GREAT GEAR RECOMMENDATION - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Bags - Best Sleeping Bags
My method of operation is that when I see a piece of gear that interests me, I will use it for a while, lend it out for my buddies to use and then decide if it is something I want to promote. That process takes time, something new products don't have a lot of in today's outdoor equipment industry. The problem is that the "industry" has been taken over by corporate types, the marketing people and bean counters that I call "suits." These are people who make "widgets." They don't really care what kind of widgets they make so long as they are profitable. It used to be that some of the people who loved an outdoor activity like backpacking, climbing or hunting would make gear they wanted to use and then open a little shop. They were passionate about their sport and making the best gear for it. I call them "purist" and they are the pioneers who started many of the big names we know today but have since been bought out by the suits. Don't get offended by my calling them suits, I was one for many years. Anyway, those big corporations are not in business to make the "best" gear but to sell the most gear and make as much money as possible in the process. If a particular widget fails to meet profitability expectations then that unit goes away or is changed regardless of how good it really is. Hey, don't get me wrong, I am about as free market oriented as they come and I don't begrudge anyone or anything their chance at making money as long as it is legal and moral (whatever that means now). However, I don't have to like what it does to the market. We now have so many big corporations in this business that they are creating their own fads and the resulting marketing campaigns are obscuring the really good gear from getting the attention it deserves. Unfortunately the purists are feeling like they have to follow the big boys or loose share.
It really irritates me when one of my favorite pieces of gear is no longer available or has been changed to the extent that it is no longer a favorite. My Dad has had a long standing policy that drove my Mom nuts. It holds that if you find a piece of gear that you really like, buy three of them because sure as shootin' they will stop making it or screw it up some how. He is right, I don't care if it is scopes, boots, tents, packs or whatever. So with this pet peeve ever present in my mind, one of my equipment selection criteria when setting up this site had to be availability. When selecting a piece of gear to promote we have to ask is this a piece of gear that will be around or is it a flyer? After all, why promote something that isn't going to be available in a year or two. On the other hand, if we do a good job of promoting good products then maybe they will be around longer for more people to enjoy. This is the underlying reason, really the heart and soul, for creating Hardcore Outdoor. We promote great gear so that it will be make economic sense for someone to make and sell great gear to people like us. Is that a little self-serving? Yep, but we like good gear and we love great gear so the ends justify the means.
What does any of this have to do with sleeping bags? Well, it is a great example of what I am talking about. It is a David vs. Goliath story where the purists have held their own against the suits. While a lot of companies make good or even great sleeping bags, most of them will change those models somehow in the next year or two not necessarily to improve them but simply as a matter of course. The bigger the name, the greater the chance that your favorite bag will be a different color and have a different name next "season." My two Davids make outstanding products. They are adding new items to their lines and keeping up with solid technological advances but they are also still offering models that they sold 10 years ago. I like that and it speaks well of their design and quality standards.
Now, remember, I live in Arizona which means that I have to deal with huge swings in temperature. As an Airborne SAR Tech the only difference between me sweating down on the desert floor and shivering at 10,000 feet in the snow was a 20 minute helo ride. You never knew what the mission might be so you had to be prepared for everything. In my cache of equipment, I have both goose down and synthetic bags. If I am going to be high up and in the cold and there is very little chance of getting wet then I am going with feathers. It is by far the best and lightest insulator you can have in the field and it packs down into a very small package. However, if there is a chance that my bag is going to get wet then I am going with the chemistry set stuff. It is heavier, not as warm and not as compressible but it offers me a much greater margin of safety. I know that even if it gets soaked, it is going to offer me some insulation from the cold. The down is worthless when it is wet. So, my recommendations for sleeping bags come in two flavors, Synthetic and high quality Goose Down.
Goose Down
My first down bag was a military surplus bag circa 1950s that I still have. My son and our Black Lab both love it. Sometimes at the same time. My first modern down bag was purchased after a great deal of research for a mountaineering trip up Mount Rainier. My pick then is still my favorite now, Western Mountaineering. Take a good look at what they offer. I own three of their bags and they are all absolutely beautiful. Great workmanship, efficient design and light as...a feather. My favorite of the three is the Big Horn Super DL, which is an 850 fill goose down, Dry Loft bag rated for minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It weighs a scant 3lbs 13ozs. It is quite simply the finest sleeping bag I can find.
My most recent purchase is a half bag or "elephants foot" called the Tamarak. It comes up to about where my ribs start and is designed to couple with a goose down bivvy jacket. For you "lighter is righter" people it cuts almost half the weight of a full bag. This bag is rated at thirty degrees and weighs just 19ozs but I think you can sleep, albeit fitfully, down to 10 or 15 degrees.
You can check out the specs for yourself and choose the right model(s) for you but trust me when I tell you that everything they make is first rate and they make it all in San Jose, California. To me, these guys are the benchmark for the purist. They reflect what is possible when your goal is to build the best instead of to sell the most. Because of that work ethic they have a strong business. By the way, this is not the only time you will see Western Mountaineering products on this site. Their Flight and Meltdown jackets and vests are also on the list.
Synthetic
My first real good sleeping bag was a Holubar mummy bag insulated with something new in 1977 called Polarguard that we bought when I was 13 years old. What a great bag. It was light compared to the flannel Colemans everybody else had, stuffed pretty good and kept me very warm regardless of conditions. I used it on backpacking trips and hunts in all kinds of weather and would still have it except the woman who eventually became Mrs. Nelson was in it when our campfire up on the Mogollon Rim slopped over and ignited the bag. She was fine, the bag was toast. To this day she thinks that it was intentional because I had convinced her that she would be warmer if she slept in the nude. I have never seen anyone exit a sleeping bag faster. Enough said.
I don't remember how I was introduced to Wiggy's but it was when I was looking for an all around bag to use on the Mountain Rescue Team. The bag I bought in 1990 was a Super Light that was rated for zero degrees and weighed 5 lbs in its stuff sack. The thing that persuaded me to go with the Wiggy's was that it was being used by several outdoor organizations as loaner or rental bags and the military was vacuum packing them with thirty thousand pounds per square inch of pressure and putting them under aircraft ejection seats as part of the pilot survival kits. These people were really putting these bags through the ringer and they were holding up to the abuse for years. You can pack them and leave them packed and they will not loose their loft and when they get dirty or in our case bloody, you just throw them in the washer and they're good as new. One of my Teammates and mentors and I bought them and were soon convinced that these were bombproof bags that we could depend on rain or shine. I have used them in heavy snow, melting snow, blowing cold and heavy down pours. They're simple, utilitarian, rugged, easily maintained and as dependable as a good belay partner.
You can still buy the Super Light today, in fact I just bought three for my kids. It now weighs 4lbs, is rated at zero degrees and comes with a stuff sack and a matching pillow (the pillow works great as patient packaging material or for splints). Also, take a look at the Desert Bag at 2 ½ lbs and the FTRSS Overbag, which has been used with great success by the Marines and the Navy SEALS for over ten years. The secret to the Wiggy's line is the continuous filament insulation called Lamilite. I am not an expert but Wiggy is and he can bury you with a long diatribe of facts and figures as to why it is the best insulation out there. I just know from many years of experience that it works and stands up to continued heavy use/abuse.
These are two small but solid companies that produce exceptional products. They are consistent and committed to their craft. But I don't want you to use their products because they are small companies competing with the corporate monoliths, I want you to use their products because experienced operators pass over other products in favor of these. The fact that they are small and scrappy just makes the story better. They are what I use and will continue to promote until they prove otherwise. If their past performance is any indication, that won't be anytime soon. As I said there are other good bags out there but hard as I try I just can't keep up with all the changes they make to their lines from one season to the next.
If you are a Primaloft fan, like I am, you might also look at the Wallcreeper PL by Exped for limited applications like sniping, fastpacking or belaying in the cold.
Thanks.
Wade Nelson
Editor
Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.
Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those that can't or won't turn back.
It really irritates me when one of my favorite pieces of gear is no longer available or has been changed to the extent that it is no longer a favorite. My Dad has had a long standing policy that drove my Mom nuts. It holds that if you find a piece of gear that you really like, buy three of them because sure as shootin' they will stop making it or screw it up some how. He is right, I don't care if it is scopes, boots, tents, packs or whatever. So with this pet peeve ever present in my mind, one of my equipment selection criteria when setting up this site had to be availability. When selecting a piece of gear to promote we have to ask is this a piece of gear that will be around or is it a flyer? After all, why promote something that isn't going to be available in a year or two. On the other hand, if we do a good job of promoting good products then maybe they will be around longer for more people to enjoy. This is the underlying reason, really the heart and soul, for creating Hardcore Outdoor. We promote great gear so that it will be make economic sense for someone to make and sell great gear to people like us. Is that a little self-serving? Yep, but we like good gear and we love great gear so the ends justify the means.
What does any of this have to do with sleeping bags? Well, it is a great example of what I am talking about. It is a David vs. Goliath story where the purists have held their own against the suits. While a lot of companies make good or even great sleeping bags, most of them will change those models somehow in the next year or two not necessarily to improve them but simply as a matter of course. The bigger the name, the greater the chance that your favorite bag will be a different color and have a different name next "season." My two Davids make outstanding products. They are adding new items to their lines and keeping up with solid technological advances but they are also still offering models that they sold 10 years ago. I like that and it speaks well of their design and quality standards.
Now, remember, I live in Arizona which means that I have to deal with huge swings in temperature. As an Airborne SAR Tech the only difference between me sweating down on the desert floor and shivering at 10,000 feet in the snow was a 20 minute helo ride. You never knew what the mission might be so you had to be prepared for everything. In my cache of equipment, I have both goose down and synthetic bags. If I am going to be high up and in the cold and there is very little chance of getting wet then I am going with feathers. It is by far the best and lightest insulator you can have in the field and it packs down into a very small package. However, if there is a chance that my bag is going to get wet then I am going with the chemistry set stuff. It is heavier, not as warm and not as compressible but it offers me a much greater margin of safety. I know that even if it gets soaked, it is going to offer me some insulation from the cold. The down is worthless when it is wet. So, my recommendations for sleeping bags come in two flavors, Synthetic and high quality Goose Down.
Goose Down
My first down bag was a military surplus bag circa 1950s that I still have. My son and our Black Lab both love it. Sometimes at the same time. My first modern down bag was purchased after a great deal of research for a mountaineering trip up Mount Rainier. My pick then is still my favorite now, Western Mountaineering. Take a good look at what they offer. I own three of their bags and they are all absolutely beautiful. Great workmanship, efficient design and light as...a feather. My favorite of the three is the Big Horn Super DL, which is an 850 fill goose down, Dry Loft bag rated for minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It weighs a scant 3lbs 13ozs. It is quite simply the finest sleeping bag I can find.
My most recent purchase is a half bag or "elephants foot" called the Tamarak. It comes up to about where my ribs start and is designed to couple with a goose down bivvy jacket. For you "lighter is righter" people it cuts almost half the weight of a full bag. This bag is rated at thirty degrees and weighs just 19ozs but I think you can sleep, albeit fitfully, down to 10 or 15 degrees.
You can check out the specs for yourself and choose the right model(s) for you but trust me when I tell you that everything they make is first rate and they make it all in San Jose, California. To me, these guys are the benchmark for the purist. They reflect what is possible when your goal is to build the best instead of to sell the most. Because of that work ethic they have a strong business. By the way, this is not the only time you will see Western Mountaineering products on this site. Their Flight and Meltdown jackets and vests are also on the list.
Synthetic
My first real good sleeping bag was a Holubar mummy bag insulated with something new in 1977 called Polarguard that we bought when I was 13 years old. What a great bag. It was light compared to the flannel Colemans everybody else had, stuffed pretty good and kept me very warm regardless of conditions. I used it on backpacking trips and hunts in all kinds of weather and would still have it except the woman who eventually became Mrs. Nelson was in it when our campfire up on the Mogollon Rim slopped over and ignited the bag. She was fine, the bag was toast. To this day she thinks that it was intentional because I had convinced her that she would be warmer if she slept in the nude. I have never seen anyone exit a sleeping bag faster. Enough said.
I don't remember how I was introduced to Wiggy's but it was when I was looking for an all around bag to use on the Mountain Rescue Team. The bag I bought in 1990 was a Super Light that was rated for zero degrees and weighed 5 lbs in its stuff sack. The thing that persuaded me to go with the Wiggy's was that it was being used by several outdoor organizations as loaner or rental bags and the military was vacuum packing them with thirty thousand pounds per square inch of pressure and putting them under aircraft ejection seats as part of the pilot survival kits. These people were really putting these bags through the ringer and they were holding up to the abuse for years. You can pack them and leave them packed and they will not loose their loft and when they get dirty or in our case bloody, you just throw them in the washer and they're good as new. One of my Teammates and mentors and I bought them and were soon convinced that these were bombproof bags that we could depend on rain or shine. I have used them in heavy snow, melting snow, blowing cold and heavy down pours. They're simple, utilitarian, rugged, easily maintained and as dependable as a good belay partner.
You can still buy the Super Light today, in fact I just bought three for my kids. It now weighs 4lbs, is rated at zero degrees and comes with a stuff sack and a matching pillow (the pillow works great as patient packaging material or for splints). Also, take a look at the Desert Bag at 2 ½ lbs and the FTRSS Overbag, which has been used with great success by the Marines and the Navy SEALS for over ten years. The secret to the Wiggy's line is the continuous filament insulation called Lamilite. I am not an expert but Wiggy is and he can bury you with a long diatribe of facts and figures as to why it is the best insulation out there. I just know from many years of experience that it works and stands up to continued heavy use/abuse.
These are two small but solid companies that produce exceptional products. They are consistent and committed to their craft. But I don't want you to use their products because they are small companies competing with the corporate monoliths, I want you to use their products because experienced operators pass over other products in favor of these. The fact that they are small and scrappy just makes the story better. They are what I use and will continue to promote until they prove otherwise. If their past performance is any indication, that won't be anytime soon. As I said there are other good bags out there but hard as I try I just can't keep up with all the changes they make to their lines from one season to the next.
If you are a Primaloft fan, like I am, you might also look at the Wallcreeper PL by Exped for limited applications like sniping, fastpacking or belaying in the cold.
Thanks.
Wade Nelson
Editor
Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.
Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those that can't or won't turn back.
Comments