Western Mountaineering sleeping bag recommendations plz

[dukesup1978]

Does anyone have recommendations on a particular Western Mountaineering sleeping bag that is good for warmer temperatures (backpacking in Joshua tree, Death Valley, etc)? Or is it preferable to have WM to use in cold temps and rather, a different brand of sleeping bag for hotter months?

 

[Wanderlust073]

There are a lot of options for 'warmer' bags that don't come with the WM price tag.

If you compare a WM TerraLite to a REI Igneo for example, they're both 25 degree down bags, the Igneo is an ounce lighter at regular size, and the Igneo costs $269 to the WM's $485. Plus you'll never get a discount on a WM bag where you can almost always scratch up a discount on every other brand. Heck you could knock that Igneo down to $215 if you're an REI member right now. At that sort of price delta WM's warranty has no value at all (you could buy another Igneo and still come out ahead).

Just my 2 cents. I'm a total gear whore, but outside of sub-zero gear I don't see how they can compete with their prices.

 

[Jackson]

For desert stuff like that, I'd consider getting a down quilt, like the ones Enlightened Equipment makes. Saves a lot of money, and a full mummy bag could be overkill if you only ever use it in warm environments.
Then, with those savings, you could get a different bag for cold weather, for a lot cheaper than a WM, like @Wanderlust073 suggested. That way, you'd have two good bags for the price of one WM, and you wouldn't have to worry about your bag being too warm or too cold—just bring the one that fits the temperature forecast.

However, I know there are several on here who swear by their WM bags, and I'd imagine some will chime in with great responses for you.

 

[Upgrayedd]

For warmer weather I'd just go with a climashield APEX Enlightened Equipment quilt. Cheap, light, durable.

 

[Wyatt Carson]

Death Valley is expansive and covers everything from the sub sea level salt flats at -282’ to the alpine heights of 11,000’ Telescope peak and everything n between. It is doubtful you will want to camp low in the hot months there. I have a photo of girlfriend walking the salt flats in May with snowy peaks in the distance. Most take a 20 to 25 degree bag that you can zip up in snug in the higher elevations of the Park, use unzipped as a quilt in the mid zones or leave it stuffed and use nothing over you if you insist on camping down low in +100 temps.

We own both WM ultralight bags that are +20 and do a good job (used ours over 750 times and still look new with the occasional home wash) and WM Sycamore +25 that are more roomy and completely zip out flat quilt style. Those are our “newer” bags. Both are very fine for those trips you encounter elevation changes in 3 season weather.

I’ve seen snow in Joshua Tree in the shoulder seasons too. Again in warmer times, use either as a quilt or just sleep on your pad with no cover. When it turns colder from elevation or some in-forecast low pressure you will be quite snug.

WM will replace zippers at no charge, not even a return shipping charge so you have good customer service. Never had to with my bags but at 7 and 8 years of hard use our WM Flight jackets needed new zippers. I told them we had abused then in countless sandy trips and the wear and tear were all our fault but they refused to charge us.

 

[LarryBoy]

to me, the premise of the question is putting the cart before the horse. Id first figure out the actual temps you expect to face on your trips, and then look for bags or quilts that are appropriate for those temps.

I will say that WM bags are rated pretty conservatively. I sleep extremely cold and my WM 10 degree bag is good down too at least 15 if I'm fully layered up. By contrast, my feathered friends 20f bag is really cold if it gets below 30.