Sub-$300 light sleeping bag – WM Highlite?

My friend has this bag, so I've gotten to test it out several times this past season. I believe he took it all the way down to 20º once, with a sleeping pad in a hammock. He had a military-style canvas bivy for windproofing. Don't as me why; the thing weighed more than the sleeping bag.

Anyways, the material is extremely thin, but also extremely slick, so it doesn't catch on things like branches, zippers, velcro, etc. It's almost like the skin of an apple in texture, but much softer.

The bag itself is a great bag. If you purchased it, you'd love it. You'll have to baby it a little; for instance, I wouldn't grab a fistful of it and pull if I was trying to adjust the bag underneath me, which I wouldn't hesitate to do with some other bags. Other than that, if you're keeping it dry and lofted you should be good right down to the temperature rating.

I've got a friend with a Highlite, he seems to like it and it looks to be well made (like all WM stuff). However, I think the reason a lot of people pass it up is the sewn-through construction. Wherever the inner and outer and stitched together will be a potential cold spot. Its not a big deal on warmer nights but dropping down closer to freezing you'll definitely notice a difference. It also only uses 8 ounces of down, so I'd be skeptical of the 35* temperature rating. Both Enlightened Equipment and Katabatic Gear use 8 ounces of down in their 40* quilts and neither of them have hoods or bottoms so there's much more down on top of you compared to the Highlite.
I'm a quilt person myself so I'd recommend the EE Revelation 40*. Its $250 and 16.5 ounces. The RevelationX is a little heavier but even cheaper. Quilts also address your concern about venting. I've got a RevX 20* and it is very well made. Its been too warm for me to use it yet but there are plenty of reviews around the web.

Adam

the highlite is en-rated to 32F, lower limit men

Temperature Rating. EN 13537 tested:
T comf: +5ºC
T lim: +-0ºC
T ext: -15ºC

http://www.outnorth.com/western-mountaineering-eu/highlite.php

;)

Golite has their Z30 bags and quilts on clearance now for under $200.

The Highlite is the sleeping bag I use when I expect temperatures above 40 degrees (I rarely experience low temps higher than ~45 where I camp). It packs very small and does not require any special handling due to shell materials.

If the temp drops slightly below 40 I add a piece of clothing as a neck draft collar.

I have used it down to 32 degrees with the addition of the Montbell UL down jacket and pants.

In "backyard" testing over a 30 minute period it proved warm enough at freezing with the addition of a TiGoat bivy plus a light weight synthetic vest on my torso plus the Montbell jacket over my legs.

FWIW I have lost a few BMR degrees due to age. All of the data was gathered using mat(s) with R value greater than 5.

For something really economical, how 'bout the Ozark Zone bag from walmart?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=75253

Sounds pretty durn close to what yer looking for.

Eh I just cant trust anything I buy from Walmart, would rather spend more for peace of mind. I also see a Marmot Hydrogen on sale right now for $210 (might pick it up and return it if I dont find a better alternative), a bit heavier at 25oz but has the full zip and 12oz fill. I might have to do some reasearch on quilts, thanks for the idea.

Have you considered a quilt from Enlightened Equipment? I converted to quilts 2 years ago and haven't looked back. Easy to vent, warm, lighter than comparative bag.

I wish I could get their site to load, it gets stuck.. I will check them out, thanks.

Is a myog quilt an option? I used a quilt kit from thru-hiker that is plenty comfy down to freezing, haven't been able to test it any lower yet, and it weight 20 oz. I used a draw string and velcro to close up the bottom 2' or I can open it up in warmer weather. It was only $90 after shipping.

Aaron Smith, I had the highlite for one night, I sold it immediately, for the reason mentioned here, the sewn through contruction. Here's a hint: put a piece of nylon over yourself, then see how cold it gets before you feel the cold under it. I felt the sewn through seams at over 50F, and was not warm at that temperature. You can feel the night air through the 2 layers of pertex exactly as you would think you would, why they offer that bag is a mystery to me, and how they can call it a 35F bag is an even bigger mystery, but since their other bags are great, warm, snuggly, etc, I will not worry about solving that question, and since I was able to sell the bag for about what I bought it for, no great loss except shipping.

I sold the highlite and got the summerlite, which is a real baffled sleeping bag, I think 3oz more, but that's the best 3 oz you could add in your setup in my opinion, it's just fine, good to about 40F at comfort level EN, that's accurate. Highlight is probably EN comfort 50F, if that, might be more, 55, two layers of sewn through pertex just doesn't warm very much.

I was actually wondering how anyone slept in the highlight when it was colder, and one of the posters here shows how you do it, you add a second layer to get past the sewn through problem, via a bivy, to create an insulated air space around the bag, but then you have the bivy cost/weight and pain in the rear part to enter/exit, seems easier to just get a real baffled sleeping bag. The bivy creates the missing air gap of the sewn through construction, which would then probably make the insulation work, I guess. The half zipper was annoying too, particularly since the only time I'd use a bag like the highlite would be in full summer, right when you want to be able to unzip the bag and use it as a quilt.

Hey Aaron,

Like Harald, I too had a Highlite that I sold after one night. Not because I didn't like it. I just didn't have a need for it at the time due to having the even lighter Linelite (no longer made). I purchased a Summerlite which is warmer, has a full zip, and is more versatile. That said, with a changing metabolism, and trips that have shifted to colder times, my Summerlite has been retired in favor of a warmer bag.

At any rate, you might consider looking for a lightly used Summerlite instead of a new Highlite. You'd save some cash and have a more versatile and warmer bag without a big weight penalty. Just a thought……

r

I have used the Highlite down to about 41f with Merino T and long pants, socks and wool hat.
The socks and hat come off after an hour or so and get back into position at around 5AM (if awake)
For the same reasons as the guys above I have switched to the Summerlite.
Layering, I take that down to 20f (I do use a warm mat for that) but it works fully open (quilt style) at 60f.
That Walmart bag is of course a lot less expensive but with 6-7 oz of 600 fill (?) I would not expect it to be as warm as the Highlight.
Keep in mind that both the Highlite and Summerlite don't work for the larger type.

I haven't seen the walmart bag, but my feeling is that any down bag with non sewn through baffles is going to be warmer than the highlite as long as it has 1 inch or more loft, give or take. I remember clearly at maybe 55F, even 60F, feeling that rectangular grid of cold spot that is the 'sewn through baffles', like a negative radiator. That's why I sold it immediately. The highlight would be a neat bag if it had non sewn through baffles, then I could see a point to it.

Remember, that's a rectangular grid of 0" loft, not 1/4" or 1/2", but 0", making the loft in between the lines of that grid sort of pointless in a way.

I have many nights in this bag and found it comfortable into the 30's in light base layers and socks. I routinely took it down into the 20's augmented with a FF down vest and heavy tights.

The bag is sewn through one direction and small baffles the other direction. It is very well made and arguably the best 16oz mummy available. I didn't notice the sewn through construction except when cowboy camping in windy conditions. In a tent it wasn't an issue for me. I have since moved to quilts as I found bags too constrictive.

"The bag is sewn through one direction"

that's right, I forgot, can't remember which direction, so it wasn't a rectangular grid, it was just lines of 0" loft. Some people sleep warm, some cold, I assume I sleep cold. You must be a fairly warm sleeper.

It was one of the most distinctly annoying sensations I'd ever felt from any sleeping bag I'd owned, those lines of cold, speaking for myself, though of course this bag does have its adherents, though if weight were the question, I'd just get something else.

All western mountaineering stuff is very well made, the problem with this bag is the sewn through baffle, that's all, otherwise I think I might have kept it, though probably not, because the half zipper was more annoying than I thought, plus, the summerlite is a lot warmer and weighs pretty much the same, and can be used as a quilt more or less. I actually can think of no real reason for them to do that, it's odd, especially since, as you mention,the bag is properly baffled in one direction already, why not both? Maybe it's something to do with keeping very small amounts of down in place?

I think I'd go with a zpacks bag if weight was the issue, but 3oz really is not any meaningful difference in my opinion, particularly when it brings down the tolerable temp a lot, and gives a full zip, as with the summerlite. Actually the highlite should be lighter given it is less warm, and has a half zip, not a lot gained there imo for those 3 oz.

Hi Aaron,

Kinda looking for same bag and temps as you are. Where did you see the Hydrogen at for $210? I'm also looking at EE quilts.

del

Jim, it is currently on the backcountry outlet site.. make sure that you enter promo code "save40" to bump the discount to 40%, it comes out to 209 and change with the discount, free shipping.

Thanks Aaron, but I missed it. Didnt get around to looking at this until this morning. I guess they are out of the Reg size. The Golite Z30 bag looks interesting and only $199. Anyone got any comments on this bag?

bump cause I am also interested in the goLite z30.. down to 178 now. Thoughts?

The Z30 for $180 is a steal. With over 12oz of down it ought to be warm to colder than 30* too.