Help me choose a new sleeping bag

Brad-
I certainly didn't take it like that. Just part of the discussion that makes this forum the best of my few trusted sources of info. I agree completely with your assessment of WM bags.

The referenced thread might also help OP. It says to me that you should choose the girth of a bag more for comfort than for space to let your puffy jacket and pants loft.
It also makes me feel better about my decision to get the overfill in my bag!

-Tim

David,
I can't answeer whether a 5'6" bag would work for you at 5'7". You might call WM and ask them.

If your are 5'6" you are measured on flat feet. Laying down, esp on stomach, in a sleeping bag when you stretch your foot become elongated so you will "grow" up to several inches while in bag.

Unless bag has extra length I would be careful for comfort and warmth sake. If bag is stretched and/or compressed I would think it will lose some insulation power.

Chuck

Chuck,
When you say "grow up to several inches"…oh, never mind.

Tom, when I read what I wrote I figured it wouldn't be long before comments, inuendo's and jokes started:)

Chuck

Yea guys keep it serious we're talking about sleeping bags not pitching tents. Sorry, really I just, well sorry. I just love the woods in the morning, oops sorry really.

I am 5'3" and have a WM short (5'6") sleeping bag. When I stretch all the way out, my toes touch the lower end of the sleeping bag. There is no way the "short" WM bag will be comfortable for someone who's 5'7". I suspect that for even a 5'6" person it would be a bit too snug for length.

By the way, WM bags will fit women just fine. Even with my extremely ample (!) hips I fit just fine in a WM Ultralite Super. It's a bit big in the shoulders, but the wonderful draft collar more than makes up for that problem.

Brad

I guess the reason why I was preferring the Marmot Helium women's over the Ultralite short for my wife is that there is a difference in the amount of down–16 oz for the Ultralite and 19 oz for the Helium. However, do you think this would impact the bags' ratings significantly? The Ultralite short would also probably be a tad bigger around the shoulders than the women's Helium–59" vs. 58" I think.

Interesting…

In my mind I was still comparing the mens Helium and Ultralite. There are indeed some differences (such as stated 13 and 19 oz of 850+ FP down) between the womens Helium and Ultralite, but the outcome might not be as clear.

For starters, let's compare girth measurements: (shoulder/hip/foot)
Wms Helium: 58/58/38
Ultralite: 59/51/38
So the Wms Helium is actually 7" wider through the body. That'll "absorb" some of the extra down weight.

I laid both bags down on a hardwood floor and compared their loft at the head (bottom of face opening), mid-leg, and end of foot:
Wms Helium: 7/6.25/9
Ultralite: 7.75/6/7
The Wms Helium has a pronounced anatomical footbox whereas the tested Ultralite did not. More down here.

My guesstimate is that the extra torso space and footbox in the Wms Helium accounts for about 4 ounces of down–totally out-of-the-air, but I think reasonable given visually apparent volume differences. That still leaves us with the Wms Helium having a couple more ounces of down.

Frankly, that would make me wonder, too. I next weighed the two bags: Wms Helium (reg) 2# 0oz; Ultralite (5'6) 1# 9oz. Hmmm. There is a 7 ounce weight difference. But still, more down…

Upon palpation, the bags feel as though the density of their down is roughly equivalent. I tried to be as objective as possible. Actually, some weird senory feedback. The Helium felt as though it concentrated a greater percentage of down in the lower leg area. The Helium also felt a bit, well, lumpier? Slightly more synthetic-ish? That could be a result of increased density of down?

Visual inspection shows that the Ultralite's draft tube is approximately 50% thicker. The Ultralite draft collar is about 2.5 inches of loft, 4 inches in depth, fully circumferential and without gap between it and the draft tube. It also has a bungee to cinch it down. The Helium's "passive collar" is truly hard to distinguish from hood ruff.

General wonderings: Would the smaller internal volume of the Ultralite yield a more heat-efficient bag? From experience I can say that the substantial draft collar can make a, well, substantial difference. But is it enough of a difference to choose one bag over the other? And would the wider mid-body of the Wms Helium be more comfortable for her, or would there be a loss of heating efficiency?

It's a more difficult race to determine than I earlier believed. The Wms Helium is indeed quite a nice bag, and it seems like it might have more density of down. If my above guesstimates for down distribution are reasonably accurate, would the extra couple ounces of down merit the Helium? Or would the lack of a real draft collar necessitate it? I'm not so sure. However, there is still a 7 ounce weight difference.

The Helium obviously uses more down in the footbox; if the user will bring and wear down booties anyway, will this be important? Maybe, maybe not. A few ounces of down applied in a garment such as a down vest or jacket, instead of the bag, could add versatility to the overall system (and potentially reduce weight a bit more).

If it's cold enough to use the draft collar, she'd have the hood cinched down anyway, which will help reduce heat through the collar area. I suspect that the Wms Helium is indeed warmer than the Ultralite. The question is, is it worth the extra nearly half-pound? In my mind, down booties and jacket would take care of any warmth differential. But if the bag is warmer, and you got a great price on it, the waters become murkier…
Brad

Excellent analysis! How lucky you are to be able to look at every detail so close. At the store, the sales people are usually eager to help me at first, but after a half hour of fondling, er I mean examining, bags they lose interest. Must be nice to get such quality time with prospective gear choices!