[pct-l] WM Highlite For a Thru Hike?

[CWillett at pierce.ctc.edu (Chris Willett)]

I used a Highlight on my 2003 thruhike. I wrote a review of it for whiteblaze.net a while ago. It is below.  I used it on my AT section hike this previous summer and it still kicking. If you decide on it, know that you will definitely need some help from clothing in the Sierra.  However, if you are already planning on taking a down jacket, that with the Highlight will be enough.  I had to wear just about everything to bed to stay warm, and even then I was never toasty in the bag (in the Sierra).  Part of the problem had to do with the flat Z-rest I was using.  From Sierra city north, the bag was plenty warm.  I was cold several nights in SoCal.

Suge

-----------------------

Reviewer: Chris Willett aka Suge aka Sugarmonkey
Age: 29
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 190 lbs

Locations tested:  2658 miles on the Pacific Crest trail this summer.  Sleeping elevations ranged from 1000 ft to 11,500 ft and between May 9 and August 21.  Environments included classic desert,desert mountains, high alpine environments, forests, and lava beds.

Similar products used: Marmot Arroyo

Weight (as advertised): 17 oz.
Weight (as tested): 18 oz.
Price: $230
Manufacturer's web address: www.westernmountaineering.com
Phone number: 408-287-8944
Email address: N/A

Construction:  The Highlite is a 40 degree down sleeping bag constructed out out a very lightweight shell and utilizing a 1/2 length zipper.  Rather than continuous baffles (i.e, like a normal sleeping bag), the Highlite is boxed quilted.  This means that the down in held in place in little boxes, rather than in tubes that go across your body.  I used the 6'6" version but there are 5'6" and 6' versions available.

Fit:  The bag fits me very well indeed.  It is cut to a 60" girth in long, 59" girth in the 6' and 5'6" versions.  I am broad chested and initially thought that I would need a 62" or 63" girth, like my Arroyo.  However, I never felt constrained in the bag, could thrash around to my hearts content, and never felt confined.  Additionally, the tighter cut meant that there was less air inside the bag to keep warm:  Thermally, a tighter bag is more efficient. Before buying a larger bag, try on something tighter and see how it treats you. You might like it.


Initial Impression:  When I got the box that the bag came in, I was rather dubious as to the existence of a sleeping bag actually inside.  I was thrilled about the light weight and the minimal space it takes up: It packs down to the size of a can of Fosters.  I was a little dubious about some of the features however.  The shell material is very light and I was unsure if it would hold up to a summer of use, particularly since I tend not to pitch a tent and just sleep out, under the stars, with a ground cloth and a Z-rest.  The box stitching was the next thing to worry me, as all those stitches must surely let drafty air in.  Then there was the lack of a draft tube.  Cold air must come in through the zipper, I thought.  Then there was the zipper itself.  A little, flimsy thing that would no doubt bend and break after I rolled over a few times onto rocks.  However, despite all of my doubts, I took the Highlite with me on the PCT, rather than my warmer, Ultralight (as a Western Mountaineering bag).  None of my worries would become much of issue.

Trail Test:  I was generally a hot sleeper when I started the PCT.  During the course of the trail, I lost a good portion of my body fat and become a more neutral sleeper.  I pitched a tarp perhaps a dozen times and the rest of the nights were spent sleeping out under the stars. This meant that I had no tent to provide additional warmth.  Sleeping conditions along the trail varied. Southern California above 6,000 feet is cold, with many nights below the bags 40 degree rating. Below 5,000 ft, it never got cold enough for me to wake up and make a temperature estimate.  However, much of the trail in SoCal is above 5,000 ft.  I moved through the Sierra Nevada during most of the month of June.  I was camped above 10,000 ft for the better part of 2 weeks. I got 2.5 inches of snow at 10,000 ft. on June 23rd, in the northern edge of Yosemite.  In short, it was very cold at night, with frozen shoes, frosted gear, and lighters than would not work.  Several nights the temperature reached the mid 20s.  Once I cleared Lake Tahoe (roughly 1,100 miles), the night time temperature became more agreeable, perhaps getting as low as 50 or 45) until reaching Washington, when a cold front came through and dropped night time temperatures into the 40s at times.

Not to be dramatic about things, but the Highlite was overwhelmed for the most part by the cold weather.  It wasn't so much the cold air coming in through the stitching (which is tight) or the zipper as it was the lack of down.  This is a 40 degree bag, no more, no less.  I would always sleep in a silk liner.  On several days in Southern California and for the 400 miles through the Sierras to Tahoe, I added medium weight thermals, an insulated pull over, a hat, gloves, and socks.  I would still wake up cold around 3 am and only be able to sleep fitfully until the sun came up.  In order to avoid bear problems in the Sierras, I slept high up, usually just after coming off of a pass, rather than down lower in the forested valleys.  After Tahoe, when the night time temperature was more moderate, I generally slept just in my drawers with the liner.  In northern Washington I generally put on my thermals. This represents the bulk of the trip, so I would say that, minus a few weeks, the Highlite was warm enough for me.  I just wished I had my Ultralight sent out to me for the Sierra to Tahoe leg, although there were times in Southern California when I would have liked the warmer bag as well.  The 40 degree rating really helped in far northern California and Oregon, where a combination of warm nights (low 60s) and abundant mosquitoes made sleeping in a 20 degree bag (as some friends had to do) unpleasant.  The mosquitoes were tough enough to bite through my (and others) silk liner and most bug netting is designed only to cover the head and chest area.  While friends roasted, I slept well.

The bag had no durability issues.  The shell held up, except for a small hole where some ashes burned through (smoking with the hood cinched down can be difficult).  The zipper shows no signs of wear.  The bag stinks only moderately, for which I credit the use of the silk liner, which smelled so bad after 2150 miles that I finally washed it.  The shell does a reasonable job of repelling water, although I had to avoid sleeping in meadows as the condensation would generally start to kill the loft.  Condensation from sleeping in the open is a much more serious problem in the West than in the East or the South, but combating it was simple.  Recognize spots where you are likely to get condensed on (meadows, next to a lake, etc) and either don't sleep there or sleep near something that will catch most of the condensation.  For example, sleeping under a tree with lots of low branches.  Or, pitch your tarp.  There were some mornings in California when I would wake up with the down thoroughly damp.  However, this was not much of a problem due to the weather in California:  You are almost assured of a warm, sunny day.  When I stopped to cook in the afternoon, I took the bag out, put it in the sun, and it would be dry in 20 or 30 minutes.

Conclusions:  I would highly recommend the Highlite for long distance hiking in moderate temperatures.  It is durable enough to last a long trip:  Mine will be going with me on future long hikes.  Used with a liner, you won't have to wash the bag no matter how smelly or dirty you happen to be.  In the warm summer months, it is perfectly adequate for most places (i.e, below 11,000 ft) that long distance hikers are likely to camp.  Used with thermals, an insulating piece, hat, gloves, and socks (which you are carrying anyways, right?), the bag can be pushed comfortably to the freezing point. You will be safe, but not comfortable, in the mid 20s.  Note that using a newer sleeping pad will help you stay warm. I switched to a new Z-rest in Sierra City (mile 1191) and felt that it made a huge difference in how warm I was at night.

If I were to start an AT hike, for some bizarre reason, in March, I would take my Ultralite, or perhaps the Highlite with my bivy sack.  If I were starting in late April or the start of May (as sensible people do), I would just bring the Highlite.

Alternative recommendations:  If you are looking for a larger cut bag and perhaps a little warmer, Western Mountaineering makes a bag called the Megalite:  Rated to 30 degrees, 64" girth, and a 25 oz. weight.  I've found that my Marmot Arroyo is not accurately rated to 30 degrees, is much heavier than advertised, and loses its down quickly.  I've already had it restuffed by Marmot, despite being only three years old.  It is now my car camping bag. Yeah, it really is that good!
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---------------------------
Christopher Willett
cwillett@pierce.ctc.edu
www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett
Pierce College
9401 Farwest Drive SW.
Lakewood, WA. 98498-1999

> ----------
> From: 	pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net on behalf of detour74
> Sent: 	Monday, February 14, 2005 3:25 PM
> To: 	pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Subject: 	[pct-l] WM Highlite For a Thru Hike?
> 
> Has anyone used a western mountaineering Highlite bag for a PCT thru hike? I'm planning on a 06 PCT hike,and have decided I don't want to skimp on a bag like I did on the AT.I've heard great things about WM bags lasting the long haul,and the highlite is great in terms of weight and price,but the rating which I beleive is 35 to 40 degrees has me somewhat concerned. I could go with a lower temp rating,but of course thta's going to be another $80 to$100.My concern is really through the Sierras. Thanks for any advice!
>  
> Detour AT 03
> 
> 
> 
> There ain't no cloud so thick that the sun ain't shinin' on t'other side.
> 
> -  Rattlesnake,
> an 1870s mountain man
> 
> 
> 
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