ThruHike Sleeping Bag

imported
#1

I am seeking to purchase a bag for thruhiking the trail beginning on March 15th. I have a problem on deciding on the correct purchase, as I want to buy the bag that will serve me most of the hike. I already own the Marmot “Trails” which is a Dryclime liner that is fine for June 15th to Sept 15th., if the night temp stays at 45-50 degrees. I have decided on the WM Megalite or the WM Versalite as my primary bag. My dilemia is will the 30 degree Megalite be OK for March, April & September,October going NoBo.

I would supplement the WM Megalite with a Nomad tent, Z-rest pad and a WM Flight Jacket and Windstopper hat and gloves and eat before going to bed, would this be enough or would I be better off purchasing the 20 degree WM Versalite?

Also, would the Marmot Dryclime liner improve the performance of the WM Megalite very much. Marmot states only 2-5 degrees but they are instructed to be conserative, anyone have experience on this?

I want to purchase a quality bag for the next few years, but would like to save weight and have a bag that would fulfill most of my yearly needs as I live in Georgia. Would purchasing the 20 degree WM versalite and pushing the down thru the baffles to the bottom do OK in the hot summer?

Happyhiker

#2

Western Mountaineering bags are some of the best available. As to which one to buy, my suggestion is to think for a moment about what kind of sleeper you are. Are you a cold, average or warm sleeper? If you tend to be on the cold side, I’d go with the 20 degree bag. If your on the warm side, you could maybe get by with the 30 degree bag.

As a point of reference, if you are starting at Springer in March, you can expect some cold nights. In 2002, there were reports of temps in the single digits in mid-March. I’d rather have the extra warmth and not need it than spend a cold, miserable, sleepless night with a bag that wasn’t warm enough.

Moose

#3

Be careful to compare the girth of WM bags. Some are cut a bit smaller across the shoulders than their competitors.

Jeff

#4

Moose, I am an average sleeper and I would probably be better off being safe with the 20 degree WM Versalite, which from reviews is conseratively really a 15 degree bag.
I could then supplement with down jacket, vapor liner, hat, etc. to handle the single digets.

Jeff, good point on girth. I wanted the WM Ultralite but the girth on that bag as well as many other WM bags is 59 inches. The Megalite is 64 inches and the Versalite is 62 inches. Because of my size, the girth would not fit me with the down jacket, without compressing the loft.

Happyhiker

#5

I am a cold sleeper and started off with the WM Ultralite but it didn’t keep me warm at 30º. My next purchase was a WM Puma 0º bag. I like the extra room in the Puma but the downside is that it weighs over a pound more than the Ultralite and stuffs to twice the size! If I’m cold, I can’t sleep and if I don’t sleep, I can’t hike-------so I’ll carry the Puma and make the best of it until the temps warm up then switch to the Ultralite~Journey

Journey

#6

If there’s one place you don’t want to skimp it’s on the sleeping bag, especially at the beginning! Your body has a lot of healing to do overnight from hiking all day and it’s hard to accomplish that when your squeezed up tight in a ball to stay warm because your 20* wanna be bad isn’t gettin’ it! We lusted after the 0* MH bag our buddy Monte had. So much so, we bought some after our hike. Man those are toasty! 3/10 not a bad weight either.

B+B

#7

B+B, I have e-mailed other thruhikers like you, and everyone agrees not to skimp on the temperture rating of a good bag.
I have cut the weight in every area of my equipment and I am quite pleased with selections.

Since the bag will be used so much and is so important to confort and sleep I am going to be conserative in this area.
I want no be able to handle those unexpected nights in somewhat confort! I will look at the 0 degree bags.

However, has anyone had experience with the Marmot dryclime bag liner(Trails) as well as Kurt Russells (Wanderlust) VBL and to what degree do you think they were effective or not so?

Happyhiker

#8

Haven’t tried those liners. There are several two bags setups out now that look cool. A summer bag like a 50* down and a heavier outer down. With both they can be good to below 0*. Backpacker did a test a short while ago. Bag rating are all messed up anyways. A 0* can be cold if you’re not making heat since that’s what gets you warm in the first place. We “lived” in 20* sythetics, as above, but ate a ton of food before bed and ran around the shelter. Some skinny dude with no fat and who had Ramen for dinner would be cold.

B+B