western mountaineering sleeping bags.

“some questions:

is there any way to order these bags by phone or internet? can you only get these bags from a dealer? the closest dealer they show on their website is 2 hours away from me.

anyone with one of the microfier shell bags. how moisture resistant is this shell? what are your feelings of this compared to 30 max nylon taffeta with the dwr finish or the dryloft 830?

i'm hoping for a nice christmas gift this year.”

“Over on backpacker.com website forum under gear there's a discussion between Marmot and WM bags and some guy named Carter was talking about WM bags. You might find some answers off him posted since he has a few WM bags.”

“thank you richb.”

“Try bentgate.net or backcountrygear.com both sell WM bags, never seen one on sale though! I got my 30 degree
Megalite from Backcountry, quick turn around time.
it doesn't have the MF shell, so no info there.
Hope this helps.”

“Baume...I have the WM Super MF Antelope.... I called a dealer in LA, talked him into a 10% discount and free shipping :) So far the moisture ( condensation inside the tent)has stayed on the outside of the bag...But it's still a down bag so I always try to keep it dry.
The SMF shell does add about 5 degrees to the temp rating though.”

“The microfiber is more water-resistant than taffeta. You could probably dump water on it and shake it off quickly without it getting wet. I wouldn't try sleeping in anything more than a light mist with it though. My friend got one with a dryloft shell and wishes he hadn't. He says he loses loft on trips longer than 5 days from moisture inside the bag. His trail name is Wet Wonder though so his experience may not be typical.

I got my Puma SML at about 30% off from Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus, NJ. They ordered it from the factory; it wasn't the floor model. Sorry they don't mail order.

Tent and Trails sells WM bags at a discount. I've never dealt with them, but they've been around a while.”

“i got a mf bag from them. on the canoe trip in may to the buffalo i woke up and it had been raining on me for god knows how long and i was dry as a bone inside. the bag stayed soaked on the outside all night even after i moved under a tarp and it never came through.
i was very impressed. it actually breathes better than expected also.”

“Ductape you had a microfiber shell? What type WM bag?”

“I bought my WM bag at buytheworld.com. It was on sale two years ago for $290. They are not on sale any longer. I found them on a Yahoo search for 'Sale Western Mountaineering'.”

“the hooded aspen mf. i like it cause i can move all around in it and it still keeps me warm. i gotta leave some clothes on in the cold though.
i also like that i can totally unzip it to use it as a blanket.
id call it almost waterproof, very, very strange.
when i woke up that night i was afraid i was gonna freeze for the rest of the night. it was RAINING for quite a while. i remember waking up, feeling how wet the outside of my bag was and thinking, "well, im already screwed" and i went right back to sleep. i woke up again later, still dry on the inside and figured i shouldn't push it so i jumped under a tarp.
it wasn't supposed to rain that weekend, dammit”

“i have the apache mf and the iroquios

I got the Iroq from a local outfitter at 30% off..very nice..stuffs to nothing..lofts nicely..and is sewn threw...i've had it down to 27 before i got cold

the apache mf i got a tents and trails in NY..they had last years model on 25% off or something and free shipping It's a TIGHT bag..don't plan on moving around..it's freaking HOT as 2 err..nevermind..and that was on a night that hit 16. The MF seems to be alot more durable than taf but i keep my bag zipcodes away from water and condensation”

“Ok, We know their ultralite series has a pertex quantum shell, but do we know what their MF and Dry-Loft fabrics actually are?”

“bump..... anyone?”

“Whats a sleeping bag?”

“and what of this microlight-xp.... pertex endurance mebbe - event?
last edited: 10/12/05 3:40:12 PM”

“you might get better info from searching the forums over on TLB www.backpacking.net”

“We suck.”

“MF is (I believe) a tightly woven nylon - it stands for microfiber.”

“Yep vio, but they tend to use brand-name products and come up with their own name for it. Just wondering if anyone knew what is was so I could make an informed decision on what I need.
HOI - I keep losing my password for that site. I think I've registered like 50 times.”

“huh - I didn't know one needed to login over there just to search the forums”

“well ok then, I'll try that ;o)”

“it does have a name..and they just changed from the brand they used since they started to a new fabric..it's in their full size product catalog/brocure I remember reading the "blurb" in it...but did not retain the name.”

“i don't know what it is, but the first time i slept in my hooded aspen mf, i didn't have a tent and it rained on me quite a bit. It wasn't a downpour but a steady rain for a few hours. I pulled the hood over my head and kept waiting to be wet but it never happened. In the morning I wisked most of the water off. Some had soaked into the shell but not much. I was very surprised. I wouldn't count on the bag to stay dry though. That was the firs time I used the bag, I don't know if it would still perform the same or not.”

“This is straight from the WM site. I have the WM Antelope Super MF. I have found it gets damp from my breath. Does that mean it resists rain....I don't really want to find out, if I can breath on it all night and get damp spots on the outer shell.
"What Is Microfiber?
A microfiber fabric is very water resistant because of its combination of high thread count and makeup of dense yarns. Each micofiber yarn has many more filaments than a normal nylon or polyester yarn of equivalent size. Woven into high thread count material, it becomes a fabric that really keeps wind and water out. Since there is no coating or laminate on the material, it is highly breathable. The fabric construction is responsible for weather proofness, it's not something that can wear off, wash out or delaminate. This is the most technologically advanced non-laminated weather resistant fabric available. Look for bags with a microfiber shell if you expect some contact with moisture."”

“oh man, i just read this post. we DO suck!

(and yet, i have no knowledge to contribute)
last edited: 10/12/05 8:55:10 PM”

“Yep, you all suck.... apart from Yam.”

“and what of this microlight-xp.... pertex endurance mebbe - event

Dryloft is a lightweight goretex fabric that was designed to be used with lofting insulating items such as parkas and sleeping bags. The newest versions of the fabric use the 30d ripstop 1.1oz/yard nylon and the dryloft coating bring the weight in the 1.7-1.8oz/yard range.

Pertex Microlite is a 1.3oz/sq yard lighteweight 30D fabric. It's tight weave and the chalander process they use on the back side helps shed water even without a dwr finish. Very nice fabric. My favorite windbreaker, my Montane Featherlite is made from this material. I highly reccomend the material.

Pertex Endurance is a pertx version of Dryloft. A thin coating on the backside of a lightweight nylon shell to provide increased water resistance and still have breathability. Not sure of the weight or weave of the Endurance.

Microlite-XP is a new lightweight version of the traditional Microlite fabric. It's a 20D fabric and the weight is somewhere between the Quantum 0.85oz/yard^2 and the original microlite's 1/3oz/yard^2. I wonder if it's 1.1oz? I know Pertex makes the X-ray fabric which is a 30D ripstop 1.1oz fabric.

This information may be totally innacurate because I'm going by my poor memory.”

“So microlight xp is a tougher version of quantum?”