I thought I’d follow up my bear sleeping bag post with a review of another animal themed sleeping bag, The North Face Cats Meow. Unlike the bear sleeping bag, this a a serious sleeping bag with great performance.
The North Face Cats Meow
The North Face Cats Meow is a synthetic filled, multi-purpose, 3 season sleeping bag. With a rating of -7°C and weighing in at a respectable 1.2kg, or 2lb 10 oz in old money, this bag is definitely a good all round performer at a great price. It comes with a stuff sack along with a mesh sack for long-term storage so you don’t damage the loft.
The North Face Cats Meow Highlights
- I really liked the chest-level watch pocket which allows you to stash away your alarm clock near your head so you can get woken up and get started on your next days walking nice and early.
- Glow-in-the-dark zip pull which should stop you having to fumble about in the middle of the night when you need to get in or out.
- The stiffener in the zip column is designed prevent annoying snags which in a moment of frustration can all to easily lead to a ripped bag.
- Being synthetic, the sleeping bag still keeps much of its insulating properties when wet, but dried super quick.
- The lining of the Cats Meow has a comfortable “silky” feel to it as well as being effective in wicking away sweat.
- The overlapping shingle construction eliminates cold spots by evenly distributing the insulation.
My only criticisms would be that it doesn’t come with a compression sack and I did find the foot box a bit small, although I do have size 13 feet!
Overall I really like this bag, it’s durable, reasonably lightweight and preforms well. The low price tag makes the cats meow an ideal piece of kit for someone starting out or indeed anyone looking for a good quality sleeping bag without breaking the bank.
Click here to view the our range of sleeping bags, including the cat’s meow.
I’ve put the rest of the technical details I haven’t mentioned in the post below, for all you gearheads looking to know the exact specs.
Technical Details for The North Face Cats Meow
- Bag length 213cm
- Bag width – foot 51cm, shoulder 79cm
- Pack width 20cm
- Pack length 43cm
- Min Comfort Rating -7 °C
- Weight 1200g
- Climashield™ Prism synthetic insulation
- Overlapping shingle construction
- Firestorm™ top shell fabric
- Full-length draft tube
- Head-level zipper garage with welded reinforced Velcro® flap
- One-hand pull cord for easy hood adjustments with flat cordlock and Neoprene cover
CheapTents Outdoor Gear Blog 
I bought one of these a few years back and the minimum temp rating is -2c, not -7, so don’t expect it to be any warmer than other synthetic bags of similar weight. Quite expensive too for a synthetic, though nicely made, fairly narrow fit.
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I may have been slightly wrong in what I said about the temperature rating, mainly because temperature ratings for sleeping bags are so confusing!
The Cats Meow has a comfort rating of 0c, which is what is comfortable for the average person in average conditions.
The transition rating is -7c which is the temperature which almost everyone will be fine down to but will have to put on extra clothing beyond.
The risk rating is -24c, Lower than this temperature and you will be at risk of death, although you won’t be comfortable at anywhere close to it.
Temperature ratings on sleeping bags can be very confusing and there is no real standard measure of comfort rating. I’m planning on writing a post about sleeping bag temperature ratings very soon as it’s a very confusing topic.
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Thanks for clarifying this Ryan – your info agrees with TNF’s website, so I assume the bag has been substantially upgraded over the past couple of years.
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