Long term durability of Zpacks, Enlightened Equipment and Western Mountaineering bags/quilts

I used a Western Mountaineering UL for a thru hike and it appears to be in the same shape that it was before I started. This year I will be doing another thru hike and will take a Zpacks 20*. Seems a little more fragile and I don't like that it is supposed to be hand wash only. The weight is hard to overlook though. We'll see.

I have both Western Mountaineering and Zpack bags and have used them extensively. I don't think that you will see any difference in the durability. I recently ordered a quilt from EE and can't speak about it, but my expectations are that it will in the same class.

Well, I have been using one of Tim's very first quilts since circa 2007(?),well before he became EE, and it is still going strong. Never had any issues with it in over 300 nights (that's a heck of a lot of weekend trips, man). I have used it as a top quilt, under quilt and even a two person top quilt. On the ground, under a hammock or over a hammock, they just plain work. I have also used at least nine versions of his other enLIGHTened Equipment quilts with the same results. Even a few dog quilts. Can't recommend them enough. IMHO, best UL quilt bang for your buck. Full disclosure: sometimes I get to test some of his quilts out and am occasionally a sounding board for new ideas, but I do not work for EE.

My first quilt from Tim (2008):

My son, back from Afghanistan, and I section hiking part of the PCT last year (he used his EE synthetic quilt as a hammock UQ. Marines are notoriously hard on their gear, so it speaks volumes that the thing still looks new.):

Here we have a EE top quilt drying, EE 3/4 under quilt (on the hammock), and an EE dog quilt drying.

Dog quilt (that converts to a doggy parka!)

And just for fun, here's a kilt sporran Tim made for me (whata' guy!).

I have had a Western Mountaineering Alder going on 4 years now and it has performed fantastically. Quite durable and comfortable.

If you're looking at Zpacks and EE (and are comfortable going the quilt route), I would also highly recommend checking out Katabatic Gear. I picked up an Alsek last year and the construction/durability is up there with WM, in my opinion.

del

"LIFETIME NO QUESTIONS ASKED WARRANTY. Lived in it for 10yrs and never washed it and no longer lofty? No problem"

That does sound good..
So who pays for the ones that are careless about their gear usage ?

EB works that way, as long as you have the original receipt.

Otherwise, it will be refunded at the last selling price in the computer for the model (tags need to be present or presented as well).

I just went thru this with a Downlight vest that I didn't have the receipt for…unfortunately, the last selling price was $39.99 for that particular season's model.

-Mark in St. Louis

del

Any reason you left Feathered Friends off the list? They make great, light weight, durable bags and stand behind their products.

Feathered friends makes fabulous bags but they don't have anything in the right size for a 5'5" , 170lbs guy with broad shoulders and a large chest. Their mens bags are too long and their women's bags far too narrow in the shoulders.

Zpacks, EE and WM all carry bags that will fit me well so they're the finalists.

Being built like Gimli from Lord of the Rings makes finding clothes, shoes and gear challenging. For clothes lengthwise I'd fit in a small but I literally cannot pull a small shirt/jacket on and even mediums fit snug around my shoulders. Unfortunately mediums run long on my arms and torso. Alas, not everyone into the outdoors is 6' , 165lb endurance athlete with 5% body fat. :)

I am partial to Feathered Friends because I own several of their bags an love them. This year was the first year I bought a custom bag from FF. They were easy to work with and many folks don't know they will gladly do custom work as they make their bags in Seattle (full disclosure – I live in Seattle). Might I suggest a custom FF Vireo for your consideration? I am 6', 210, and went with the size long, as you actually want to size this bag up. See this link about the Vireo, it is great quilt alternative for the same cost as comparable Zpacks bags.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=73812.

You could go with the short or regular, and if your goal is 30 degrees, 3oz of overfill in the top half should do the trick. Mine is a true 20 degree bag for me with 5oz of overfill in the top half (tested in my summer merino sleep cloths to 18 degrees). I have a stout build and find the wide girth of the bag to be great. It cinches down in the cold and can be opened up for venting if it is warm. I am also a restless side sleeper and found this to be a great quilt alternative. Finally, there is plenty of room in the top half to layer with a down piece to push the bag lower.

I've had a WM Caribou 35F bag for about 10 years now, most bag nights of my WM bags. About the time I think it is getting cooler to sleep in it, it'll get my now 60 year old body thru a Zip-o-gauge 24F night in Spring, with just a syn jacket draped over my chest sometime in the early morning hours. I snagged it on the zipper last summer without being careful to free it, so I need to fix that before much more usage. I just picked up a EE 30F Enigma in Oct., no chance to use it to temp ratings yet. Drapes very well over my 160 lb. frame, without the straps.
Duane

My view is that all of these bags will last a very long time with proper care.

My wife has a WM bag, while I use Zpacks quilt made of 7D. They're all well sewn, so durability is simple a matter of how well you take of it. Bags/quilts aren't hard to be nice too (compared to say, a windshirt), so they're the perfect application for the lightest woven fabrics. I fully expect to get 20 years or more out of my Zpacks quilt.

Edward that looks like a very interesting bag and out of all the feathered friends offerings looks like it comes closest to fitting my needs. I'll look into it further, thank you for the recommendation.

Dan, from the responses thus far I have a feeling you're right on the money. So many quality options, decisions, decisions.

They will last a lifetime basically. Even if my Zpacks bag losses loft it's still going to be an awesome bag.

Sleeping with baselayers or a silk liner will help quite a bit keeping oily skin off fabric.

UGQ. Underground Quilts seem to be making a good product as well.

Eric,
The Summerlite works well for me (5'8" ,155lbs) but I would not say that I have broad shoulders more like the shoulders of a broad.
(yes I am abroad…)

have you been inside one ?

WM also has the 5 oz heavier but 4" wider 5'6" MegaLite

Franco, I haven't been inside of one but have a Marmot bag with similar dimensions that just fits enough. I've looked at the Megalite and I think it would be a better fit for me if I planned on layering underneath it. Since I have the Marmot bag that's ~ 10-15F bag I hadn't planned on needing to layer under the summerlite but now that you mention it I may have to give the Megalite some more though. My main concern was having dead air to fill and it requiring layers.

Eric,
In winter I can use a WM Flash top and bottom inside the Summerlite and still not feel constricted but some do find the Summerlite a bit too tight.
(that combo works for me to around 20f)

Agree with Dan.

The OP picked a wide breadth of sleep systems though, so the feedback may not be useful in picking a solution.