Help with sleeping bag choice – WM summerlite/megalite, MB UL SS3, or EMS Mountain Light 35

before buying a bag, I would recommend looking into quilts. They are lighter and just as warm as a bag.

If you want down-filled, I would recommend katabatic Gear. I have a 30F palisade and love it.

For syntheic, I would recommend Tim marshall's Enlightened Equipment brand quilts. You can get good prices on the X products. I have a 40F summer ProdigyX and I really like it.

I have a Megalite because I needed the room for my manly and masculine wide shoulders. ;o)

However I found it was a good choice for below freeezing temps because I could wear insulated jacket and pants without feeling cramped.

I later sent it back to WM to get it "overfilled" with another ounce of down. Doesn't sound like much until you remember their down is 800 cu. in. per ounce. It came back looking like the Michelin Man. I'd recommend it to make the bag a 20 F. bag.

I'm very happy with the Megalite and would buy another – overfilled, of course.

I second all of the previous poster's reasons for loving my WM Megalite. Room for extra clothes when it's really cold extend's the bag's range. I also often use the bag unzipped as a quilt. I absolutely love the continuous baffles as they allow me to move the down between top and bottom to suit the temp. I've owned my WM for 8 years and it is absolutely like new cosmetically and functionally. If I needed to replace it I would buy another one immediately.

I too have wide uber manly shoulders at ~61" which unfortunately limits my choices. I narrowed down my choice to the following three based on Backcountry.com's posted specs but will probably pull the trigger on the Somnus next week based on the price savings:

Size Long for all three:

WM Megalight
*Shoulder circumference 65"
*Weight 1lb 9oz
*Cost $390
*DWR coating

MB U.L. Super Spiral #3
*Shoulder circumference stretches up to 81"
*Weight 1lb 8oz
*Cost $398
*DWR coating

Stoic Somnus
*Design change this year and I can't find too much data about it.
*Shoulder circumference not posted. Reviewers claim that it has generous sizing and comparable to the Megalight.
*Weight not posted. A couple reviewers claim 1lb 7oz and two others claim 1lb 10oz.
*Cost $159.50
*DWR coating

I bought my Megalite at Hermit's Hut since the 2 oz OVF Option is free.

Summerlite is EN rated at 32
Megalite is EN rated at 28
MB UL SS 3 is EN rated at 30

Some find the summerlite too tight.

This confuses me some, because no one finds the Ultralite too tight,and they are the same size. I think the idea has been put into some peoples head.

I have a megalite. Its huge really, too big. I can use a summer 40F down quilt INSIDE of it without loft compression. Together I bet they would take me down to single digits comfortably.

With the continuous baffles, I can get ~3"loft on top by shifting down, I really think when doing this it can be pushed farther than 28F.

I also have a MB #3. Its lighter, and roomy due to the stretch. It is lower fill quality down, 800+ I think. In my experience, the lower fill quality suffers less loft loss from humidity than the 900+ does. It also lofts up quicker after stuffing. I dont consider 800 or 850 a bad thing, in fact, I think 800 is probably the optimal down to use from a couple of standpoints, just not weight.

"In my experience, the lower fill quality suffers less loft loss from humidity than the 900+ does"

That's more or less fact. To get the higher FP they have to remove more of the natural water-resistant oils from the down.

Thanls for the feedback. I wound up ordering a SS3. With all the tossing and weird positions I sleep in, figured I needed to give it a shot. For anyone else looking for one, I found the deal at moontrail to be pretty solid. Bag is 299 plus bonus points that I used for a nearly free sawyer squeeze and monatauk gnat.