Zenbivy Light Bed - First Look

The Zenbivy Light Bed takes the traditional backcountry sleeping bag and reimagines it to a sleeping experience you find in your bed at home. The Light Bed builds on the original Zenbivy bed system by removing zippers and creating a modular sleep system, perfect for lightweight focused backpackers who aren’t willing to sacrifice comfort for a few ounces saved.

I’ve been using the Zenbivy Light Bed for a few months now, and will share my detailed thoughts on my experience with the bed at a later date, but today we will take a quick first look at my initial experience with the bed.

In January 2022 I went on a solo camping trip to Moab, Utah where I would be testing some new gear for future trips i’d be taking in 2022. The Light Bed would be getting its first test run on this trip. My Light Bed is the 10º rated quilt in a size large, paired with the 25” size fitted sheet. I used the Nemo Quasar 3D sleeping pad as the companion sleeping pad to the Light Bed system. I will speak to my experience of the Light Bed based on this initial sleeping experience from this trip.

ZENBIVY LIGHT BED GENERAL OVERVIEW

Out of the box I was initially impressed with the quality of the Light Bed. Construction quality, feel of the fabric, and design all seemed to be top notch. I will say however that there is a little bit of a learning curve with how to get the Light Bed set up for use. The quilt can be used alone without the fitted sheet, and there are 3 different ways you can arrange the foot box of the quilt to meet your needs. 1st is the option to open the quilt all the way like a blanket. 2nd is to loosely clip the colored loops to the create a rectangular shaped foot box, and 3rd, cinch everything down to create a fully closed foot box. When attached to the fitted sheet, you can employ the rectangular and mummy foot box options, and with the hood feature on the fitted sheet your comfort options increase with now a full mummy shaped bag that provides loads of space to move around.

The Light Bed uses colored loops and clips to secure the quilt to the fitted sheet, which provides the benefit of eliminating draft points on the quilt. Drafts are the biggest con I’ve found with lightweight focused backpacking quilts. Minimal in design, it’s difficult to get proper coverage of your body as you move around on your sleeping pad through the night. The Light Bed eliminates these draft points with a very wide quilt. The placement of the loops and clips through the torso also are such that a small baffle of insulation is below the loops so when you move, that small baffle stays close to the pad, eliminating drafts.

The Light Bed features a new shape around the neck that Zenbivy calls the Kylie-curve. Traditional backpacking quilts will have a cinch cord at the top of the quilt from end to end, So when cinched, the quilt will get smaller from corner to corner, but this also shortens the length of the quilt. The Kylie-curve only cinches the top of the quilt about 3/4 the length of the top of the quilt. This allows the quilt corners to tuck into the hood of the fitted sheet, and keeps the length of the quilt in tact, while still reducing drafts.

The Fitted sheet, which is the unsung hero of the Light Bed design is purchased separately from the quilt, but i’d argue is necessary for enjoying the complete experience desired from the Light Bed. Available in multiple sizes, the fitted sheet goes around your sleeping pad which keeps the whole bed system in place. So when you move around in the bed, the bed stays in place and again, reduces drafts and increases comfort.

The light bed is made using 800 fill power HyperDRY down.

FIRST NIGHT OUT IN THE LIGHT BED

With temperatures getting down into the 20’s overnight, I knew this would be a good test for the 10º rated Light Bed. Paired with the Nemo Equipment Quasar 3D sleeping pad, the first few moments laying in the bed proved this would be a comfortable night of sleep. What I enjoyed the most in my first night with the bed was the ability to move around, flip from one side to the other and not get tangled up in the bag. I slept warm and comfortable, and at the end of the day, isn’t that the most important thing when it comes to sleep? I think so.

What impressed me about the Zenbivy Light Bed right out the gate was the attention to detail that ultimately resulted in what felt like a fool proof opportunity to get good sleep. Now the conditions of the testing I did matched the gear that I had planned, which meant a good insulated sleeping pad, and a sleep system that was rated to the temperatures i’d be sleeping in. If those requirements are not met, then it doesn’t matter how good the design of the sleep system is. You’ll sleep cold, won’t sleep well and overall just won’t have a good experience.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE ABOUT THE LIGHT BED AFTER ONE TRIP

Not everything can be perfect, and while the Zenbivy Light Bed is amazing, it doesn’t check all the boxes for me. Which in reality, no piece of backpacking gear checks all the boxes. That said, there are very few things about the Light Bed that I dislike. The first con for me is the overall bulk and weight of the system. In an effort to create a spacious and comfortable sleep system, you’re adding additional fabric, insulation, and such that just adds to the bulk and weight of the system. There are sleeping bags that still have a roomy design that are quite a bit lighter in weight. Is this enough to sway me from using the Light Bed for my backpacking trips? Definitely not! For me the positives outweigh the negatives by a long shot.

Something that I was confused about with the Light Bed is the system did not come with a stuff sack. It did come with a mesh storage bag, but there was no stuff sack included. You need to buy the optional dry bag from Zenbivy or find some other brand of bag to put the Light Bed into if that’s your typical style of packing. For the price paid for the Light Bed, I feel this should be an included part of the kit.

Lastly, and this is a picky negative, but may resonate with some other hikers. Because of the size of the quilt, at least in my case with a size large and a 25” pad, the overall size of the system is quite large. I used the Light Bed in a 1 person tent, and the Light Bed took up a lot of space, and also had a bit more of the quilt touching the side wall of my single wall shelter than what i’ve had from other sleeping bags in 1 person tents.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

As i’ve had additional nights of use with the Light Bed, I am incredibly impressed with the performance of the system and how much more comfortably I sleep because of the design of the Light Bed. While my testing of the Light Bed is not complete, I would still recommend the Light Bed and the Zenbivy concept to anyone who has struggled with traditional mummy bags or ultralight backpacking quilts.
Stay tuned for a follow up review of the Light Bed after i’ve had it in use for a few more months.