Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

This is a great bag! Last year I updated from a 1980's hand-me-down North Face Bag from my Dad and it was worth every cent.

So, onto the review:
It is rated at 32F and for me easily gets down there. I have always been a warm sleeper and on several occasions in the Rockies have slept with only a down vest over my legs and LS shirt on top with a light hat. So admittedly, I am sort of a freak and sleep warm, this bag has been comfortable from early spring to late fall even with snow on the ground. The advertised 4" loft seems optimistic in my bag, but for the reasons above that is just fine with me.

The fabric is very light and soft, very comforting after a long day on the trail. The hood fits my head nicely and is confortable fully cinched. The foot box is nicely shaped and comfortable for my size 13 feet. The cut of the bag is on the slim side but it fits me well,at 5'11" and 175.

My favorite feature of the bag is the stiff strip on the draft collar that keeps the zipper from getting hung up without paying any attention to what you are doing.

I don't have a scale so couldn't test the spec. weight but it is very light and small in my pack.

I would recommend it to anyone!

-Dave

Rating: 5 / 5

Agreed. A superb bag - at the top of the pile for light mummy bags.

See our review at:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/western_mountaineering_summerlite_sleeping_bag_review.html

Don

Rating: 5 / 5

I agree --- the summerlite is excellent. I frankly don't trust any individual evaluation of a sleeping bag temperature rating (32F in this case); so many things affect this, including not only the general metabolism of the person evaluating it, but their metabolism at the time of their subjective evaluation (certainly I include myself in this). I use the Summerlite on two trips last year totally 250 miles, and felt that it did a great job of keeping me warm relative to its weight. I used it on one trip in a hammock, which is why I chose this model --- it was the best option I could find that had a full-length zipper, which allowed me to open it up and use it as a comforter. I used it in another trip with my wife in a tent, and it's a great mummy bag too; on the colder nights I can zip the (normal sized) bag completely shut (just part of my face showing) and it fits my 5' 10" (1.78 metre) long body perfectly with out being too tight but with just zero excess.

I do have a scale; in its small black 12" x 6" stuff sack it weighs 577 grams, or 20.4 oz. Again, I have the normal --- supposed to be for someone up to 6' 0" --- bag.

So I think the manufacturer's specs are slightly optimistic; it's supposed to weigh 19 oz, though the stuff sack is likely part of the difference there (and if they put in a little more down, that idea doesn't break my heart!). I think a 6' tall person would be okay with my bag, but would have to bend their knees a little if they wanted to totally zip into maximal mummy configuration. And since it's a 32 degree bag, that might be a little more common (plus adding extra clothes) if you want to push the limits a little in what conditions you take this bag out on.

My wife opted for the Ultralite bag, also by WM, also size regular. It's rated to 20 degrees and is definitely warmer --- and of course bulkier and heavier. The weight is further off spec here; the size regular is supposed to weigh 26 oz, but in the stuff sack I weigh it at 30.6 oz (868 grams).

I like her bag a lot in colder weather, but for a 10.2 oz weight penalty, I can carry a some extra clothing instead and wear that inside the summerlite, plus use it around camp.

If there's snow on the ground, I'd take her bag (and probably improved thermal padding ...), but for anything short of that I'm loving the warmth-for-weight and the full side zip of the Summerlite. I expect if it were a bit less expensive, more people would love it too ...



Brian Lewis

Rating: 5 / 5

The Summerlite is great. It packs down to nearly nothing (no pun intended) and the temperature rating seems to be right on. Quality is top-notch. Being 5'6 tall, the 6'0 is a tad long, but so far it has not been an issue.

Rating: 5 / 5

I have just upgraded from a synthetic -7C mummy from MEC and have to say I am very impressed. The 0C rating on this bag seems to be pretty close to the truth and I am quite certain you could push it lower by shifting the down (an advantage of continuous baffles).

I am 6 foot tall and bought the regular length, which is measured for people up to six feet. The length is quite good. While it doesn't leave MUCH space at either the feet or the head I find that's better, to an extent. I can still cinch down the hood all the way.

Also, I was fearing that tossing and turning in what is advertised as a 'narrow cut mummy' would be difficult, but it turns out the cut isn't all that narrow.

Great bag, all around.

Rating: 5 / 5

My SummerLite is amazing. I have taken this bag out for so many different trips, and it has always held up like a champ. I've used it open like a quilt on humid 70 degrees F nights and have taken it down to 18 degrees F (with appropriate insulating layers on as well), and it always performs.
My SummerLite was my first Western Mountaineering bag, and I have yet to be let down. My long 6'6" version of the SummerLite weighs 21.85 oz.
Really, I can't say enough good things about this bag. For a 3 season bag, I'm not sure that it can be beat.