Two sleeping bags worth lining up side by side. The Alsek 22 takes a modest overall edge, led by low weight, but the Flex 22 has its own case.
| Katabatic Gear Alsek 22 | Katabatic Gear Flex 22 | |
|---|---|---|
| GearScore | 87✓ | 86 |
| Comfort rating | 32 °F | 32 °F |
| Weight | 23.3 oz✓ | 23.9 oz |
| Warmth-to-weight | 5.7 /100g✓ | 5.6 /100g |
| Packed size | 6.5 L✓ | 8.0 L |
| Fill power | 850 FP | 850 FP |
| Price | $399✓ | $409 |
| Fill | Down | Down |
| Style | Quilt | Quilt |
| Shape | Quilt | Quilt |
Highlighted cells mark the better spec: Alsek 22 in blue, Flex 22 in amber. A blank spec is never counted as a win. A lower comfort rating in °F means a warmer bag, so the warmer bag takes that row. GearScore is the overall rating (0 to 100); re-weight it on the full bag comparison. Prices are current MSRP.
The Katabatic Gear Alsek 22 and Katabatic Gear Flex 22 take different routes to the same job. The Alsek 22 wins on low weight and warmth-to-weight, and the Flex 22 pushes back on value.
The Alsek 22 is 1 oz lighter, stronger on warmth-to-weight, and more packable (6.5 L vs 8 L). Their GearScores land within a couple of points (87 vs 86), so neither runs away with it.
Pick the Alsek 22 if you care most about low weight and warmth-to-weight, which makes it the better call for counting grams on long miles. Pick the Flex 22 if you would rather save the difference.
The Katabatic Gear Alsek 22. It is 1 oz lighter than the Flex 22.
The Katabatic Gear Alsek 22. It is stronger on warmth-to-weight than the Flex 22.
They are nearly tied at 87 and 86 on the default algorithm, so re-weight the score to your own priorities to break the tie.
It depends on your priorities. Go with the Alsek 22 for low weight, or the Flex 22 for the price. The spec table above shows exactly where each wins.