Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Kifaru Regulator bag????

I am the thread killer.

Doubt it.

Big meany!!!

Yah ain't the thread killer, AND you see the huge plus in the system, most of us carry a bit extra just in case.... carrying that parka in the pack is now a thing of the past... if it turns worse than expected you just use the top of the bag... Of course me using my parka as a pillow will be the end now.... may have to invest in an air pillow....

Generally, the feedback I'm reading from people who have bought these bags is good. The idea of a true-to-rating synthetic bag with those weights and a shell "that" resistant to the elements has been what I've been looking for.

I wished that they had run that whole m.o.b. thing as an option from the get-go. Personally, I would have no use for the whole modularity aspect. I would never use it as a clothing system, and I would never want to be dinking around with all those pieces of bag as my circumstances changed throughout the day. I'm not in any way saying it doesn't work; how the hell would I know, anyway? I think it just comes down to whether a person will accept the modularity aspects or not.

I'm still on the fence over the 20 degree main bag as my choice for a go-to synthetic. The decision would have been much easier for me, had they offered a 5 or 10 degree main bag in addition to the 20, and without all the zippers and m.o.b.-ready components. Just a stright-up 5 or 10 degree climashield-based mummy with a robust draft collar and bar-setting packed weight figures.

If anything, I'll wait a little longer for initial sales to settle down, and then try asking them if they would do a custom number to those specs. Meantime, I'm going to keep fiddling with down bags and Event bivysacks.

For what you want, an Integral Designs North Twin would be ideal and it is rated to 10*F, my experience is that ID bags are like Western Mountaineering and will work fine at lower than rated temps. The Andromeda Overbag for this, no zippers or anything is also a fine summer bag and the combo would weigh around 5 lbs. for a sub-zero bag that will perform in wet conditons.

I can honestly say, owning and using WM, FF, ID, Exped and having had a whack of others, that this is the most comfortable and most utilitarian bag(s) I have ever had and the quality is equal to WM. Something else to consider if Kifaru can't do a custom rig like you want...and I would as well.

Yeah, I've no reservation at all about getting a North Twin and calling it a day. That was where i left the issue last season and decided to hold my wallet until the regulator came along.

Thus far, if I know i have to run with synthetic, I still use the Wiggy Mountain hunter, but have to augment it heavily with clothing in order to have it work around it's supposed ratings. Maybe it's me, and I am a lean build, but the mountain hunter bag can't stand on it's own for me below about 30-35 degrees. Based on "where" I get cold, I'd say that the absence of the draft collar plays into this more than anything.

The Mountain Hunter that I bought has also lost a noteable amount of loft despite not being stored in a compressed state which is what has put me back on the market for a synthetic.

How old is that Mountain Hunter bag and where did you buy it? If it's losing loft you can get it repaired or replaced for free. I've got an Ultra Light that I've been using for about 2 years now and it has never let me down, course I may have a little more insulation on my body than you do.

Got it from Marc, around the time he first startted selling them. I always knew I could get him to make good on the loft issue, though that only occurred in 2007. At any rate, I figured I'd end up with a shiny new bag that still had a crappy drawcord, and no draft collar, so I decided to investigate other options. It won't be the first piece of kit that got phased out of my gear closet.

I know they have some rationale for the draft collar thing, though I never really understood it. Suffice to say that I happen to need one, and have faired better with every bag that I have owned which had one. I have owned 3 other Wiggy bags, superlight, overbag, and ultima thule-all have demonstrated a weakspot to my body where a draft collar did not exist.

Funniest, is that I've had the majority of my frustration with the fact that they made such constatnt use of a drawcord material akin to what is included in most payless shoes. Does anyone know if that has changed?

By the way, I gave up of caring about ANY of the figures in gear maufacture beyond my perspective as an end-user. I care less about deriding Marc Taylor, or anyone else. I will sleep just as warm or cold regardless whether the guys making all this stuff are millionaires or receiving food stamps. It's just business, which is proved by the fact that I stand to recieve no discount for going online and touting any given products value.

If Marc would take the bag back, fix the loft, add a draft collar, and replace that rotten cordage with actual bungee, I'd have to re-think this....

If I'm not mistaken...your Mnt Hunter has the same insulation top and bottom, right?? and you STILL get cold at 30? I doubt a draft collar is gonna make the Mtn Hunter a 10 degree bag for ya...

Ya, but, I bet a lady mountaineer would help keep him toasty, the man is on the RIGHT track!!!!

I still get cold at 30 in it. Always cold in torso and shoulders. Thing is, it doesn't happen in a Moonstone delta Minima (20 degree) at "it's" rated temps.

The above things I posted were never mean't to explain the Mountain Hunter as a 10 degree number. They would be to make it a viable 20-25degree bag.

All based on me wearing an Icebreaker baselayer and fleece watchcap.

Good luck getting any kind of warranty work done from Wiggys. My bag has lost considerable loft and I was told by the "man" himself that the K-Special/Mountain Hunter did not have the same guarantee as his other bags. He also told me that there could be no loss of loft, and that if there was it was something that I must have done to it. I agree that lack of draft collar is major contributor to these bags not getting close to their ratings. Every time I turn over I get a blast of cold air around my shoulders, I have a hard time sleeping when that happens.

Mark might be a better guy to do business with, but I don't know. Maybe he will chime in here and offer to replace it for me.

He can replace mine also, It's lost it's loft. Bought it from Taylor when he was selling on Kifaru's web site

I won't bother returning it. A loss is a loss to me. All I will get back is an archaic design with another dose of loft that obviously diminishes despite the claims of the maker/seller.

Rather, I'll take my bag to various gatherings (Yes, that means Rondy's, too) and let others see the bag for themselves.

Will keep shopping. As I stated before, the drawcord and lack of collar are just silly and I couldn't take seriously a proponent of this stuff who tried to defend these 2 shortcomings.

Good God! At the least I recall them both touting how the loft was a shoe-in despite storage. I got a Superlite that defies that, as well. Kind of bugs me when the "Mountain hunter project" was underway. Seems that when it was easily called the Kifaru-Special a lot was promised-to include loft. Seems also that NOTHING was guaranteed by the maker. So, I spent $190, got a [Kifaru-special-mountainhunter-lamilite is king-but won't promise such; in weight or temp., but "HOPE YOU DON"T FREEZE TO DEATH!!!] bag and have looked for better since the first trip I tried it.

I've found the same failures in the superlite wiggy bag that I have in the mountain-hunter bag. It seems that the failure rates, relative to loft, may have something how much loft the bag starts with. Nonetheless, they lose it.

If Wiggy's made a bag that actually worked beyond the limits asuaged by base camp, I would consider it. For now, they are a firm based on touting the past, promising utopia, and delivering a bag that is not comensurate with their price.

Would think that they would at least conceed that that the cordage is silly. That they don't even admit that, tells me they are not willing to advance. Why should I invewst a cent in an outfit that tells "me" what "I" need??

I think I saved the post from the Kifaru board or maybe an e-mail by Jerry that said that the K-special would have the same warranty with respect to insulation, loft, and durability as all his other bags. I guess it really doesn't matter, I have moved on to better things. I would let them replace the bag as a matter of principle and we do use them when the conditions are mild so all was not a complete loss for me.

yep, hard to bullchit the players

Are you saying I'm full of it??

I don't get that impression, Ozark, I feel that 1Ak, who is a good guy, is agreeing with you.

Hope so, as my impression-opinion agrees with Chawns and yours.

I don't get anything from Taylor or Wiggy but I like their bags and will continue too as long as they work for me. I don't need a draft collar and have never got cold in my Ultra-Light, which is a 20 degree bag. I will never use another sleeping bag that doesn't have a laminated fill, and preferably Climashield. I've owned several different bags in the past and they all over time lost their loft due to crappy fill material. I have no dog in this fight but we did manage to get this thread turned around only to have the Wiggy hate fest start up again. If you don't want or like Wggy's bags then don't buy them, it's your money so buy what you want. Is it possible to let this go and get back to what this thread is suppose to be about?