Western Mountaineering MegaLite Sleeping Bag: 30 Degree Down

Been through a lot of bags over the years. This is the finest and only bag I will ever need.

I finally broke down and forked out the cash to buy my first Western Mountaineering bag. I specifically bought this as a summer bag. I am 6'2" 225lbs so I ordered the 6'6" length. Had some technical difficulties trying to order it online so I got a hold of customer service....

Tangent- Backcountry's customer service is 5 stars!!! They are spectacular. After primarily shopping at another major competitor with 3 letters in its name and having multiple horrible experiences with their customer service department, I decided to use backcountry as my go to store. In no time at all they got my order processed and on its way. I can not speak highly enough about how helpful and professional the rep was... Only wish I remembered his name, but it was not a fluke, ever since then have had the same experience.

Ok back to the bag,

Initial impressions-
Got the bag in and took it out. No packaging issues. Looked the bag and the stitching over. Again no issues and appeared to be done with great attention to detail. Let the littles ones play with the zipper for awhile as they are my best quality control testers. After my 2 year old ran its through the ringers with 0 snags, the zipper still ran smooth. Crawled in side and found that I had plenty of room to move around with out the bag feeling too loose or to restrictive. Plenty of room in the shoulders and the foot box as I turned over and over as if I was on full spin cycle. I am a side sleeper and tend to toss and turn a lot, first test appeared that this bag was accommodating to my sleep style.

I packed it in to my OR 8L dry compression sack. The bag fit in it and compressed down nicely. Left it in there for a day, took it out the next day, and the loft fluffed itself out in no time, no dead spots observed, the bag seemed to regain its loft quick and evenly.


First trip was a 3 night trip with night time temps down to low 40's. Slept very warm, 1 night I actually zipped it opened and used it as a quilt with a foot box, which worked quite nicely. Never had any issues with the bottom of the bag over compressing and creating any cold spots. Also did not observe any pieces of down trying to poke themselves out. I was skeptical about the bag material at first, felt like it could rip really easy, but after my initial tests and trips, that fear was quickly put to the wayside. This bag ended up being very tough.

All in all, I know it is a lot of money to fork out, but it is worth every penny, I am very happy with the quality of this bag and would highly recommend it as a summer/ early fall/ late spring bag!!!!


Brandon-
"Make a plan, share the plan, stick to the plan"

I bought this bag last spring when I was working for an outdoor gear store and was able to take advantage of a nice discount. It is honestly my favorite piece of gear that I have ever owned. It's incredibly warm (I would say the 30 degree rating is a conservative estimate), light, packable, durable, and comfortable...and the zipper never snags. The water-resistant outer shell fabric absolutely works...just the other night I was sleeping outside, and a fair bit of condensation formed on the bag, which was repelled brilliantly. Obviously the price tag isn't ideal, but all things considered I think it's worth the price. Also, I'm about 6'1", 170 and the 6ft bag is a perfect fit, IMO.

A great sleeping bag for us taller/bigger folks who want a roomier version of your standard mummy bag. This is my second MegaLite bag; the first I "lent" to my girlfriend two years ago when we first went backpacking together and I never got it back. I finally broke down and got another MegaLite so she wouldn't be the only one with a top-end sleeping bag. This bag is so warm that 80% of the time I use it as a quilt and am perfectly comfortable - and I'm not an especially warm sleeper. Compare the loft of this bag to other supposed 30-degree bags and it's obvious the MegaLite has more (better?) down. Great loft in this bag. In my mind it's a high-quality, life-time investment! (FWIW, the girlfriend who borrowed my MegaLite is now my wife and I like to think that me lending her my pride-and-joy all those years ago had something to do with that. ;-)

I have owned my Megalite for 10 years. It is the best piece of camping equipment I own. It is incredibly light, packs to the size of a cantaloupe and is even better than advertised from a temperature rating standpoint. This summer I sold mine to a friend and purchase another one right away.

I loved this thing so much, i ended up getting the kodiak as well for colder trips! I've now had this bag for 5 years though, and I've had no problems at all. I may send it in for some extra stuffing soon, but that's to be expected after close to 6 years of pretty constant use! I didn't really realize how awesome WM is though until I went to shop for a colder weather bag a couple years ago. I actually tried a few other companies over several months (trying to avoid the high WM price tag), but I ended up coming back to this awesome bag company in the end. WM makes a more comfortable bag than other companies with plenty of wiggle room, and they rate their bags' temperatures more conservatively than other companies, which means more warmth! You really can't beat their quality! ...Also, I can zip both bags together with no problems (since one is left, the other right), even though they are different links.

Fwiw, I received my 6' regular Megalite today so, of course, I gave it the once over. . While I didn't inspect it minutely, I saw no noticeable defects in workmanship. The zipper operated smoothly without snags. The material felt nice on the skin. I then tried it on for size. Right now I'm 6'10.5" and 195 lbs with a 42" chest. I wore a base layer with my Golite synthetic vest and Zpacks beanie. I easily fit in the bag at the shoulders and chest with the vest on. I could cross my arms over my chest or leave them lengthwise next to my torso without constriction. The bag also easily fit lengthwise, I had no issues wearing my beanie in the hood, and the draft collar seemed to fit well. In fact it felt like I had about 6" left in the footbox where I could place damp clothing to dry or water bottles without sacrificing foot area. The footbox felt pretty roomy as well without the need to curl my toes. The stuff sack weighed 1.4 oz on my scale. The bag in the sack was 26 oz exactly meaning the bag weighed 24.6 oz. on its own. Admittedly the bag is expensive but I already have confidence it will give me the protection I need while allowing me to manage a lightweight pack. All in all, I know I made the right choice for my needs. Lastly, the purchase supports American workers instead of Chinese. I like that fact a lot.

this is a high quality sleeping bag if you do buy it and find that you are cold with your 30 degree rating and don't think you are warm enough western mountaineering is a solid company send the bag to them ask them to stuff your bag with a bit of extra down and boost your temp on your bag. i love this bag mainly cause it is so light and with my compression sac i can squeeze this guy in my small light day pack and still have room for the rest of my gear. i bought this cause i was cutting weight from my pack and got all new gear with super light wt in mind. i say get it like i said if it not as warm as you hoped send it in and get a boost of down.

Loved the bag in terms of workmanship and materials, but I returned it when I decided that a 20 degree three season bag and a 40 degree summer bag better fit my needs. I replaced this with a WM Alpinlite and a WM Mitylite.

I have been using my 6' mega for 2 yrs and am so pleased with how the temp rating is right on but I have easily pushed the temp rating by wearing long unders. I have put on my down sweater inside it and been too warm so Im not sure where the bottom temp is on that combo.You can only do that because of the generous cut. Buy this bag and feel like a very smart and patriotic outdoorsperson!

This bag is just great. I am 6'2 185 lbs and bought the long size. I am a side sleeper and prefer space inside of my bag; this bag fits my needs perfectly. Lofty, warm, light, and smooth are the four words that sum up its features. I can't believe a bag this spacious actually fits into the included XS stuff sac. I especially love the smooth inside/outside face material, it just feels very soothing to the touch, unlike the Montbell u.l.'s tissue like material. Few people talked about the function of a smooth face material on a sleeping bag, but the smoothness of the inner surface lends itself to allow easier tumbling and turning, without taking the bag with you.

My wife and I can even use it unzipped as a comforter, and achieve decent warmth and comfort. It also shows minimum down leakage, which is a serious problem in other bags that I have owned. This is one piece of luxurious equipment that I can honestly say well worth the money.

This is my first WM bag and I'm hooked. Just took it on a 2 night backpacking trip. Super lightweight & compact. I'm a woman, 5'2 and the 5'6" is perfect. It is roomy in the shoulders good if you move around alot at night and/or for warmer temps but not efficient in temps below 40 (I stuffed my extra clothes in the space to make it work in upper 30's) I do like the bag, but because of the roominess, this will be my warmer weather bag and I'll probably get the Apache for more efficiency in cold wx.

I have purchased 4 WM bags over the years and have steered several friends to them as well. They are simply the best sleeping bags made. Superior quality and performance in every way. They are a work of art. I use the Megalite for most of my backpacking, It's just right for 3 season use.

Received mine last week and took off for two nights. It was 38f and damp as is usual in the Sierras this time of year. I was totally warm and dry.

I have a MontBell 32f that cost $40 less and I was freezing last month. Big deal..save $40 for Chinese junk. I also had another high end brand 32f bag...same thing..Chinese junk.

I also have an Alpinlite. It is too much unless around or below 32f. WM bags are the only ones with real temp ratings.

Spent two weeks sleeping comfortably in 30 degree weather. I never once felt the chills and most nights never even had to zip up all the way. Granted, I am a very warm sleeper, but I would take this bag down to 20 degrees with very little problems. Western Mountaineering makes a no frills (and no chills) bag that will last a lifetime as long as you take care of it like it takes care of you. The price is steep, but it might be the last bag you ever buy (or, if you are like me, just the first in the entire WM lineup). Add to all that the fact that it is Made in America and you should feel very warm about your WM purchase.

This bag is undeniable.

Perfection? I've had my megalite for three years now, and I couldn't be happier. I've used on everything from multi-day backpacking trips, to multi-day cycling trips and three season recreational camping. I've never had a problem with it, and don't think I ever will. I purchased mine at another store, and they only had the 6'6" model, so I'm swimming in it as I'm only 5'4", but that doesn't effect the performance. Overall, I don't plan on buying another bag from any company except WM, superior quality and pack-ability.

One of the biggest mistakes of my life was trading my 30 degree bag for a 35 degree. But bags are exceptional and both have accompanied me on Appalachian Trail thru-hikes, but I miss the full zipper feature that the Western Mountaineering MegaLite 30 degree bag has. I sleep very warm so my 30 degree bag with a silk liner keeps me warm even when the temperature got in the 20's. On warmer nights I would unzip it and use my bag as a quilt. It compresses down nicely and recovers it's loft quickly. The life time warranty is a great piece of mind, but I have yet to have any problems with any of my western mountaineering bags..

I love these bags. I have the Summerlite which is very similar to this bag but not as wide. WM uses the best down available, their testing of down usually exceeds a 900 and sometimes 930 fill rating. They base the warmth of their sleeping bags on an 850 fill which is why their bags are always warmer than what they say. My bag is rated at 32 degrees but it feels more like a 25 degree bag. If you haven't experienced a WM bag, then you haven't experienced a good nights rest in the BC.

For warmer weather and extended hikes, there is not a better bag. Used this in the warm weather portions of my 06 and 08 AT hikes and it never let me down. Very light and even as you drop below the rating on those colder nights, a simple base layer and socks kept me warm. I switched from using the Marmot Pounder simply because I experienced an internal condensation issue with the pounder (although I admit I was pushing the pounder past its design). The price tag is hefty with this bag so you should really be needing the warmth/weight ratio to justify the price. I have used this bag for no less then 9 months of hard use on shelter floors and it is still holding up well. For me, it was well worth the price tag (I think I paid around $225 in 06) It will be my bag of choice after Damascus in my upcomming 2010 AT hike.