How to Identify an Older Mountain Hardwear Down Sleeping Bag

Mountain Hardware makes products designed for backcountry sports such as backpacking, climbing, mountaineering and skiing. Mountain Hardware came onto the outdoor gear scene in 1993, making sure to brand each of its products with the company name and a stylized nut. Identifying Mountain Hardware products such as sleeping bags is done by finding the tell-tale nut logo, with the company name.

Instructions

    • 1

      Hold the top of the sleeping bag and look at the upper corner next to the zipper (some bags are left side zip and others right side zip.)

    • 2

      Find the embroidered or screened Mountain Hardware name and stylized nut identifying the sleeping bag as a Mountain Hardware. The logo alone isn't a good way to identify the age of the bag, however, as it hasn't undergone any major changes since its inception.

    • 3

      Pick up the foot of the sleeping bag and locate the identifier tag where cleaning and legal information is printed. Find the model name of the bag. Names such as Lydell, Merced or Phantom will be on older bags, as they are models from 2000 and earlier. The Mountain Hardware Nickel Cigar was one of the first sleeping bags made by the company, dating back to 1995.

    • 4

      Check the fabric for any sun fade or weathering, indicating it is an older model.