Sleeping bag war: Zpacks classic (wide) vs WM Alpinlite

[Scott B]

I’m torn! I’m a side sleeper, active during the night

Zpacks is lighter, wider

WM has easier entry, exit…plus I think the hood would be an advantage

What do you guys think?

 

[John S.]

Western mountaineering.

[Turley]

ZPacks is lighter and wider…..and the WM Alpinlite has approximately 4oz more down fill than the 20F ZPacks Classic (so I’m guessing the WM is either very conservative or the ZPacks is optimistic).

I’d error on the conservative side….another vote for WM.

[Scott B]

To be clear, I’m actually comparing the 5 degree Zpacks to the 20 degree WM.

Here’s why…WM sent me their EN ratings, and the Alpinlite had a lower limit of 14 degrees. Zpacks claims that even those theirs are not EN-rated, that they believe their ratings to be close to the lower limit.

Down comparison:

Zpacks has 19.5 oz of 900 FP down

WM Alpinlite: 19 oz of 850 FP down

 

[Graham F]

EN ratings rule for a reason.

 

[Mario Caceres]

I have the 20*F Zpacks – (Wide) and the Western Mountaineering Versalite (which is rated as a10*F bag).  Even though there is a nominal difference of only 10* degrees between those two bags I find the western mountaineering MUCH warmer than the Zpacks.  Manufacturing quality is much better on the Western Mountaineering and I normally use my WM Versalite for snow camping or when I expect very colder conditions.  I would call it a true 10*F bag

I use my 20* Zpacks as my go to 3 season bag in California Sierras.  I really like its hood-less design and i normally use it as a “Quilt” with the zipper opened on my back.  I like that when conditions get a bit colder than expected I can zip it up and use it in “Sleeping Bag mode”.

[James Marco]

I think I would go for the WM only because it has a hood. At anything less than 20F you sort’a want one. If you start adding a balaclava, or other full head covering on top of the weight of the Z-Packs, I think you will kind them real close, weight wise. While hoods in general don’t get a lot of use except in very cold conditions, they do help keep my bald head *much* warmer than without.

The WM also has a full draft collar and draft tube. While you might say that the Zpacks doesn’t need a draft tube (since the zipper is on the back,) I would say it helps even when opened into a quilt. The draft collar is an added bonus for restless sleepers, though again, without a hood you might say it isn’t needed.

The Zpacks is also a lot larger in girth. This means that for the same amount of down fill, it gets spread around more…an actual thinner coating. Anyway, that’s my take…

[Ben Kilbourne]

One note on down ratings. I’ve talked to Western a bit about this and I actually saw some of the ratings they’ve gotten for their down. This was from the down testing facility in SLC. According to Western they just buy the best down they can get their hands on and it fluctuates from batch to batch but never gets down to the 850 rating. I saw ratings as high as 970. But they just label everything 850 to be conservative. Likely other companies are using the same down but when they get a 900 batch they label it 900. Not sure if I can help otherwise. I think these bags may be different tools for different uses. I like them both.

[Ben C]

For 20 degree 3 season use, a hoodless quilt is hard to beat.  I typically use a 20 degree EE.

For colder use, I see the utility of a hooded bag.

[Scott B]

You guys are awesome. This has been super helpful.

[Scott B]

For other slide sleepers out there…any thoughts about what might tip this one way or the other?

[Ben Kilbourne]

I’m a side sleeper and I don’t know if you’d see much of a difference in terms of comfort between these. You will likely see a warmth difference as others have noted. the hood and full draft collar of the alpinlite will be very warm. Btw I used to have that bag and it was really comfortable. I swapped it out for a versalite but either of those bags, or even the antelope is a must-have in my quiver. I have a 20 degree quilt as well for slightly warmer temps and I side-sleep in that just fine too. I guess my verdict is that you can reduced this down to a warmth comparison.

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