Western Mountaineering Astralite Quilt 2021 version?

[Alexander L]

I see that Western Mountaineering has updated the Astralite with a new 12D fabric and changed the the pad attachment system (. Does anyone have any hands on experience with these yet? Thoughts? I’ve only seen one preview online: I love my Alpinlite and looking to get this for 3 season use.

[Paul S]

I have a Nanolite. It’s been surprisingly warm for its weight. I’ve had it down to freezing with a bivy and a mid-layer jacket. The attachment system of mine (1st gen) is a bit cumbersome. It has a criss-cross pattern of cordage that looks like it was designed for adjustability. Kind of like the cords on a Katabatic, but a bit lighter. The down tends to move around a bit more than I would like — seems like it is understuffed. But as I said, it’s warm. It is also narrow. The shell is soft, holds the down reasonably well and is doing pretty well after, guessing 30+ days of backcountry use. Overall I’m very happy with it.

[Alexander L]

Does your Nanolite suffer from the same condensation issues as the Astralite?

[Paul S]

No, I’ve not had any issues whatsoever with condensation. I’ve used it both with a Borah bivy (Argon top and DCF bottom) and an MLD FKT bivy (event/DCF). Note: Most of my hiking using it has been late spring and summer in the Sierra (relatively dry) and I’m pretty good at picking campsites or it’s under a tarp… i.e., not challenging conditions. If I’m expecting wet conditions then I have a synthetic FKT MLD quilt that I prefer for those conditions.

The only issue I’ve had with it is down migration. It hasn’t been bad, just something to watch out for and move around, so the bag doesn’t end up with cold spots.

[Michael B]

Yeah. I studied the Astralite and Nanolight when speccing my MYOG and formed the opinion that their baffles are too wide for the fill weight. I narrowed my baffles down to 3” and have zero issues with down migration at the same size/loft and fill weight. It is a little heavier due to the higher denier shell and a few more baffles (finished weight 19oz). I saw the newer strap system (just 3 mini elastic straps and flat buckles) and think it is up to standards of most other mfrs. I like the smaller elastic and buckles (3/8 width) compared to the ones I have on my quilt (3/4”). I’ll be looking for the smaller buckles for my next build.

[John Vance]

I had the earlier Astralite version and now the new version and a couple of weeks use on it.   No down migration with the new one and I didn’t with the first one either.   I had significant condensation issues with the 7D shell and haven’t had any with the 12D material.   The buckles are a much improved solution to the lace bungee.  The 7D quilt weighed 16.5 oz and the 12D is 17.3 oz on my scale.  This is for the regular length quilt.

[Alexander L]

Do any users have any feedback?

[Alex V]

I purchased a new Astralite and the one that came in is the old version. I didn’t even use it and immediately sent it to WM for warranty repair to replace the shell and update the pad attachment system. The draft yoke synch cord was also broken out of the box.

It’s frustrating to pay $420 then another $35 for shipping right away for a known defective product. Buyer beware. A lot of dealers didn’t even know which version they had in stock when I called and asked, I tried to prevent this from happening.

@servingko did you have WM replace the shell on your original one or did you get a totally new updated version?

[John Vance]

They just made me a new bag.    I would imagine it’s not worth their time and effort to deconstruct the original bag but they may reclaim the down or just donate the bag.

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