I haven't done much hiking other than summer hiking and I'm looking to expand that to 4 seasons. I'd like to stick to two sleeping bags; one for 3 seasons and one for winter. The two I'm thinking are the western mountaineering highlight and versalite. The ratings are 35* and 10* and weights are 16oz and 32oz. I figure these give me the most warmth for my weight. I sleep a tad on the cool side. Any concerns that the highlight would be too warm for summer (can it be vented well?) or the versalite would be too cool for winter? Most of my hiking is done in the SW Ohio, SE Indiana, NW kentucky regions. I'm more concerned about the warmth of the versalite than I am about the highlight; wouldn't seem like much of a difference between a 10* and a 0* bag to me?

Jason,
My winter bag is the WM Versalite and I can't say enough about it. It boggles my mind when I wake up in the mornig warm and toasty and see the thermometer reading -20C (2 F?)...it seems that I can't get cold in this thing. I do use a 5 ounce vapour barrier (new last winter) in it but had it down to -18C without it last year.

FWIW, I've gone with only 2 bags now...the Versalite for winter, and the Arc AT/Skaha conbo for summer and shoulder season.

Yup, get a Versalite.

Jason, if you're concerned about ventilation for your summer bag, the Highlite's probably not quite the bag for you. It's an awesome bag, and ridiculously light, but does only have that half zip. A lot of folks like to be able to get their feet out in some way or another to vent. Your next lightest bag from them is the Summerlite at 19oz, or the Caribou (a wider-cut Highlite, but w/full length zip and slightly beefier shell) at 20 oz. One of them might serve you a bit better.

- 20° C = - 4° F



Temperature Conversion formulae:

°C x 9/5 + 32 = °F

°F x 5/9 - 32 = °C

Edited by wandering_bob on 07/12/2008 10:19:38 MDT.

Hi,
The first expression is right. However, though regrettable, there is a mistake in the second expression that solved it about Centigrade.
The right expression is the following formulas.
°C=(°F-32)x5/9

In many cases, the simplified calculation is possible.
°C=(°F-32)/2x1.1

Edited by trsw3 on 07/13/2008 17:41:44 MDT.