Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags

[treillw]

If you were going to buy a WM bag for backpacking and cold weather camping in a Seek Cimarron, which bag would you go with?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Badger MF or a Sequoia.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Few questions. Are you an active sleeper (toss and turn all night)? How big are you? What is your definition of "cold"?

I ask since there are different size bags with different temperature ratings.

 

[treillw]

Badger MF or a Sequoia.

Do you find the MF to be better than the Extreme Lite series?

 

[treillw]

Few questions. Are you an active sleeper (toss and turn all night)? How big are you? What is your definition of "cold"?

I ask since there are different size bags with different temperature ratings.

I move around fairly often. I don't think I could do the quilt thing. I cant imagine being able to seal all the drafts out every couple of hours when I change positions because some part of my body has "fallen asleep" and gone numb.

6' tall. 180lbs.

Cold defined - live in MT. Probably below 15 on the thermometer is getting cold for camping in my book. Camped the first few days of rifle this year and it was zero. Pretty rough when everything freezes and the wind is blowing 20+ mph on the top of the mountain.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Since you'll be in a tent, go with the MicroFiber. From the web site:

Extremelite is our lightest fabric, but the least water resistant. Microfiber is far more water resistant and more breathable than Extremelite, just slightly heavier. We consider it a perfect middle ground between weight, durability, water resistance and breathability. Gore WindStopper is the heaviest least breathable fabric however it is multiple times more water resistant than the other two fabrics.

Extremelite is suitable for all 2 season uses and ideal for weight conscious adventurers. The fabric is highly water resistant for the weight and can withstand most condensation summertime users encounter inside tents. Microfiber boasts high versatility due to its increased water resistance and breathability. Cowboy camping? Need something suitable for warm nights and wet nights? Microfiber is ideal. Gore WindStopper is for situations in which you will encounter high moisture or precipitation. These bags are not water proof, but will hold up to any condensation and even light precipitation. Their less breathable shell means they are not ideal for warm nights.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Do you find the MF to be better than the Extreme Lite series?

Ive never tried the extreme light series but one night during moose season I was sleeping under a makeshift shelter and the tarp dripped on me all night, I didnt realize it because I was sleeping deply, in the morning the outside of the bag was wet but the down and the inside of the bag was perfectly dry, the shell dried out in a few hours. Im sold on the MF.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I'd look at the the bags better suited to bigger people.

The Badger (15* - mummy), Sequoia (5* - semi), or the Kodiak (0* - mummy).

I have the Antelope, in Micro Fiber, and love it. I chose it over the Apache just so I'd have a bit more room. Did not want anything much roomier due to the waste of having to heat up empty space.

 

[treillw]

Anyone know how much temperature rating getting the bag overfilled by WM adds?

 

[treillw]

I didn't bring this up before because I wanted to leave things a little vague to see what kind of recommendations I would get.

I currently have a Versalite. I have only used it a couple times, but I have to say that I am blown away by it. It's surprisingly comfortable size wise and crazy warm. My wife and I used it on those cold nights at the beginning of rifle season this year and were plenty warm. I used it the first night and she used it the second night. The other person froze in my wiggy's zero degree synthetic bag - hence why we want to get another WM bag. I got a fair amount of condensation on it and was a little worried about it, but it didn't turn into an issue.

I'd like to get another one for her to use when shes along. I thought about getting another versalite, but it would be nice to get another model to add some versatility to the stable down the road.
So I'm comfortable with the size and shape of the versalite. I probably wouldn't want to go with any less insulation than the versalite.

 

[*zap*]

I don't know much but I know hermits hut does the overfill for free and occasionally has wm models on sale....I think I saw the badger on sale yesterday. Wanting to pull the trigger on one myself but am no where near picking a model.
I thought the hut site said something about the overfill adding 7 degrees???

 

[*zap*]

Hut site says.."Overfill subtracts 8-10 degrees from original bag rating"

 

[Sportsman247]

I have a kodiak 0 degree . Used it in 3rd rifle with first night below zero and remainder of trip hovering from zero to 10. Although I did sleep in a t shirt and a pair of pants, I believe I could have worn less and still would have been fine. An awesome bag for sure.

 

[treillw]

I guess I'm going between the antelope and the kodiak. The kodiak would allow me to layer up better inside the bag if it is really cold. As warm as these bags seem to be, I don't see myself needing to do that too often.

Think the extra space in the kodiak would hurt me? I have a 34" waist and wear a medium or larger shirt.

The antelope is the same size as my versalite. Guess I need to play dress up in the living room to figure out my layering options.

The Kodiak would allow me some room to "grow into" the bag in the future.

 

[treillw]

Anybody ever couple two bags with the opposite hand zippers together? Curious of how nicely it works.

 

[Phaseolus]

I didn't bring this up before because I wanted to leave things a little vague to see what kind of recommendations I would get.

I currently have a Versalite. I have only used it a couple times, but I have to say that I am blown away by it. It's surprisingly comfortable size wise and crazy warm. My wife and I used it on those cold nights at the beginning of rifle season this year and were plenty warm. I used it the first night and she used it the second night. The other person froze in my wiggy's zero degree synthetic bag - hence why we want to get another WM bag. I got a fair amount of condensation on it and was a little worried about it, but it didn't turn into an issue.

I'd like to get another one for her to use when shes along. I thought about getting another versalite, but it would be nice to get another model to add some versatility to the stable down the road.
So I'm comfortable with the size and shape of the versalite. I probably wouldn't want to go with any less insulation than the versalite.

Freezing in a zero degree Wiggy’s bag is pretty common

 

[treillw]

Freezing in a zero degree Wiggy’s bag is pretty common

Why is that? I thought they were pretty decent bags? I read that a good number of people on here still use them.

I got it quite awhile ago when I was younger and knew nothing about sleeping bags. Surprised to see that they had a following.

People like them to cook gear dry, right?

 

[Shrek]

I have the Kodiak and wish I had the foot room of the Sequoia. I put clothes , water filter , and a water bottle in the bag with me to keep them from freezing and putting on warm clothes in the morning before I unzip the bag. I use all the room. I don’t feel I loose a lot of warmth with the extra room because the bag collapses down around you. It’s not like the extra space is held up off of you creating a big air pocket to warm. Microfiber is the way to go. Very water resistant but remains breathable. Western Mountaineering bags are the best of the best.

 

[Phaseolus]

Why is that? I thought they were pretty decent bags? I read that a good number of people on here still use them.

I got it quite awhile ago when I was younger and knew nothing about sleeping bags. Surprised to see that they had a following.

People like them to cook gear dry, right?

Wiggy’s are good bags for high moisture situations. I have two zero degree Wiggy’s bags, one for me and one for my Wife. Mine has cold spots and both are poor performers. we use them for truck camping only. I took it in to Jerry Wigetow, owner and founder of Wiggy’s to show him the cold spots where there was hardly any lamilite insulation. He insisted that those could not be cold spots and refused to honor the warranty on them. He told me face to face when I bought them in Grand Junction that they were practically indestructible and had the best warranty in the business. He is full of crap.

 

[*zap*]

wiggys 0 bag is good to 20 or so if you sleep cold, if your wm was rated @ -10 that explains why one of you froze...