View Full Version : Which Western Mountaineering Bag Do You Use?
Speakeasy
05-23-2009, 18:25
Hi - Looking at down bags for 2010 and the WM seems to be rated very highly by WB members. I'm just not sure which one to get. I'm figuring either a +20 or +25 bag and am interested in which one you all use...
Thanks:D
bigcranky
05-23-2009, 18:56
Megalite. 30-F rating. Wide cut mummy -- enough room for a big guy. Warm down to freezing with long johns, warm (for me) down to the high teens with a down jacket, fleece tights, and down booties.
Antelope. 5-F rating. Got this on sale at my local outfitter when they stopped carrying winter bags. Much nicer than using the Megalite and all that clothing when the temps dip below 20.
I have a WM Caribou (35* rating). I've had it down to 27. But i got it for where i camp most, not the AT. If i were going to take one bag for the AT, it would be the Alpinlite. I've tried on the Ultralite, and found it a bit tight around the shoulders.
I crawled into a couple of other WMs at the store but settled on the Versalite, it was just right. I think it's rated at 10*, and weighs 2 lb.
Another Caribou, great bag!
My warmer weather bag is the Highlite (but I would buy the Summerlite now..) down to 32f. Now above 32f I mostly use a JRB quilt.
If I expect the temp to be between 40 and 20 then I use the Ultralite.
I slept inside a cabin the other night under the JRB quilt (about 40f) , if I had the Summerlite I would have opened that up in quilt mode, can't do that with the Highlite.
The trick, I think , is to have enough room for some layering but not too much "dead air space" so if you can crawl inside one before you buy it.
At 5'7" , a50 lbs, the Ultralite is just right for me but could be too small for some.
Franco
Canada Goose
05-23-2009, 20:28
For many years I used a North Face Lightrider, but wanted something lighter and more compactable. I had settled on an Ultralite until I met a thru-hiking couple at Thomas Knob shelter a few years back, as I was hiking SB to Traildaze. They were useing Megalites, and were quite happy with them. Now, so am I.
Puma, -25*
I am reasonably retarded.
Jayboflavin04
05-24-2009, 00:51
Ultralite here. Love it. Again it is a narrow cut bag, I am 6' 165lbs so I have enough room for layers. I think most will tell you that they are conservatively rated, which I would agree is true.
Kerosene
05-24-2009, 10:54
UltraLite into the 20's. HighLite down to 40F or a touch lower. Both are slim bags (I'm 5'9", 175), so there isn't much room for additional worn insulation before you start compressing the loft.
I use the never cold Antelope +5F for most months here except the 2-3 months of summer.
daddytwosticks
05-24-2009, 13:02
A Caribou (long, left zip) for me. I'd love to have an Alpinlite, but not in the near future ($$$$$!). :)
Jayboflavin04
05-24-2009, 16:10
UltraLite into the 20's. HighLite down to 40F or a touch lower. Both are slim bags (I'm 5'9", 175), so there isn't much room for additional worn insulation before you start compressing the loft.
Kero...I think i recall from an interview podcast. That WM bags are made so they loft out. Meaning you need to lay on top of or really be pushing out to affect the loft of the down.
Summerlite 32*
Ultralite (pre-Super) 20*
skinewmexico
05-26-2009, 01:16
Megalite. Needed the width.
gravityman
05-26-2009, 11:15
Depends on when you are hiking. March 1st start, we took Versalites. Ultralights are too cool for march 1 IMHO. Summer bag we used a WM quilt...
maybeFritz
05-26-2009, 12:10
I love my ultralight (long version). Definetly a narrower bag, but at 6'3" and 165, I have room to spare, and the weight is nice. (under 2 lbs).
Absolutely no complaints thus far with somewhere around 30 nights in it. Very warm down to 30, but I haven't gotten to push it past there yet.
stranger
05-26-2009, 22:34
I use a Microfiber Sycamore semi-rectangular bag, I cannot say how much I love this bag. I've always struggled with light bags due to the mummy shape locking my legs together, this bag is roomy, warm, can completely open as a quilt (which makes shifting down much easier), and best of all you can vent just the bottom part on the foot section and stick your feet out on those clammy nights. 2lbs all up for a regular, about $350.
Berserker
05-27-2009, 13:25
Caribou, Ultralite and Versalite. Not real into how tight the Ultralite is, so I may be posting that for sale sometime here in the future.
Blissful
05-27-2009, 13:42
Easy.
Get a Montbell UL down hugger. It rocks. :)
I use a Microfiber Sycamore semi-rectangular bag, I cannot say how much I love this bag. I've always struggled with light bags due to the mummy shape locking my legs together, this bag is roomy, warm, can completely open as a quilt (which makes shifting down much easier), and best of all you can vent just the bottom part on the foot section and stick your feet out on those clammy nights. 2lbs all up for a regular, about $350.
Sycamore here too. Great bag.
Also have a Sequoia MF.
SloHiker
05-28-2009, 09:00
Megalite w/the 2 oz Overfill option .... which makes it a conservative 25 degree bag weighing well under 2 lbs.
Speakeasy
05-28-2009, 19:38
Easy.
Get a Montbell UL down hugger. It rocks. :)
Yep. That's exactly what I'm going to do ;) . I plan on getting 2 different ones to accomodate the temp. changes through my hike. I had hoped to use the same bag but that no longer seems like a viable option. Glad to hear you like the MB...
Speakeasy
(the hiker formerly known as Nrvana)
daylaandjasper
05-30-2009, 14:55
I have an ultralite 20 degrees which I love and plan to take on march 21 2010 start. With my husband along that should keep me warm and I sleep cold. took a FF winter wren 25 degree (wider cut than the WM ultralite) on my 3-15-01 start and was warm enough most of the time. Were money no object I'd buy my husband an Alpinlite (wider cut than the Ultralite) for the hike, but I plan to try to alter the zipper on the FF bag so it will zip with my Ultralite.