Hotcore is a 100% Canadian owned and operated company that makes sleeping bags which are also designed here in Canada. We tried out their T-100 lightweight Tapered Sleeping Bag this Spring and Summer and have been very impressed! Here's a rundown of how the bag functions...

The T-100 is a regular length sleeping bag with a tapered design. As shown in the photo above, the grey tail end of the bag is 56cm/22" compared to it being 81cm/32" at the shoulder. Why would you want a tapered sleeping bag? Since people are wider at the shoulders than the feet, a tapered bag helps reduce the volume of the sleeping bag. This cuts down on the size and weight of the bag, as well as freeing up that little bit more of space in your backpack. Since your feet take up less space, the tapered design means less air that needs to be heated to keep you warm. Being snug isn't for everyone however, and while it doesn't hug you like a Mummy Bag, sometimes switching sides in the middle of the night may be a bit more of a conscious effort than a square sleeping bag. The space savings and heat preservation is worth it in our opinion.

The sleeping bag comes with a stuff sack which is incredibly handy. You won't have to purchase a second bag to pack it either, as it has built-in compression straps. No need to fold your bag nicely, just grab your sleeping bag and start stuffing. In conjunction with the straps, you will be able to cinch up the entire thing into a small packable size of about 32cm/12.5" with a diameter of 15cm/6". When setting up the sleeping bag for the night, after removing it from the bag, it didn't take much for the loft to return for a cozy night ahead.

The 198cm/78" long body of the sleeping bag is made from a very soft crimson red 75D Polyester Diamond Ripstop fabric. Our favourite aspect of it? You won't slip off our air mattress in the middle of the night. It was nice to wake up in the morning and find ourself right where we fell asleep.

It weighs 1.1 kg/2.4 pounds and is insulated with TrueLoft with an extra layer near your mid-section. The TrueLoft microfiber insulation is siliconized, which is engineered to trap more warm air than a sleeping bag with a similar amount of loft. Always remember the key tip of performing a little bit of aerobics before bedtime, to warm up your core temperature, to allow the sleeping bag to help keep you warm throughout the night. The T-100 is rated for 0ºC/32ºF.

There is a hood compartment (made from 2 layers of soft pongee polyester fabric) that lets you put in a pillow, or fold up a sweater to create a pillow. It has its own drawstring which also lets you tighten the "pillow pocket" so that your sweater stays-put for the night. If you toss and turn a lot, you will enjoy always having your pillow follow you since it won't be going anywhere.

The zipper was always easy to find with its distinguishable pull-tab, even in the night without light. We didn't have any issues of the zipper easily binding on the fabric either. If you have two Hotcore sleeping bags of the same size, you can zip them together.

Find a Hotcore sleeping bag at a dealer near you. The T-Series is available in varying sizes with the T-100, T-200 and T-300. The MSRP for the T-100 is $74.99. Keep up to date on Hotcore by following them on Twitter.

Full disclosure: At the time of review, Hotcore Sleeping bags supports Traversing by purchasing banner ads. We try to remain impartial while writing this review and hope to bring you an unbiased look at this piece of gear.