Western Mountaineering UltraLite Sleeping Bag: 20 Degree Down

I Recently took my Western Mountaineering UltraLite 20 degree bag on an early season AT thru-hike. I combined it with a silk liner and slept comfortablly with tempature droping into the teens. When tempatures dropped into the singles and below zero I had to add my space blanket to the mix. It compressed very nice and quickly regained it loft once out of my pack. The full zipper allowed me to use it as a quilt when tempatures warmed up, and the mummy style allowed me to cinche up and trap body heat when it got cold.

The Western Mountaineering UltraLite 20 degree is one of the best bags out there...!!!!

I've spent my career working in large wilderness areas in MT and WY. I've have NEVER been a fan of down gear and 99.9% of cold weather gear I own is synthetic insulation. Believe me, I've been spanked by Pa nature far too many times in the backcountry to take the lessons learned lightly. However, my main backpacking, ski, and inflatable kayaking buddy has owned one of these WM bags for YEARS of constant use. I on the other hand have gotten by very well on NOLS garage sale MH used synthetic bags and a MH lamina(?) -40 bag for winter. (as an aside, I will NEVER own another synthetic bag made by the furry rodent people, not good). I still have my 1969 Outward Bound REI McKinley down bag that has outlived it's usefulness (lack of ventilation and loft, i.e. cold spots). However, since my retirement goals in 20 months are to start ticking the long distance trails, I've been retooling my gear for as light weight and quality. Knowing how pleased Curt has been and researching the rep on these bags finally caused me to reluctantly shell out the big buck...(on sale). I am extremely pleased with this top quality made purchase. So far so good, and am confident in the long run that it will perform as well as it has for Curt and the other reviewers have raved.

Switched over to this bags several years ago an have carried for over 1000 miles. Will not get another bag. Super light weight and very warm and it can be packed smaller than a 32oz water bottle.

Took it to Shasta for late Spring ski touring. Packs much smaller than the supplied carry bag with a compression sack. Worked very well with a 3/4 lightweight Thermarest pad, I rested very comfortably and stayed warm without overheating.

Love this bag. I am 6-2+ and about 210. Got the long and it has plenty of room. The only downside is that it is snug, this contributes to its great weight and I feel it makes the bag feel warmer because there is less bag to heat. The equivalent wider bag by WM is the Alpinlite Super. The extra length lets me gather up some extra bag around my hips and knees so that when I lay on my side there are no tight spots/cold spots. I have been to single digits on several occasions in CO or on the AT in just silkweights and a hat and have been very comfortable, tho I do sleep warm. The full length zipper helps to regulate temperature on warmer nights or to open it up all the way and use as a quilt. The draft collar works great. I expect many years out of this bag but when I buy another it will be WM. Again this bag is snug, so if your are claustrophobic or want alot of wiggle room go with the Alpinlite. I dont use a stuff sack for this either, it goes in a dry bag in the bottom of the pack to fill in nooks and crannies and the rest of my kit goes in on top. Great bag.

This is absolutely the best bag I've ever owned. I still have a 0 degree bag that I bought at REI 2 years ago but have not used it once since I bought this. I've slept in this bag down to 10 degrees and with a hat on my head and a baselayer on I slept like a baby. I'm a cold sleeper too! When push comes to shove I'm sure it wouldn't be comfortable, but in a snow trench and a bivy with all my insulating layers on I'm sure I could handle 0 degree temps in this bag, and all at a pound and a half (regular)!!!!!

I've also slept in 50degree temps using this bag loosely draped like a comforter. It breathes really well and if you're willing to lug an extra half pound you can save yourself 400 bucks for a lightweight down summer bag too!

I can't say enough good things about this bag. Worth every penny and making the bomber reputation of WM even better.

This is a light bag. It is warm (I found the rating to be a little optimistic). My biggest complaint (and why I got rid of mine) was that the material is not nearly down-proof enough: I was always loosing feathers or being poked by feathers. If you want the best US-made, lightweight down bag that doesn't spear you during your slumber, check out Feathered Friends - hand made in Seattle.

The Western Mountaineering UltraLite is the lightest & warmest 20 degree bag I've ever experienced. At 1lb 12oz & 850 fill, this long version sleeping bag stuffs into the smallest stuff sack for maximum compactness. However I've recently been stuffing it into my day pack with all my other down items & clothes, etc. This package fits neatly into the bottom of my pack without compressing the down as much as other methods. I don't like using compression stuff sacks for 850 like I used to for 550 & 600. Just a personal thing. I'm 6' 3" 180 lbs. with plenty of room to spare in the WM Ultralite. No half zip here. Full zip for maximum ventilation & roomy foot box. In my opinion, Western Mountaineering is the best sleeping bag made, bar none!!!

My old bag was a Marmot Sawtooth 15. That bag got great reviews and was warm enough I guess, but it just didn't compare to the WM UltraLite. The Marmot weighed nearly twice as much as this thing. This bag has brought my base weight down to under 8lbs, and I can absolutely notice a difference. I don't even have to use my hip belt on shorter trips, my bag is so light now.

Other than weight, another great thing about Western Mountaineering is that their temperature ratings seem to be very accurate. I had used my Marmot bag in 20 degree weather before and was uncomfortably chilly in the morning. It got to about 25 where I was this past weekend and I was still extremely toasty, leaving me no doubt that this bag will go to at least its rated temp, if not even lower without problems.