MEGALITE WITH OVERFILL (2 OUNCES) "Rating"

Everyone’s metabolism is different and changes with age differ as well but, I’ve had my standard fill megalite down to 18 deg F wearing 150 weight wool top and bottom, Montbell down pants (2oz 800fp fill) and Montbell ultralight hooded parka (3.5oz 800 fill) in an MSR Hubba and was maybe too warm…certainly “toasty”.

YMMV.

Ta for that detailed response JCH. Just what I’m after.

Toasty sounds good.

Well Grahm,I am “a male in my 7th decade.” ;o) and my overfilled Megalite has comfortably taken to 15 F. with a thin TR Prolite summer mattress (R 2.2) and my pants and shirt laid beneath the mattress.

I had medium weight polyester long johns on and a light fleece balaclava and heavy “sleep socks”.  I was in my Tarptent Moment DW solo tent.  I did not have the Megalite cinched up to “blowhole” configuration but had it loosely cinched around my neck. Works very well that way.

With the Megalite’s extra roominess I have been able to use puffy pants and jacket over the long johns to 10 F. and been a bit warm. This was when I was 68. Now I’m 75 and my metabolism has likely slowed a bit but I also now have a much warmer REI FLASH Insulated mattress (R 3.7) so I should be fine in temps to 10 F. with proper clothing.

** I feel my light fleece balaclava is necessary for a good night’s’s sleep in temps below 30 F. Plus it can be emergency headwear if a freak cold front comes through. I have seen 16 F. on a cold morning in California (high valley south to the Olancha Peak area) on the PCT in August! 

BTW, that night in camp it was 24 F. and I had the standard Megalite fill. With ALL my clothes on plus a 200 weight fleece vest and the Megalite cinched to a “blowhole” I was OK but it took all of that for the 30 F. rated bag to keep me warm – on that thin Prolite mattress. It was that experience that convinced me to send it back to WM for a factory overfill.

Eric, thanks kindly.

It was your earlier post that I read and you sending it back and the conditions that prompted it that made me ask you in particular for some guidance.

I would use an Xtherm probably (R5+) if I thought it may be below 0C. I would hope to get the -5C and just wanted some real world experience to assist my deliberations.

Thank you also for your tips on headwear and the head neck configuration.

As you say it is the extra roominess and the capacity to wear “extras” that got me thinking.

I have a wee bit of cash burning a hole in my pocket and this is the likely place to put it I reckon.

Cheers

Graham

nm

The Megalite is cut wider than many bags, so depending on your body shape it may be less thermally efficient than narrower models. For me (175cm, 81kg) the shape is perfect. But I live at 1600m above sea level and much of my camping is done above 2500m, and the lack of a draft collar in the Megalite caused me to sell it and replace it with the Alpinlite (200g more fill weight). Sometimes the bags designed for warmer weather use lack design features that can make all the difference when temps drop, and extra insulation added as overfill doesn’t necessarily compensate.

True, the Megalite lacks a draft collar. I’ve found that wearing a puffy like my light down jacket was needed when temps were that cold.

Otherwise, when wearing my puffy jacket I just drew the hood drawstring around my neck and slept with my head outside the bag while wearing a light fleece balaclava. One night when more head gear was needed I wore my heavy knit “Peruvian” style cap which also was lined with light fleece. This was worn over my balaclava.

The temps were near 5 F. that night and I was a OK with a Thermarest Trail Pro mattress and puffy pants as well as the puffy jacket. But… I think 5 F. is nearing the limit of my overstuffed Megalite with puffy clothes.

BTW, I have found that wearing a light pair of knit poly glove liners when sleeping on cold nights helps. Sounds strange but I felt warmer. With those light liners I could still easily manipulate zippers and drawstrings.

Im in my 60th decade and i used to have a megalite but found I was uncomfortable if below freezing when wearing 195 wt thermals. I am a cool sleeper and I don’t eat enough while backpacking (too busy fishing or walking) so I’m probably on the extreme of cold sleepers. last fall I traded out for an alpinelite and am super happy. Much better for my backpack habits and style and I”m comfortable to 20. The collar really made a difference for me.

Francis, I think you mean your 6th decade. ;o)

The reason I got the WM Megalite for a few extra ounces was for its extra torso girth. (Hence the name “Mega”) That’s so I could wear puffy clothing inside W/O being constricted. As you can see from my comments above it worked very well.

Now that I have a new LL Bean -20 F. down winter bag I can likely go to -30 with puffy clothes. Don’t know that I’d like to try it though. But having the room in a mummy bag to add insulating clothes can be the difference between suffering and slumbering.

At the least you should have enough room in your sleeping bag to add fleece clothing. If that is the case then the minimum you should carry is a fleece vest. That once saved me from a miserable night on the PCT.

G’day Eric and all, I have been using my Megalite so far at around 1C to 9 Celcius (and that is accurate inside my shelter-)  I have a newly acquired proper fridge thermometer. Some feedback. At the higher temp 9C unzipped completely lying in the bag – fine. At the lower end 1C to 3C all zipped up wearing LW Pat Cap pants, LW Cap Tshirt and thinnish socks no beanie- fine. It was 33 Celcius here yesterday Summer is around the corner. I just wish I could get a couple more cold nights but I am feeling confident that as Eric said this being a bit wider that with a bit more worn insulation I would be right to at least a few degrees below 0C which is what I was after. My quilt was giving me the shits in this lower temp range and yes Eric the fleecy balaclava is on the to buy list for next Winter! I just bought the Peleton 97 for possibly this worn extra insulation scenario. The new proper thermometer (weighs 32 grams highly recommended!) means I can make judgements about the suitabiilty of my gear based on the conditions I really encounter, not what a Meteoroligical tower says -which may be 20 kms away here in Australia. Cheers Eric and all.

Graham – YMMV but I love my Cap 4 (grid) fleece balaclava.  It is so light, warm and stretchy. Also have a Cap 4 (grid) beanie and a MH windstopper 100 weight fleece beanie and they both pair well with the balaclava for ultimate adjustability.

Note that I long ago relegated the Megalight to loaner status and moved to quilts.

G’day JCH I think you are talking at cross purposes to my thread.

I wanted the Megalite, I asked about it, you and others offered advice, I bought it and I wanted to confirm it works so far which I did in my last post.

Perhaps I am missing what you mean?

“YMMV but I love my Cap 4 (grid) fleece balaclava” ??

“Note that I long ago relegated the Megalight to loaner status and moved to quilts.” ??

Cheers.

Sorry Graham…I should have been more specific about my comments, which were directed at this part of your post

…and yes Eric the fleecy balaclava is on the to buy list for next Winter.

My mention that I now use a quilt exclusively was to give some measure of how warm the Cap 4 “system” I described is, as my head is exposed, where obviously yours will not be.  I think the Cap 4 balaclava would serve you quite well.

Glad you are happy with the Megalite…it’s one fine bit of kit.

No worries at all JCH. Hey where do I get a Cap 4 beanie?  I have never seen one. Sounds like I might benefit by getting one of them in my quiver of stuff for next (winter) year.

Hmmmm…looks like the Cap 4 EW Beanie has become hard to find.  Not even found on the Pata website :(.

Stuart,

I looked at the WM Alpenlight and it looks like it is good to at least 20 F. for a cold sleeper. Congrats on finding the bag that gives you a comfortable night. I think with a warm enough mattress, poly long johns and fleece pants and jacket I could go to 0 F. with no trouble in the Alpenlight. In fact had I known how much shoulder season backpacking I would do I would have bought the Alpenlight first.

When I first began my search for a 3 season down bag I bought a Mountain Hardware 32. As soon as I laid out at home with its poor loft I realized there was no way in he!! it was going to keep me warm at 32 F. so I returned it to REI.

Finally I saw a WM Megalite at Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder, CO and had it ‘splained to me that it was bigger to accommodate insulated clothing. I loved it and still do 6 years later. Yeah, I needed it overfilled but with that I’ve been quite happy.

As Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry said, “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” I found a way to sleep comfortably and so did you.

For a grid fleece balaclava go to terramarsports.com; they carry several styles ranging from thin silk to the heavier Ecolator grid fleece.  At only $20 it’s a pretty good deal.  And plenty warm, too!

Happy trails!

Thanks greatly Monty.

I have a WM megalite with overfill. I’ve used it in the 20F-38F range and have been a little disappointed with it, to be honest.

The main issue is cold coming in from the zipper. To keep the zipper from getting caught, WM has stitched a long strip of fabric that keeps the material around the zipper out of the way. The downside to this is, in my experience, the draft tube that’s supposed to cover all of that up and keep the bag warm doesn’t do a very good job of it. The whole length of the zipper is basically one giant cold spot, and if you’re sharing a tent with someone else, the problem is made even worse if you sleep with the zipper side facing the tent wall/door.

I had a Patagonia 850 fill 19 deg bag before this and only replaced it with the WM megalite to save a few OZs and thought that, with WM’s great reputation, I wouldn’t have an issue like this one. But, the Patagonia center zip design with a massive draft tube makes so much more sense and is much, much warmer. On a cold night in similar conditions, I warm up much more quickly (and stay warm) in the Patagonia bag than I do in the WM megalite even though, with overfill, it’s a similar rating as the Patagonia 19 deg.

Alfredo,

I think you may be a “cold sleeper”, or at least a colder sleeper than me and, as a geezer, I am not a warm sleeper. I’ve slept in 15 F. temps with my overfilled Megalite and medium weight long johns and been good, and this on a summer Prolite mattress with pants and shirt laid beneath it. And always in these temps I wear a light fleece balaclava. Keeping your head warm is important.

Of course this was in a one person tent (TT Moment DW) and that helped a bit.

It could be, but I sleep in long johns, a baselayer + fleece, wool socks, and with the hood fully closed. The thing is, the bag does get warm, sure, but I can always feel a cold draft coming in through the length of the zipper. My trick has been to sleep on the zipper and pushing the down to reorganize it a bit. I think the bag is OK, but I’m missing the Patagucci 19 deg for sure.

OK, I admit that the Megalite’s zipper draft flap often does not fully cover the zipper.ANd yeah, laying on it “solves” the problem temporarily – until you roll the other way in your sleep.

I will likely soon address that by sewing on three evenly spaced 3/4″ Velcro strips on the flap and bag beginning about the knee area. This will hold the flap in place fairly well. I’ll use a very fine needle, nylon thread and fine stitching to spread out the strain on the fabric. I’ll put the fuzzy strips on the bag and scratchy strips on the flap, where they will be less prone to scratch or catch on my long johns when entering or exiting.

Also I may even make a draft collar and attach it with Velcro (with the scratchy strips sewn to the collar, natch). If need be one can sew fuzzy side Velcro to a ripstop patch to cover the scratchy Velcro (when not in use) the way LL Bean did in my -20 F. down bag’s collar closure.