the other end the hood is quite small but is an excellent fit with good protection and has different shaped cords running through the cord lock for adjusting the upper and lower hood separately and easily in the dark.

The shoulder baffle has a bungee adjuster and an unusual magnetic closure that works well and has a textured fabric tab to undo it easily.

The zip runs smooth through most of its length but because of its slimmer fit, I tend to snag it at its last quarter.

The down fill lofts is extremely well and is protected by a DWR finish on the outer fabric that just doesn’t want to wet out. The weight is good and the compressed pack size of 20cm x 25cm is a good fit in a winter pack for carrying the Glacier 700 high up the winter hills.

Testing notes

Peter used the bags at camp and in bothies from late autumn 2023 to spring 2024 over a variety of conditions and temperatures. The packed sizes were taken from putting each the same compression sack and the weights were taken on digital scales without any stuff sack. You can compare this bag with others Peter tested in our buyer’s guide to the best cold weather sleeping bags.

This review was first published in the January 2025 issue of The Great Outdoors.