[pct-l] Sleepin Bag

[Charles Williams]

I have had 2 long distance summers with Western Mountaineering bags.  The first was a 2600 mile summer with an Ultralite.  I was cought in cold weather quite a few times with it and it kept me warm the whole way.  It was a tighter fit so if you're a bigger person or the slightest bit claustrophobic I would suggest the W.M. Alpinlite.  
 
The second season was from Kennedy Meadows to Lassen area in a W.M. Megalite.  I got cold in it repeatedly in the Sierra.  It just wasn't enough bag for me for that season.  And I'm quite sure if I had made it to WA it wouldn't have been enough bag for that climate in many Septembers either.
 
I would agree that W.M. makes an outstanding product and is an excellent choice for a thru-hike.  They are light, quality, and have full zips.  This might not seem important, but just about any bag you're going to want to get your legs out of or back into the bag in Southern California.  Marmot often uses a half length zipper that can be difficult to get into and out of in the middle of the night.  I don't think the ounce or two it saves is really worth the hassle.
 
QuincyRider

--- On Fri, 11/23/12, Matt Signore <mpsignore at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Matt Signore <mpsignore at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Sleepin Bag
To: "Chris Curtiss" <kelsocurtiss at gmail.com>
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Friday, November 23, 2012, 11:33 AM


Don't let your budget short you on a bag.  You couldn't pay me $500 to
carry a 8.5lb sleeping bag 2,650 miles.  Consider you will spend almost 1/3
of your hike in your sleeping bag, and the rest of the time carrying it.
So , save the 6.5lbs and space in your pack.  If you have to carry a
larger pack because of a large sleeping bag that is even more weight.
Spend the cash go cheap on other things ie swiss gear trekking poles vs
leki or black diamond, aluminum vs titanium cookpot and make your own
stove.  That will save you well over $100.

Spend the money.  I would look seriously at a Western Mountaineering
Megalite or Alplinlite (you served in the military hand made in the USA).
There are very few things in life that you can get the best of anything
for under $500, and they last about 10 years.  If you take decent care
while storing it.

Worldwide
worldwidesadventures.com

On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Chris Curtiss <kelsocurtiss at gmail.com>wrote:

> I'm currenttly looking for a new sleeping bag for my 2013 pct thru hike.
> I've currently got my digital army 4 part sleep system that can adjust from
> 30 degrees to -50 degrees. The issue is that it weighs about 8.5 lbs packed
> and can take a lot of space. Has anyone used or seen any thru hikers using
> a military style sleep on the trail. I've relied on this bag in the most
> extreme of heat, cold, rain, and snow. I've actually woke up to find myself
> covered in a few inches of snow and had no idea it was that cold that night
> while sleeping. My original thought was to continue shopping REI used gear
> sales every weekend looking for an equally efficient but lighter bag. Then
> I started reading the the posts on here about sleeping bags and saw that
> most hikers are using $300-$500 sleeping bags. The Marmot Helium looks
> nice, but I'm a college student with limited funds and can't fork out
> $399. I'm now thinking that 8.5lbs is looking more tempting than a new
> costly bag. Any advice or usefull info here?
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