Advnture Verdict
Adjustable, packable and brilliantly designed to offer cosy, comfortable camping over many years of adventures. Overall, this product bagged a top score from the kids and a big thumbs up from the grownups, too.
Pros
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Adjustable length grows with the child
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Low weight and packsize
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PFC free
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170cm max user height will last
Cons
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Relatively expensive
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Deuter Starlight: first impressions
A fantastic offering at the higher-end of the synthetic childrens’ sleeping bag category, the Deuter Starlight is super soft and cosy, yet packs down small and light enough for multi-day backpacking.
The PFC-free fabric is soft and crackle-free, with a high-loft hollowfiber filling, which offers excellent warmth for its weight. Deuter doesn’t advertize a temperature rating for their kids’ sleeping bags, but this is at least two-season, and possibly three, depending on location.
From its short setting, which perfectly fitted our seven-year-old, the base unzips to accommodate someone of up to 170cm, which includes plenty of adults. The hood adjusts with a chunky drawcord, and both this and the zip are easy for smaller hands to grasp and use.
• RRP: $120 (US) / £85 (UK)
• Weight: 900g / 2Ib
• Style: Adjustable length, tapered square with hood
• Colors: Indigo & Navy / Maroon & Navy
• Max user height: 170cm / 67in
• Length: 160cm to 190cm / 63in to 75in
• Packsize: 18cm x 34cm / 7in x 17in
• Fill: PFC-free high-loft hollowfiber
• Compatibility: Family camping trips, backpacking
Deuter Starlight: on camp
Of all the kids’ sleeping bags we’ve tested over the past months, the Deuter Starlight has come out as a firm family favorite. It looks and feels like a proper sleeping bag, which the kids love. It’s well made and durable, yet super soft, PFC-free and brilliantly designed so that the zips and drawcords are easy for smaller hands to locate and use.
We tested the blue Starlight bag, with green contrast features, but Deuter also offer a maroon version with a navy inner. The design of this sleeping bag offers the best of both worlds when it comes to shape: it is tapered to ensure a snug fit, but has a squared base to maximize the available room for toe wiggling.
We used the Starlight unzipped for maximum ventilation on warm summer nights, but it really came into its own during cooler weather camping. The tapered shape and cosy, adjustable hood are snug and comfortable, keeping our kids cosy and warm well into single figures (Celsius) on trips to more challenging mountainous areas. Their enthusiasm for snuggling into their bags at the end of each day made for some unusually peaceful and relaxing evenings in the tent.
It’s not cheap, but this top-quality sleeping bag should last for years and, with its expanding design, grows with your child from around the age of five upwards. Overall, a highly recommended choice for family camping of the more adventurous kind.
