Kelty Wayback 20 Sleeping Bag Review

As a self-proclaimed maximalist, I adore ultralight equipment — because I can carry more of it. I’ve become accustomed to my various ultralight mummy bags, so testing the Kelty Wayback 20-Degree Sleeping Bag felt like being spoiled — like slipping into custom boots after years of rocking a size too small.

With a massive 82″x34” silhouette and thick flannel lining, the Wayback feels spacious and accommodating. On draftier nights, the blanket flap offers a nice extra bit of fabric to wrap around your neck. If you tend to turtle into your bag, you’ll be pleased to find that cotton interior and synthetic Cloudloft insulation are surprisingly breathable.

Normally, I test to the extreme: challenging hot tents well below zero, pushing sleeping bags to their limits, straining backpacks’ maximum carry limits, etc. For the Wayback, however, perhaps the greatest test has been working overtime as the best part of my “bed” system as a wildland firefighter. 

In short: With over 100 nights in, under, and on the bag, the Wayback has been one of the most comfortable and versatile options I’ve ever used. That said, its 20-degree temperature rating is more a matter of safety than comfort, and its heft and bulk will relegate it to car campers and paddlers.

Are you looking for a new sleeping bag? GearJunkie’s Best Camping Sleeping Bag Buyer’s Guide will help you compare the Wayback 20 to other options.

Kelty Wayback 20 Sleeping Bag: Review

What makes the Kelty Wayback a throwback? Let’s start with the lining. The flannel isn’t fully a rewind to the Sears catalog of the ’70s, but it’s got that vibe. However, the Wayback does opt for a more modern recycled 40D ripstop nylon shell and a recycled synthetic Cloudloft insulation. 

The end result is surprisingly breathable. It won’t dry as fast as a down bag, but even on cool mornings, the Wayback recovered quickly from summer night–induced back sweat. 

Zooming out, the name of the Wayback’s game is approachability. The flannel is incredibly soft and textured. The zippers’ design makes it easy to convert the bag into a blanket. There is a flannel flap toward the opening, which can be either buttoned into the top of the bag for extra insulation or unbuttoned on warmer nights.

The spacious interior, comfort, and multi-configurability make it an easy pitch for car campers. Need a bit of extra cushion to compensate for a less-than-ideal sleeping pad? You’ve got it. Need to lighten the insulation for those bright mornings where the sun starts heating up your tent by 7 a.m.? Turn the Wayback into a blanket.

Simply put, the Wayback is a comfy throwback to the days of cushy flannel-lined car camping bags. It’s light compared to canvas-coated bags, but it’s heavy for most modern car campers. Overall, it aims for a level of comfort and versatility that makes you not mind the 30-odd liters it’ll take up in your trunk.

100-Night Test

I didn’t give the Wayback the most structured test, but I did give over 100 eclectic nights. And given that many camping sleeping bags play duvets for sofa-surfing friends and backyard blankets for chilly significant others, I like to think my tests were pretty representative. So let’s recap 100 nights spent with the Wayback.

Night 1: A hammock swinging betwixt the scrub outside Rifle, Colo., on a section of a Chicago–California road trip where pushing an extra 100 miles meant making camp by moonlight. Fortunately, a light breeze, low 40s temps, and the Wayback had me asleep in no time.

Nights 2 and 3: I found myself stranded on a desert island when a windstorm on Lake Powell turned a new kayak into a cliff-bound kite. Most of my slick backpacking sleeping bags would’ve become a grainy cocoon from the winds without a sleeping bag liner. The Wayback’s flannel inner remained plush.

Nights 4-40: The Tahoe National Forest. Wildland firefighting barracks are a toss-up. Some are shelter, and some are “shelter.” For that reason, these nights were spent in a hammock tent behind the barracks. The Wayback was oversized and used mostly as a blanket, but in temperatures down to the upper 30s, I found myself sometimes wishing for a bit more insulation.

The last 60 nights have been odd ones out. After dismantling my hammock bungalow, I started crashing on the barracks’ La-Z-Boy Pinnacle recliner sofa. Sixty nights atop a lumpy sofa wouldn’t usually be part of my testing procedure for a sleeping bag. However, wildland firefighters sleep when and where we can.

Creature Comforts

The Kelty Wayback is far from the fanciest or most technical option out there, but it does boast a few notable features. Easily the most defining is the flannel lining. Simply put, it makes the Wayback feel less like sleeping in a bag and more like slipping into a blanket cocoon. 

Another cozy addition is the tucked-in “blanket.” It can be buttoned closed to keep it in place or folded down on hotter days when you may want less fabric around your neck and head. 

Beneath that blanket is an adorable, flannel-lined pocket big enough to fit most larger smartphones. I may be a minority on this one, but a sleeping bag that is actually capable of holding my phone in a secure, out-of-the-way, and warm place — where the battery won’t drain from getting too cold — is a big plus.

The Wayback’s Cloudloft insulation actually has a decent bit of body to it. The amount of extra cushion I felt uncompressed beneath me was tangible enough to offer a bit of extra cushion. The downside of this, of course, is that the Wayback isn’t fitting into any sort of stuff sack smaller than 30 L. Even that volume comes with a fight.

Fortunately, even with some of the heavy materials, the relatively light 40D nylon ripstop exterior and the synthetic insulation dry pretty quickly. Straight out of the wash, I was able to dry the bag on a clothesline within a few hours. 

The Wayback sports a zipper running down one full side and bottom, and another partial zip on the other side, which makes maneuvering around in it easier. In fact, I’ve regularly alternated between using it as a bag and a blanket and turning it inside out to use it as a twin-sized topper on sofas.

At this price point, I do wish said zippers were YKK brand. Nevertheless, the ones included felt robust, snagged rarely, and were well-insulated with generous baffles along their full length.

Limits vs. Luxury

The Kelty Wayback 20 may be among the most comfortable bags I’ve ever used. However, that was well above its temperature rating. Once into the mid-30s, I found myself increasingly willing to trade the flap of flannel around my neck for a hood — removable or not. 

The Wayback is spacious and well-suited to all manner of sleepers. That comes with a degree of draftiness. The flannel flap up top isn’t nearly as effective as a hood at keeping heat from escaping around your head and neck. The extra space around the footbox and lack of an insulated panel on the bottom of the footbox make it feel drafty once you get into the low 30s.

The Wayback’s 20-degree rating is certainly a safety rating, not a comfort one. An exception might be if you’re sleeping with a warm hat and some thick wool socks. Then I might be comfortable taking the Wayback down into 20-degree nights. Otherwise, I would say that comfort-wise, the Wayback taps out at about 32 degrees.  

The Wayback also just isn’t practical for any human-powered carry that doesn’t involve paddles. At a minimum packable size of 30+ L, it’s just big all around. So, as versatile as it is, if you’re looking for the “if you could only have one” sleeping bag, a more minimalist down bag would be a better move. 

Kelty Wayback 20 Sleeping Bag: Conclusion

The Wayback 20 sits in a strange place. It’s aiming for an approachable and budget-friendly niche: car camping and those general hangouts where you might need a blanket. However, at around $170, the Kelty isn’t the most competitive offering price-wise. It claws back plenty of value, however, by sheer force of comfort. The versatility doesn’t hurt either. 

This sleeping bag is a bold throwback meant to accommodate every type of lounge where you don’t have to carry it far. It lacks the “I don’t care if the dog walks on it or a campfire spark hits it” durability of a canvas bag. But it’s also more practical to carry on an overnighter or a paddling trip. It’s heavier and pricier than more modern camping bags, but offers a bit more cushion and a swaddling kind of weight.

It really boils down to whether comfort is king for your resident trunk sleeping bag. Do you want to feel more at home on a road trip for three seasons out of the year? Would you like to have a heavy blanket available for when you watch a meteor shower with a chilly significant other? Or: Do you just need something cozy to toss on the sofa?

Overall, for all the less arduous but no less grand adventures, the Wayback 20 is a well-rounded choice. Hence why you’ll find mine one of three places: On a La-Z-Boy Pinnacle sofa, on my canoe, or in my trunk.