Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Synthetic Sleeping Bag Recomendations

Not sure about feathered friends, but western mountaineering has a policy with their dealers of no discounts. Unless you catch somebody going out of business or buy them used, I don’t know of a way to get them cheaper. Moose jaw does give points if you buy them there.

Lamina series bags have received much praise here over the years.

all my boss runs and all we run are wiggys. Yep he is a butthead sometimes.

But the bags are good. Heavy. but good. I typically don't backpack hunt much anymore. Weight not an issue. We run the combo bags with the overliner, 40 degree bag the over is I think. Keep a zero bag under that and I'm covered pretty well all the way around for most hunting seasons.

Easy enough to wash and keep clean too.

Yep we have down. Yep we have carried it with bivy too. But real hunting in a real wet season. Synthetic all the way for us.

I use a wiggys glacier hunter (I think?). Don't see it on their site anymore. It is not overly light, but I stay warm. I have tried lighter bags and quilts and I don't enjoy being cold all that much. That said, I always wish my bag were lighter too.

Buddy runs one of the lamina bags and he is not impressed with it. I think it is just too tight, and he is compressing the fill by the time he's zipped up. Never tried one personally.

I have the ultralamina 15, vintage 2011 or so. Zippers are a royal pain, as the little flaps beside them are too flappy and get eaten by the zipper, opening or closing. Not the warmest...probably has to do with its modest measurements and my prodigious girth. It doesn't work for me below freezing without some sort of augmentation, like my puffy coat over my legs or torso outside the bag (and holding still...).

The MH Phantom 15 down bag that I have from 2009 or so is a good one and fairly true to its rating if you're super strict with the hood and keeping the collar connected and cinched.

The gamechanger for cold weather is a 7' x 4' primaloft blanket I bought a few years back. Secure that over either one of these and you're warm, period, down to single digits with no issues, without having to keep the collar cinched down to covering all but your piehole.

I think that to be warm and comfortable in a synthetic bag, you need also to be okay with some weight and packed bulk.

Helium for me. Seems to do ok.

If you want the best, go with Western Mountaineering:

Western Mountaineering Puma

The Puma may be more than you need, but they have many others.

Looks good. Would have a hard time coughing up 1k for a fart sack though.

For a hard use base camp bag Wiggy's are hard to beat for value. The Hunter Superlight w/ hood sounds perfect. Having a bag that will withstand multiple washings at home is not a small thing and is an advantage of synthetic bags. High quality down is luxurious and efficient but not ideal for all environments. Even the best down bags are much slower to dry out once they get damp, which will happen eventually. I have used Wiggy's bags in a variety of models since 1992 and prefer them for most uses when weight is not critical. If your goat and sheep hunts involve packing in the gear on your back high quality down and a bivy sack are the obvious choice.


mike r

IMO for a base camp operation, one has much more flexibility. Getting a good bag isn’t nearly as pricey as getting a great bag. For example, find a comfy $150 bag at Cabellas and throw another one on top if needed. My wife has found no fewer than 7 good down and synthetic bags from Kelty, North Face, Eastern Mtn. Sports, and similar at Good Will. All were in great shape. We throw them in the washer and run them in our unheated cabin and when truck camping. She’s also found a couple good old green Army wool blankets.

Backpacking is a very limiting factor in sleeping bag requirements.

Another bag you already open I mean.

I have read that the Temperature rating on the Wiggys bags is optimistic, like a 10F bag is really only comfortable at 25F bag. Have you found their ratings to be accurate ? Also, I read when a customer brought 2 bags back to him due to the temperature rating issue and they the guy and his wife were both cold, Wiggys owner would not do anything to satisfy them.

As for me for the upcoming Wildland Fire season for 2022 I bought

Western Mountaineering: Sequoia MF 5F $810
3 lbs. 4 oz. plus the weight of the overfill, so I was told I am good down to at least 0F.
I like the semi rectangular style and extra room, seems like a popular bag.

The OP started this thread two years ago and has probably got a bag by now so excuse my irrelevant experience.

I'm mostly a truck camper and my Wiggys is the best money I've spent. I really can't explain it but it's just comfortable. If I was carrying it, I would probably be looking at different options.

Just went back through old posts. I bought my Wiggys in 2008. Can any of you old farts believe it is 2022? What happened to you guys?

Anyway, I'd say of the bags I've had, Wiggy's ratings are the most conservative. But, I've not had a truly top tier down bag either. I think your use case is the perfect one for that type of bag.

I like a wide cut synthetic bag, with a thinner down or one of the many fleece liner bags .
Synthetic is Heavier, but cheaper and better performing in wet / humid conditions.

For backpacking in dry conditions down still has the best warmth / weight ratio.

PrimaLoft Gold has an interesting insulation “ boosted “ with CrossCore Aerogel.
Very lightweight aerospace material with amazing weight and insulating characteristics.
Don’t know how well it stands up to washing. Might be a hand wash proposition like down.

LlBean had a couple of PrimaLoft synthetic bags with this insulation. They seemed a tad pricy.
Patagonia has a lighter weight iliner bag with CrossCore.

If I sleep sans clothing like you should then I'm good with their ratings, if I have a bit of clothes on I find the temp ratings about 10 to 15 degrees off for me.

I always carry one rated about 20 degrees or so cooler than I expect. And generally thats one of the double bags, inner and outer so I can adjust.

We have also found that holds true rating wise for most bags. Have a couple of other brands of bags, big names too, and the ratings thing seems the same.

Cheap bags I find the ratings to be way off.

As noted for a non backpack bag they have been cheap enough and fine. Washable. Pretty tough. Carry a zero bag for moose, as it dips to 10. The outer bag is a 40 degree bag IIRC and when in a camp building instead of tent that we warm up just a bit, I run the thin 40 and have never had an issue.

I don't use extra room though I like the idea, but extra bag just makes me colder it seems. Cuts down on the draping effect.

I suspect everyone is different though.

I see the young kids with super light down bags that shouldn't be more than a 25 or 30 degree bag and they never seem to get cold. LOL

I should add I've never been happy talking to Wigutow. He seems very arrogant and not consumer friendly. He does put out good products at least we like em but as far as customer relations he could be the worst I've ever heard.

I have and use this exact bag, and say nothing but good about it.

Also, I highly recommend Hermit Hut as a vendor - nobody discounts Western Mountaineering gear, but these guys give you free overfill down (a $75 value), free shipping, great to work with.

https://hermitshut.com/collections/western-mountaineering

I started this thread March, 2020. Covid hit with a vengeance and I just put this on the back burner since I was not going hunting and more important things were going on.

I did finally order the Western Mountaineering Seqouia bag since it was recomended here, but I have not even received it yet, it is on the way. Since I do expect to deploy for Wildland Fire work this season and I was told by my employer to bring a bag with at least a 0F rating, as guys were cold at altitude late in the season at Lake Tahoe. We get little enough rest as is, so when it is time to sleep I need to be warm and comfortable. Staying in a tent for weeks on end with no heat, the sleeping bag is the only place to go to get warm at night.

You are confirning what I have heard about him, so you are not alone. Maybe it is time for him to retire.