Nemo Tempo Endless Promise Synthetic Sleeping Bag

If you sleep on your side, a tight mummy bag is a long night of fighting the zip. The Nemo Tempo Endless Promise gives your knees and elbows room to bend, packs smaller than a rectangle, and is filled with recycled synthetic insulation that keeps working on a damp coastal morning.

Who it's for

Campers and hikers who want comfort first: weekenders at Girraween, families at a Murray River campground, and first-time hikers heading out on a two-day walk in the Blue Mountains. The Tempo is a sleeping bag for real-world camping with a pack or a boot full of gear, not a gram-shaving alpine bag.

Understanding the temperature rating

Nemo test the Tempo to the ISO standard, which gives two numbers. Buy on the comfort rating, the temperature at which a cold sleeper stays comfortable. The limit is where a warm sleeper can still get a night's sleep curled up; it is not a target.

• Men's 20: comfort 0 °C, limit -6 °C
• Men's 35: comfort 7 °C, limit 2 °C
• Women's 20: comfort -5 °C, limit -11 °C
• Women's 35: comfort 0 °C, limit -6 °C

As a guide, a 7 °C comfort bag suits Queensland and coastal camping most of the year and warmer inland nights. A 0 °C bag covers shoulder-season trips to the tablelands and the Victorian high country. The Women's 20, at -5 °C comfort, handles frosty winter nights inland and is the warmest Tempo.

Shape and room

The Classic Spoon shape bulges at the elbows and knees, so you can draw your knees up or roll over without the bag rolling with you. The men's Regular measures 157 cm around the shoulders and 155 cm around the knees; the women's Regular is 152 cm and 150 cm. The Blanket Fold draft collar tucks under your chin like a doona on cold nights and pushes away when you get warm, and a Pillow Pocket in the hood holds a camp pillow or a rolled-up jacket so it stays put.

Down or synthetic here

Synthetic. Zerofiber 650 is made from 100% post-consumer recycled content, keeps its loft, packs down small and stays warm when it gets wet, which matters more in a humid tent or on a dewy beach camp than any gram count. The shell and lining are 50D recycled polyester with a PFAS-free (C0) water-repellent finish.

Weight and packed size

• Men's 35: 1.31 kg Regular, 1.41 kg Long (8.5-9 L compressed)
• Men's 20: 1.65 kg Regular, 1.75 kg Long (12.9-13.7 L)
• Women's 35: 1.55 kg Regular, 1.65 kg Long (11.8-12.7 L)
• Women's 20: 1.95 kg Regular, 2.1 kg Long (13.7-15.2 L)

Every Tempo comes in a Stow-or-Go cube that compresses for the pack or opens up for loose storage at home.

Sizing

Men's Regular fits up to 183 cm and Long up to 198 cm. Women's Regular fits up to 168 cm and Long up to 183 cm. Choose the shortest that fits you: spare length is cold air your body has to heat. If you sit right on the line, or like to pull the bag over your head, size up.

Looking after it

Store the Tempo loose in its expanded cube or hanging in a cupboard, not compressed, so the synthetic fill keeps its loft. At the end of its life, it is an Endless Promise product, built to be recycled rather than binned.