Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Synthetic Sleeping Bag Recomendations

I don’t believe there are any standards for temp rating determination. Each company sets their own method, AFAIK.

Of your list this is the only one I would buy. Western Mountaineering
Versalite 10 F

As for zip I think it is more a personal preference, I prefer a left hand zip and I am right handed

I have a 15 degree Marmot Helium that I like a lot. But I would say in my opinion the Western Mountaineering is a slightly better bag.

Marmot Lithium or REI Expedition.

The Lithium is a great bag. But it is a very warm 0 degree bag

Feathered Friends Lark looks to be the best value weight/price/temp./fill. I would see which is the roomiest as they are all close in specs. Sorry no first hand experience with those models. At 2Lbs. 1 oz it leaves room for a liner and/or bivy or both if weight is not too critical. Is there any place near that you can do a first hand comparison? Do any of these have the Hydro Down treatment? That would be a big plus for me. Nik Wax has a wash in version which is not as good but it is similar to the Durable Water Repellent (DWR) treatment and worth a look esp. for SE AK. For less than 8 bucks you can improve the performance of any bag a notch or two.

The Snow Leopard I suspect has less internal room or volume like the Cats Meow which is the reason for the lower temp. rating, but just guessing on this.

Just a BTW I had a snow leopard sniff my head when I was in a very confining mummy bag. I thought I was dreaming until it let out a low growl about four feet from my face. I froze at first and then frantically had to extricate myself from the bag before it became a very wet bag. Hence one of my preferences for a more roomy bag.

No need or value to treated Down. It is pretty much just a gimmick

Western Mountaineering makes a variety of sleeping bags. You'll probably find something that meets your criteria.

Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags

I own the Versalite and love it, but for the price point, the FF sounds like a better deal. I dont think you will be disappointed with either one. I have the FF puffy pants and they are toasty and well made. Let us know what you decide on.

If cost is no object, then I urge you to check out Western Mountaineering - specifically, the Puma. The best bag extant.

The WM Puma -25F is a nice lofty looking bag, but is outside the temp range of 0-10F that I am foucusing on. The only place near me for sleeping bags to look at is REI, which has none of the ones we are discussing on their web site. I think several of the bags could do the job WM, FF, MH, as one poster above said, the differences seem slight. I did look at the Marmot Lithium, but it has only a 2/3 zipper and reviews say there are issues with the zipper quality, the weight was by far the best at 1 lbs 3 ozs unbelievable.

WM does not sell direct, anyone know of a vendor who may sell for less than the full retail ? UpTop where did you buy your Versalite ?

Western Mountaineering for quality, warmth and light weight. My son has two. He pulled one up when he was climbing in Yosemite.

As others have said here, you really don’t want to match your sleeping conditions to the bag’s rating. The rating in most cases simply means you won’t freeze to death; it is not a comfort rating.

That said, it is my sense that the WM bags are a little closer in terms of comfort/rating. Mine, a Sequoia MF with factory overfill that pushes the rating below zero, was toasty comfortable in the low 20s and I’m sure down to single digits.

I also dislike being cramped, and my bags semi rectangular shape was perfect for me. Weighs about 3 1/2#.

I am not sure why you would need a full zip? 2/3 zipper has less area to allow heat loss and also makes it a touch lighter. I have never totally unzipped any of my bags. Hell I probably only unzip about 2' of it to get in and out.

I personally have never had a single Zipper issue with Marmot and I own four of their bags. One has been in use since the early 90's and still going strong. I own two WM's.

I do think the Western Mountaineering Bags are slightly better bags overall. But they also cost a bit more as well. If you want to spend the money and buy the very best then you should probably go with a WM Sequoia (the only word with every vowel in it except Y) But if you are going to be using the heck out of it I would save the cash and buy the Marmot.

I ordered straight from the website. Prompt shipping w no hassles. You will be very pleased with the bags warmth and weight. Use it as a quilt if its too warm during early season. Good luck!

I won't comment on down bags, but I can say in a rather authoritative manner that there are more 5-vowel words out there. As to the zipper question, I open zippers ambidextrously, but I still prefer to have the zipper on the right.

I don't think WM sells directly anymore. I don't even see prices on their website.

At least this topic will be available for folks in the future who also need to replace their old bag. I did a search and there was not much to look at recently. This was pretty thorough


I am just used to a full length zipper, force of habit I guess. Not a big deal either way. But, the reviews on the Marmot said issues with the zipper other than the glow in the dark color and the zipper seems like a great bag that is the lightest by far. No denying the WM bags seem like state of the art. I think the WM Puma will be too warm for me, no sense carrying more weight than I need to.

Now that I think about it, the bags were ordered thru AMH in Anchorage. If youre in the vicinity of the Valley, you are more than welcome to check them out before you buy. I also purchased the FF puffy pants at AMH.

Look at the tabs on the top of the page!
https://www.westernmountaineering.com/pricing/

Chill out boomer. Those poor geese n ducks need their feathers.

#thosepoorgeesenducks