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We have been waiting for years for Mountain Hardwear to bring back the Phantom Series for women. While that hasn't exactly happened, Mountain Hardwear has made the new, high-end Phantom 15 in size “Short” or right around 66 inches in length, perfect for an average-height woman or someone around 5'5. We love the Phantom's high-quality 850 fill down and super lightweight, compressible shell materials and think this bag is a great choice for lightweight, 3-season backpacking. Its price tag, on the other hand, is a little heavy.
REASONS TO BUY
Lightweight
High-quality materials
Comfortable
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Included compression sack is heavy
November 2024 Update
Mountain Hardwear updated this bag since our test period. The updated Phantom 15 has a new color scheme and uses 800 fill power down (in contrast to the previous model's 850 fill power). The new bag is also constructed from recycled materials. We're linking to the latest version in our review.
This bag has high quality materials, is super light, and will fit most women
The highest three-season performance of any model in our bunch
If you're willing to sacrifice a bit of warmth and comfort for this lightweight package, this could be the bag for you
"Get Down" with this extremely well priced sleeping bag that will work for short to medium length backpacking trips in the summer
This synthetic model offers snug fitting design that is surprisingly compressible and a good choice to keep you warm in wet conditions
Rating Categories
Mountain Hardwear P...
Feathered Friends E...
Therm-a-Rest Hyperi...
Sierra Designs Get...
The North Face Cat'...
Warmth(25%)
8.0
10.0
4.0
6.5
7.5
Weight(25%)
7.5
8.5
10.0
6.6
6.0
Comfort(20%)
8.0
8.0
5.0
7.0
6.5
Packed Size(15%)
9.0
8.0
10.0
7.5
6.0
Features(15%)
8.0
9.0
8.0
6.5
7.0
Specs
Mountain Hardwear P...
Feathered Friends E...
Therm-a-Rest Hyperi...
Sierra Designs Get...
The North Face Cat'...
EN Temp Rating (Lower Limit)
23°F
20°F (not EN rated)
32°F
23°F
20°F
Insulation
800 FP Down
950+ Goose Down
900 FP Goose Nikwax Hydrophobic Down RDS
550 FP DriDown RDS
Recycled synthetic
Measured Weight
2.00 lbs
1.72 lbs
1.19 lbs
2.36 lbs
2.50 lbs
Female-Specific Features
Available in a "Short" length, which is a standard women's size
Extra fill in footbox and chest
Available in a "Short" length, which is a standard women's size
Women's specific cut
Available in a "Short" length, which is a standard women's size
Fill Weight
20.0 oz
17.3 oz (medium)
12.0 oz
25.0 oz
38.9 oz
Material
10D nylon ripstop
Pertex Endurance UL
10D ripstop nylon w/ DWR
20D polyester
20D ripstop nylon, taffeta
Neck Baffle
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Small Organization Pocket
No
No
No
No
Yes
Sleeping Pad Sleeve
No
No
Removable attachment straps
No
No
Zipper Length
59 in
62 in
35 in
39.5 in
34.5 in
Shoulder Girth
58 in
54 in
55 in
58 in
60 in
Hip Girth
52 in
56 in
48.5 in
56 in
55 in
Foot Girth
44 in
38 in
36 in
40 in
41 in
Compression or Stuff Sack
Compression sack and storage bag
Stuff sack and storage bag
Compression sack and storage bag
Stuff sack and storage bag
Compression sack and storage bag
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Our Analysis and Test Results
This high quality, lightweight bag is what we ladies have been waiting for from Mountain Hardwear. It's cozy and lofty and is a great trail companion.
Performance Comparison
The Mountain Hardwear Phantom 15 in the short length is a great choice for a lightweight women's backpacking bag.
Credit: Ian McEleney
Warmth
Although the name of this bag is the Phantom “15,” there is no temperature rating associated with this number. The Phantom's EN comfort rating is 23F. From our field testing, we will say we think this rating is pretty accurate in comparison to the other products in this test. The Phantom has a relatively svelte shape with not a lot of space around your body for “dead”, cold air to hang around. Because of this snug fit, we think this bag will keep you very warm on cool alpine evenings. We'd bring this bag with us on spring through fall mountain adventures.
Deceivingly, the Phantom's comfort temperature rating is actually 23F.
Credit: Ian McEleney
Weight
This bag is one of the top contenders in terms of its weight, sliding in right at 2 lbs. It's lightweight shell materials, high quality down and slimmed down shape, and features make sure this bag won't be a burden on your back. We did find the included compression sack a little hefty at 3.2 ounces. Know there are other much lighter products you could purchase to cut down your weight even more.
Comfort
With its “Performance mummy cut,” a tighter fit around the hips and shoulders, some may feel a little claustrophobic in this bag if they're not used to it. It is very roomy in the foot box, with plenty of room to move your feet around and stuff extra layers into. It is snug fitting around the hips, which is nice and may keep you warmer as that's a cold spot for many women, our testers included, get cold hips at night. The Phantom's hood feels a little claustrophobic because the inside baffle doesn't have a drawstring to cinch it down out of the way and the opening when zipped up all the way is quite small. Otherwise, this is a pretty cozy bag. It's high lofting down and soft sleek lining materials feel great and you'll feel bundled and cozy in this product.
We think the Phantom is very cozy and comfortable, especially with a cushy sleeping pad and backpacking pillow!
Credit: Ian McEleney
Packed Size
Because of its very compressible 850 fill down and thin, lightweight shell materials the Phantom can be packed down very small. It comes with an included compression sack to help squish it as small as possible.
The Mountain Hardwear Phantom 15 comes with an included compression sack and packs down small.
Credit: Ian McEleney
Features
As with many of the high-end bags we've tested, the main feature of the Phantom is its high-quality materials. We love its lofty 850 fill down material, although it does not appear to have been treated with any water repellent coating like the other bags of this class have been. We're not super concerned with the lack of hydrophobic down as we hope our bag never gets soaked out there, but it is one feature that is lacking compared to other high-end products. The Phantom also has a good, anti-snag zipper pull, and interesting vertical baffle construction at the head of the bag to help keep the down where you want it in that area. We love the flashy color combo the Phantom comes in as well.
We like the Phantom's anti-snag zipper pull and it's flashy colors!
Credit: Ian McEleney
Value
As with many Mountain Hardwear products, this premium bag comes with a premium price tag. If this bag were not so expensive, we would more readily recommend it. As it is, it's one of the highest-priced bags in this review and slightly below the curve in terms of value with the rest of the high-end products we tested. Other bags have higher fill power down that have hydrophobic treatments, and cost the same.
Conclusion
We love the Phantom 15 “Short” and are so grateful that Mountain Hardwear decided to make a high-end sleeping back that is the right size for shorter people - including most women! If it has a slightly lower price tag we would not hesitate to recommend it to all our friends. It is definitely a great choice for any backpacking adventure and will keep you warm on cool spring and fall evenings.
