Western Mountaineering

colefeet said:
i just can't stomach the thought of an inflatable pad, bag of chips crunch or no. i love my z-rest because i can use it for sitting on while i cook, in the rain, on cactus needles, sharp rocks etc. and i don't slide off of it at night. i use a 3/4 length one chopped off to just do my shoulders to hips, then just my backpack for my legs and feet. upside down the hip belt keeps me centered as i toss and turn side to side. on the occasion that i get cold i either put my emergency blanket under me, put my nalgene full of boiling water in my bag with me, or both.
the new z-rests come pre-covered with reflective silver backing, so i'm waiting for mine to die so i can get one of those.
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I think only people who themselves are 'ultralight' can even begin to think about sleeping on a z-lite. By that I mean if you aren't a very lightweight, petite type person, there just isn't enough padding to support your body weight. I'd be curious to see what others say though. I used a ridgerest for a while, pretty similar but thicker and rolls rather than folds. I loved being able to just flop off of it wherever (close to the ground), but I always woke up hurting from it.

I totally agree with you on the multi-purpose. I loved my ridgerest for that aspect, although I hated how much space it took up on the outside of my pack. When I pack with my pups, I bring a z-lite for them and I use it as a chair around the fire, etc. Love it. I chopped it in a piece that is 2/3 and 1/3 depending on how much dog I happen to be taking.

As for the new Z-lite, for as cheap as they are, why wait?
 
When I switched to a 2.5 inch thick air mattress, I found bliss. It's amazing how much of a difference it made for my sleeping comfort.
 
I'm with you both Aldaron and Nick. Love my 2.5" of cushion from my neoair. Now that I've used the pad a few times it's not as crunchy as it was when brand new! At 14 oz. for the neoair, you could never convince me to trade it in for one of those closed cell foam pads! It is probably my most satisfying piece of gear I've bought!
 
Well, my WM sleeping bag saga continues.

I asked Kirkham's if they could sew pad loops onto the WM bag I bought. They said no, so I returned the WM bag for a refund.

I then called WM to see if they would customize a bag with the loops. They said they don't do customizations. That seemed odd to me.

I then called Big Agnes and asked if they would add fill to my BA bag. They said they don't add fill. That seemed even more odd to me. But they were happy to sell me a new $500 bag.

So, I'm back at square one. I don't know why this is so hard to get a nice bag that doesn't flip around on me as a flip around.

Oh well.

I'm tempted to get a WM Alder and just let it twist me up. But then I lose the benefit of the full width baffles because I won't be able to adjust the down...because the bottom will invariably end up on top by the end of the night.

And I don't want the warmer BA because their bags are really inferior when compared with a WM. And they're really pretty heaving for the temp rating you get out of them. But I love that pad sleeve.

If I have to sacrifice something, it will probably be the pad sleeve rather than the weight and the temperature rating.

Go ahead...tell me I'm a basket case. I just know what I want in a sleeping bag!
 
I have an ancient Feathered Friends 15 degree semi-rectangular bag, when i ordered it i asked for extra down (no problems modifying it) in my feet and around my head, and they added extra down in the body of the bag. It was quite expensive, almost $500 in 1996, but i still use it down to 15 degrees (lower in a tent). Indestructible. I would assume they would not have a problem adding anything to a bag, but check them out (I have no affiliations etc):

http://featheredfriends.com/index.php/
 
My main BP bag is a Feathered Friends. Every bit the equal of WM in quality, loft/fill power and rating accuracy. Price too, unfortunately. No idea whether they'd sew loops on one, but they do seem pretty custom friendly.

I've just this minute, suddenly become very stiff and sore, aching all over, especially in my hips and lower back, and dog tired, as if I'd not gotten any sleep at all last night because I was in pain the whole night long. Oh! That's just from READING the word "ridgerest".

- DAA
 
Those are great ideas about FF. I had considered them before, but I guess I had forgotten about them. Their website specifically says they customize sleeping bags. I emailed them, so we'll see what they say.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Well, Feathered Friends says they are happy to help figure out a solution to my straps issue, so I guess that answers that question.

I'm disappointed in Western Mountaineering. I realize they may not have the manpower to accommodate customization requests, but that just makes it that much more unusual that they can't recommend a good sewing company that can help.

Ultimately, I was also surprised that WM doesn't have an email address on their web page to contact them, and their phone number is hidden on their website on the international dealers page.

I loved the quality of that WM bag, though. I don't dispute that they make great bags, but if FF makes a bag of equal quality, then they get my business because they definitely seem to have better customer service.
 
Good choice.
Not to knock WM bags (they are beautiful), but I believe my Feathered Friends Puffin bag is superior to my WM bags, it is 17 years old and has lost MAYBE 5 degrees in warmth. I may get another 17 years out of it.
 
gnwatts said:
Good choice.
Not to knock WM bags (they are beautiful), but I believe my Feathered Friends Puffin bag is superior to my WM bags, it is 17 years old and has lost MAYBE 5 degrees in warmth. I may get another 17 years out of it.
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Times 2 Greg. FF put another 1# of down in my 15 year old FF bag and gave me another 15 years of life! The only two bag companies I will buy from WM and FF.
 
I have a FF Osprey that has been wonderful. Great, quality bag. I didn't customize mine but FF seems like a very well run customer centric company that would accommodate what you're asking for.
 
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