Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags

Right now its a contest between the Alpinelite, Alder MF, and Sycamore MF. These look like they would be the best choices for me. Can anyone tell me what the pros and cons of each of them are?

while i have not owned either of the bags you are concerned about i have seen and inspected both. my intial thoughts are that they are both great bags as you may have guessed. personally i would probably go for the western mountaineering, i liked the feel and attention to detail that i found on western mountaineering bags. they are absolutely beautiful, well made, and of the highest quality. that being said i would not hesitate to buy the down hugger. it is too a high quality bag with nice features.

like i said, i have never owned either and since going to a quilt don't know if i will ever purchase another bag. i probably wouldn't have posted at all if you weren't urgent. i'm sure there are many people here that can give you much better info adn guidance. just my 2 cents.

good luck

Ill take any advice that I can get at this minute. Can anyone else chime in on matters? Thanks Ben.

May I suggest some instant gratification – BPL reader reviews.

Many people have already graciously posted great information about these bags.

Already checked, there were only 2 reviews and they were on the aplinelite. I need more than that :D

WM Ultralite BPL Reviews (6 Reviews)

WM Versalite BPL Reviews (2 Reviews)

There are a lot of other WM reviews listed under Sleeping Bags as well. Also, trying searching the BPL site using google by searching for “site:backpackinglight.com western mountaineering apache” or some other similar terminology.

There are tons of comments about all the WM bags and with very few exceptions they are all positive.

The specifications page at the WM website will highlight the differences between your choices, such as similar fills but different weights or temp ratings due to the different interior sizes on the WM bags.

We have a pair of Sycamores and just love them. They open fully to make quilts as well.

My Hooded Aspen – the former name of the Sycamore – has seen ten years and 2000 miles on the PCT and TRT without any issues.

I have several Western Mountaineering bags. They are incredible. Can't recommend them enough. If you can afford one, it's an easy call! I'd decide between the models based on temperature range and shoulder circumference.

I have wide shoulders so the 59" bags like the Summerlite and Ultralite are too narrow. They're fine for probably a third of the population though. Almost anyone would be good with one of WM's 61" or 62" bags. My absolute favorite bag of my WMs is the Alpinlite. The 64" shoulder circumference (in size long) is luxurious. In the winter there's plenty of room to wear my down inner layer to bed and easily get this 20 degree bag down to 0. And speaking of luxury, the Pertex Quantum nylon ("extremelite") that WM uses for the liner and outer bottom of all their bags is incredibly soft and silky against the skin and extremely breathable. That minimizes the sticky factor in humid weather or if the weather is a lot warmer than the bag rating. (By comparison I've always found the Montbell nylon to be stiff and crinkly and sticky.)

WM craftsmanship is flawless. Their designs are superb. Their selection is the widest in the business so you can get exactly the width/length/temp you need. And the materials they use–fabric and down and zippers–are the best in the world.

They command top prices but they are absolutely worth it! [No, I have no financial interest in them. :-) Just a happy customer who finally upgraded to WM about 5 years ago and has never looked back.]

I've owned several WM bags, and used the Alder's predecessor for 20 years. Top-notch products all. I'd place WM, Feathered Friends, and Nunatak at the top of my list.

It appears that you are getting the proper idea about the quality of the Western bags. As it has been said… they are as close to a work of art as it gets in a sleeping bag. I find that their effectiveness comes from the fact that they are designed with a refined balance of simplicity (which makes them light) and thoughtful complexity (which makes them warm).

If you were to buy one on an impulse, you would not be disappointed, because you wont find a higher quality product (and only a few other companies can truly compete with WM in regards to quality… FF & Nunatak). This is much better than buying something cheaper and wishing you would have acquired a better product after a time.

You will find them to be rated accurately in regards to temperature, depending on how warm or cool you sleep (also assuming the proper R-value is beneath you).

I am wider than average at the shoulders as well, and prefer the wider cut bags to allow myself some extra freedom of movement or layering. The best thing is to try them out and see how you feel inside.

The bottom line is what Kelly had mentioned. Find the temp rating that you are comfortable with and then choose the cut that fits your body type. As long as you have chosen these parameters correctly, you will have a bag that will serve you faithfully, year after year.

I ended up placing an order for the 2 Alpinlites and 2 Alders. I had a coupon that was a Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off deal so I figured if these are as good as everyone states that they are, this should make for a pretty good deal. One for me and one for my girlfriend

I decided giving the Aplinlite a try because it is wide at the shoulders. A lot of people on hear also seem to like them. However, I have two concerns: The footbox only be 39 inches where as the Alder is 46 inches. The other concern that I have is that its a Mummy, and being that I roll around, Im not sure if I will like the Mummy getting in my face.

I decided giving the Alder a try because it is wide at the shoulders. It unzips into a comforter unlike the Aplinelite. It has a very wide foot box. I do not have any concerns that I know of about this one.

Any thoughts or feelings from anyone else? By the way, why is the Alpinlite almost a $100 more than the Alder. Being that I had this coupon, that was another reason why I gave the Alpinlite a shot, it seems like its the top notch quilt at the temperature ratings that are offered in its category.

The Alpinlite uses more down, adds a beefy draft collar, and adds a hood… which makes the $85 price difference seem pretty reasonable.

Lots of info on the site if you look through it. Roll with the bag, not inside it, and you'll be fine.

"By the way, why is the Alpinlite almost a $100 more than the Alder."

A hood and draft collar, more complex baffle designs, lighter fabric, more down.

You won't regret the Alpinlite! I roll around quite a bit too and just take the whole bag with me.

The extra foot room for the Alder is dead space when it's just you, so that's actually a downside as your body has to heat that space. :-) It is simply a side effect of the bag's design to open flat. This makes it much more versatile for a couple to share with the Summer Coupler underneath, or just to use indoors as a comforter. My wife and I share a Highlite with a home-made version of the Summer Coupler when we backpack in the summer. It's a great setup and incredibly light for two: 26 oz + 8 oz = 34 oz total, or 17 oz each! (I made our coupler from Momentum 90 to get the weight down to 8 ounces… a big savings over WM's 20 ounces! Ours has sleeves in the bottom that exactly fit our pads too, which is handy.)

I'm not sure if the coupler setup is as practical at the Alder's temperature rating though.

For summer here in the west I have a WM Megalite. IT's wiider at the torso and is warm at 25 F. B/C there's no side baffle and you can shake more down to the top side.

I love it fully unzipped as a quilt on hot nights as the extra width makes for a nice quilt when I have the foot hooked over the end of my old full length Thermarest Lite.

I first bought an Alpinelight and loved it. Then, in an effort to lighten up I bought a summerlite. I'm a cold sleeper so added 4 oz. of down to it' I find the small foot of the bag too constricting so I made a sleeve for my pad and use it most of the time as a quilt zipped into my pad sleeve. (I used the sleeve with the Alpinlite too.) Keeps me on the pad when I thrash around. That way they are very spacious and stiill keep me warm way down past 20. They've both taken a lot of use (I've got about 1200 miles on the Summerlite) and show no signs of failing any time soon. You can't go wrong with WM.