I have a WM Megalite which I recently had "overfilled" by WM with 1 oz.of 800 fill down to give me a 20F. bag.

I have slept comfortably in the Megalite Before at 15 F. the overfill with:
> balaclava
> fleece glove liners
> medium weight poly long johns
> insulated (Thermolite Micro) jacket and pants
> heavy "sleeping socks"

-->Now, with the overfilled bag and an Eddie Bauer "Down Sweater" (the one seen in my avatar) and the same Thermolite pants I should be able to get down to about 0 F.

Has anyone else stretched their 3 season bag into the 0 F. range?
If so how did you do it? Use a quilt over your bag if your bag doesn't have the girth of a Megalite?

(BTW, I'll substitute my ProLite Plus mattress for my summertime Prolite mattress.)

Edited by Danepacker on 01/04/2012 22:26:52 MST.

I've just returned from testing out my combo last night.

Location: Simsbury, CT @ West Mt. and eleveation approx. 1,000ft.

Time: 3 Mile hike to campsite, leaving at 4:45pm and arriving by headlamp at 6pm.

Temperatures: Starting temp was 27* at 5pm and quickly dropped to 12* by 8pm, with a overnight (10pm recorded) temp of 7* with a light wind of 5mph.

Camp Site: Ridgeline with natural tree cover, camped 100 ft from the edge of the ridge on the windward side. Used MLD DuoMid with a MLD Superlight Bivy under it.


SLEEPING GEAR: All these kept me toasty warm in camp and sleeping to 7* and would very likely make it to 0* without issue (I was a bit warm).

• Western Mountaineering Caribou 35* Down Long - 1 lb 9oz. (25 oz.)
• LaFuma Extreme 50* Synthetic (Long) - 1 lb. 8 oz. (24 oz.)
• GG Torso Pad (2 oz.)
• Thermarest SOlite Small (9 oz.)
• CFF Sit Pad (10"x18") (1 oz.)
• Mountain Laurel Designs Silnylon DuoMid (18 oz.)
• Mountain Laurel Designs Superlight Bivy XL (6.5 oz.)
• Gossamer Gear Polycryo Ground Sheet (1 oz.)

CLOTHING WORN Sleeping:

• Brooks Running Shorts (4.5 oz)
• Marmot NTS Tights (7 oz.)
• Montbell Thermawrap Pants (8 oz.)
• Mountain Hardwear ¼ zip TS (7 oz.)
• Montbell Alpine Light Parka (Large) (13 oz.)
• Montbell Thermawrap Jacket (Large) (10.5 oz.)
• Fleece Watch Cap (3 oz.)
• Injini NuWool Toe Socks (2 oz./ ea)
• Rocky Gore-Tex Socks (sz 14) (5 oz.)
• Acorn Fleece Socks XL (3 oz.)
Synthetic Fleece Glove Liners (1.5 OZ/ea)

Seth, that's a lot of clothes for sleeping. As I understand it you used a down bag inside a synthetic bag. Correct? Were you warm enough at 7 F.?

Why GTX socks while sleeping?

BTW, good idea using yoru sit pad for extra mattress padding. I use a large sit pad for winter so now I'll use it under my mattress in my hip area.

Edited by Danepacker on 01/04/2012 22:31:52 MST.

The addition of 1oz. overfill to your 30F rated Megalite achieves a rating of 20F? This seems a bit optimistic.

Gene,

Well I was comfortable at 24 F.on an old Thermarest Lite with light poly long johns, T-shirt over my head and sox on my feet in the original WM Megalite.

Now the overfilled Megalite (800 more cu. in.) is SO lofty that I feel it's good for at least another 5 F. lower.

It's possible that WM added a bit more than 1. oz. but either way the loft is significantly greater. And this bag is designed with no side baffle so I used to be able to shift down from bottom to top and vece-versa. Now it's so lofty I think that option no longer is possible.

I haven't yet tried stuffing it into its dry bag but I think it will still fit without over-compressing it.

P.S. WM may not have overfilled the hood area but with a balaclava that would be no problem. I would use it with my TR Trail Pro mattress in winter, pants & shirt beneath the mattress, GTX parka zipped up & over the foot/leg area.

Edited by Danepacker on 01/05/2012 14:16:23 MST.