Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Marmot bag

What does everyone think of the Marmot Col EQ Reg -20 degree bag? I am looking for a bag that is rated true, durable, and is somewhat roomy,I also like the fact that it's waterproof, but wondering how small a bag like this is when in a stuff sack.

http://www.westernmountaineering.co...gs&cat=Dryloft%20Expedition%20Series

For $80 more I'd get the WM Puma... WM are phenomenal bags and I'd rather give my money to a small, specialty Co that sews here in the USA than a multinational conglomerate sewing in Vietnam or China. WM will give great follow-up customer service too. Also, WM's temp ratings are right on (and conservative) IME. I've owned three WM bags.

As to "Waterproof"... not really. All these fabrics are a compromise.

I have the Puma ( the Microfiber one) and an old marmot CWM ( just nylon as its all they had in the dark ages). All in all I would do the WM bag over the Marmot for the reasons Brad stated. Frankly both bags are great bags either way you won't be far wrong.

Bying a winter bag is a serious chunk of change so getting one sized right is important. Days are short in the winter and you spend 12-14 hrs in a bag so you will want more room than if you were buying a summer bag. You may also have water bottles and boots in the bag depending so you may have to account for that as well.

A good down bag will likely last the avarage guy decades.. perhaps a lifetime.. your waistline may not be quite the same at 50 as it was at 22 so more to think about.

Noknees, I sold my Marmot Mountain Works Ptarmigan bag (USA sewn) that I bought in 1982 just last year on ebay. It had a Goretex shell and went all over the world with me. It still had many years life left. My wife has a USA sewn Marmot Mountain Kestrel with Goretex shell that I bought for her in 1985/86. I suspect it'll last her the rest of her life!

Goretex doesn't make the best bag shell but she doesn't seem to care

My first WM bag was the Dakota model (now discontinued) that had a Goretex shell... bought it in 1992. The Goretex started delaming ever so slightly in the hood area. I contacted WM about it maybe eight years later and they built a brand new replacement in Dryloft for free, no questions asked.

That's what I call customer service...

I had an original Gore-Tex Marmot bag which I had custom built in 1978 and used it hard for 21 years until it was stolen; it was still like new and was among the finest pieces of serious outdoor gear I have ever had...and that's a lot.

When I went to replace it, I was shocked at the relatively poor quality of the newer Marmots and then I went to work selling gear until I retired. Marmot is like many of the other "name"bags, they are "good", but, there are better alternatives.

I am considering having Peter Hutchinson Designs make me another winter bag and now own/use FF,WM, ID and Exped bags. As an alternative to the MM Col, I would buy a WM Puma over anything now available except the full-on custom bag.

I have spent hundred;s of nights camping in cold, snowy conditions and WM makes the best cold weather, production bags I have yet seen.

I have a Marmot Arroyo lightweight down bag which I bought from REI in 2000. It weighs right around 2 lbs. It's a good summer bag rated for 30 degrees, but I find that I start getting chilly in the mid to lower 30's. It's also pretty narrow and I find myself getting claustraphobic in it. I usually lay on my pad and unzip the bag and use it as a blanket, with my feet in the toe box, if it's not too cold. When I'm flush I plan on buying a Western Mountaineering Sycamore to replace it. This is my routine backpacking bag.

Regarding those old bags which last for years; I have an Eddie Bauer goose down bag I bought in 1975 and it's still in good shape. It lofts up just like it did when new. It's pretty heavy (4 or 5 lbs) so I use it as a camping or late season bag. It's still my best friend and when I crawl into it I always smile.

Cliff

A few years back I purchased a Marmot 0 degree bag. So far it has been a great bag. After dozens of nights out it looks the same as the day I got it. I believe they make very good bags.

At the time I had a large gift certificate for Cabelas and they were carrying Marmot bags. It was a pretty easy choice to go with the Marmot. If I would of been shelling out my own dinero though I would of probably went with a WM bag(Kodiak) for all the reasons mentioned above.

I recently acquired one of Mont-Bell's new -20 bags. I've only slept out in it one night, but I still can't get over the loft this bag has. Will be giving it a thorough workout fairly soon on a 2 week trip. Knowing Mont-Bell I'm sure she'll hold up to my expectations.

Levi

In regards to WM Puma. If I'm 6'2 would the 6 footer be enough room?

Dead on. Most manufacturers are rather optimistic when it comes to temp ratings........

Feathered Friends, Integral Designs, and WM tend to be conservative in temp ratings.

I've slept when it was -20 outside the tent (10-15 degrees warmer inside) with my WM Antelope with overfill. Mine is the older Gore-Tex model--less breathable but probably a tad warmer and more water resistent than the Dry Loft or Super Micro Fiber shells currently offered.



Casey

What if you could get the marmot for $450??

Western Mountaineering has it "sewn up" with bags. You won't care one damn about the price difference when you are in one. I'm not saying that Marmot is bad by any means, but WM, ID, really have their act together.

I'm up to 9 bags that I've screwed with and the WM bag is the only one which I won't put aside. I'm ordering a Puma or a Valandre Odin next season.

How about sizing of the Puma, I'm 5'8, but would like extra room for long winter nights, would the regular be big enough?

Unless you are huge, I'd say yes. Call them and talk it over; they are good there, as well.

Worse case, you move to a "Sequoia" or somesuch semi-rectangular.

Can't beat their bags, regardless of model.

I've ordered a custom made to fit ID Arctic -40 bag on Nov. 23. Still I have yet to recieve it. Hope it comes before winter is over, as my old Marmot is only a 20 degree bag and I am tired of freezing when I get in a bag.

When I climb in a bag in cold weather I want it to nuke me.

Bummer to hear that Marmot has gone downhill... I have a gore-tex/down bag from maybe '88 that is spectacular and bombproof. If it ever fails me I'll have to look into those WM bags! :-)

Most of my gear is from that era... Dana Design climbing and mountaineering packs... Marmot bag and jacket... good stuff.

Brad... did that bag actually bring much coin on Ebay? Hard to imagine buying someone else's 20-year-old sleeping bag!

-jeff

Call Marmot first. They treat their csr's well. If anything, have a sweet bag to sell at a better price. BUT, they won't be able to offer a better product than the above.

Just a comment on the roominess of extreme weather bags....they are not designed to be "roomy" because it would require lots more body heat to warm the bag up. Winter bags are designed to be somewhat closer fitting so that they are warmer. That is why the Puma, Bison and others have a smaller girth than let's say the Badger, etc.

If you are 6'2", you need a longer bag, otherwise you are going to max out the bag and the hood will not fit properly. I found this out when testing a Valandre Mirage Medium. I am 6'1" and the bag is made for 5'11" or so max. I could not cinch down the hood like I could with a Long.

This is controversial, but my preference is to have a bag shell that breathes and is not "waterproof". There are bag mfgrs out there that argue both sides of the issue, but my gut instincts say that if you have a waterproof shell, you are trapping your body moisture inside the goose down insulation. Valandre, for one, claims that if you need external protection, use a lightweight bivy. I have Hilleberg Bivanorak for the purpose of keeping my bag dry if I need it.

YIKES!!!! $700 for a sleeping bag ....

BTW, not meant to offend, sticker shock, that's all! I know good stuff costs $$

Does it sing a lulaby too?

nope but in the right neighborhood it'll come with a blonde chick with fake boobs