Coleman Brazos 20 Sleeping Bag Review

The Coleman Brazos 20 Sleeping Bag is great for beginner or casual campers who want something simple and affordable for occasional use. While it’s noticeably heavier and bulkier and has lower-end materials than some other pricier bags, it has good loft and warmth, a comfortable inner lining, and it’s available at a great price. The affordable price tag makes this a great option for families with kids or for beginner campers who aren’t sure they’re ready to invest in something higher-end. Below I detail my experiences with the Brazos 20 on a handful of family camping trips in the Lake Tahoe area. Check out our guide to the best camping sleeping bags to see how it compares to the competition. 
 

Table of Contents

• Warmth and Comfort
• Size and Fit
• Weight and Packability
• Materials and Construction Quality
• Features
• Other Versions
• What We Like/What We Don't
• Comparison Table
• The Competition

Performance

Warmth and Comfort

The Coleman Brazos 20 is a classic rectangular sleeping bag with synthetic materials and insulation. The flannel-like inner lining is soft to the touch and provides a nicer next-to-skin feel than a lot of nylon materials used on other bags. The insulation is thick and robust, though it’s not as lofty as others, and it’s not very compressible for packing. The 20-degree temperature rating seems accurate based on side-by-side comparisons to other 20-degree bags, but the Brazos lacks a hood or cinch cords around the neck and shoulders to help seal out cold drafts. The two-way full side and bottom zipper does have a small draft tube that helps eliminate cold spots along the edges of the bag. Overall, the Brazos has a similar build and feel as other 20-degree bags, but the lack of closures around the head and shoulders makes it feel a little less warm in real-world conditions.
 

Size and Fit

The Brazos 20 is only available in one rectangular size (75” x 33”), which Coleman claims fits campers up to 5’11” tall. I’m right at 5'11”, and weigh about 175 pounds, and the Brazos 20 fit me very well—comfortably snug, but not too tight. The sizing is not as generous as some other oversized car camping sleeping bags, but the rectangular shape is a little roomier than most mummy-shaped designs. This standard size is great for kids, teens, and smaller adults, but will be a little snug for anyone over 6’ tall. 
 

Weight and Packability

The main drawback of the Brazos 20 is its bulky size and hefty weight. It is one of the heaviest car camping sleeping bags that we've tested at 6 pounds, 15.2 ounces, and the bulky material does not compress much or pack down very well. The edges of the bag include some fasteners to help keep it neatly aligned when rolling it up, but it simply doesn’t fit into its stuff sack very well. It took a lot of effort to finally get it in the sack, which is a frustrating battle to fight when you’re trying to pack things up and break down camp. While it’s understandable that a budget-oriented product like this will have simpler materials that don’t compress as well, I’d love to see a larger, more useful stuff sack. 
 

Materials and Construction Quality

The materials used in the Brazos 20 feel less refined than the modern lightweight textiles and high-fill-power down insulation used in many higher-end sleeping bags. That said, from the inner lining to the insulation to the outer nylon, the Brazos feels strong and stout where others might feel dainty or fragile. This makes the Brazos heavier, bulkier, and less compressible than most competitors, but it also makes it feel more durable—it doesn’t need to be babied to prevent wear and tear.  Given the low price tag, the overall construction quality is adequate, though most components—from the materials to the zippers to the draft tubes to the stuff sack—feel lower-end than what’s on other higher-priced bags. 
 

Features

Given its budget-oriented design and price tag, the Brazos 20 is pretty light on features compared to other sleeping bags. It has all the basics like a full-length zipper, draft tube, and an inner storage pocket, but they’re noticeably lighter-duty than what’s found on higher-end bags. It also lacks a few thoughtful creature comforts, like any type of draft collar or cinch cords around the neck and shoulder area. The Brazos does have a full-length zipper that allows the bag to be opened all the way, which is a simple yet useful feature that provides added versatility for use as a blanket or to zip two bags together for multiple people.
 

One other notable feature is the no-snag zipper design. An oversized head on the zipper pull helps keep the two sides of the zipper properly separated and aligned as you pull things closed. We’ve seen other anti-snag zipper designs like this that are a little more effective, but this design does a good job of preventing most snags during normal use.
 

Other Versions of the Coleman Brazos

The Coleman Brazos is also available in a 30-degree version for $54, which is quite a bit lighter at 5 pounds, 2.9 ounces. Both versions have full-length zippers that allow you to zip two bags together. To decide between the two, it's best to consider what temperatures you typically like to camp in and how warm your body runs while you sleep. If you plan to purchase two bags and zip them together, consider that the body heat from another person will help increase the warmth inside the bag. 

What We Like

• Affordable price tag for both the 20 and 30-degree versions, which is great for new campers or families that want to stock up on extra sleeping bags. 
• Good overall warmth and comfort.
• Full-length zipper allows the bag to be used as a quilt or to zip two bags together for multiple campers. 
   

What We Don’t

• Heavy and bulky materials that feel a bit cheap. 
• Limited feature set. 
• Very difficult to pack into its stuff sack. 

Comparison Table

The Competition

As one of the lowest-priced budget options that we tested, the Coleman Brazos 20 is most similar to the Teton Sports Celsius 0. Both provide adequate warmth and comfort, and both are large and bulky with noticeably lower-quality materials than some of the higher-end bags. Although the Celsius 0 has a lower temperature rating than the Brazos 20, Teton Sports advertises their ratings in terms of survival temperature, meaning that a truly comfortable temperature limit would be 20-30 degrees higher. This means that the Celsius 0 and the Brazos 20 are about equal in warmth. We’d give a slight nod to the Celsius, since it provides a hood to help seal in warmth, and it’s available in a wider range of sizes, colors, and temperature ratings. That said, the Brazos is quite a bit less expensive.
 

Compared to some of our favorite overall camping sleeping bags like the REI Siesta Hooded 0 and The North Face Wawona Bed 20, the Brazos 20 is much less refined. It lacks added features like a hood, draft collar, or cinch cords around the shoulders, its materials are lower quality, and components and features like zippers, draft tubes, and pockets aren’t executed as well. While the Brazos 20 will certainly keep you warm and comfortable, the experience of using it isn't as enjoyable as it is with the Siesta 20 or Wawona 20. The added features and refinements on these bags make them easier to pack and unpack, easier to zip in and out of, and simply more enjoyable to use. These bags do cost nearly three times as much as the Brazos though, so you’ll need to decide if the added refinements are worth the added expense.
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