Owner Review WESTERN MOUNTAINEERING ANTELOPE SLEEPING BAG

Personal biographical information

o        Alex Wolf Morris  

o        28 years

o        Male

o        Height: 6’ 2”, 1.88 m

o        Girth: wide

o        Weight: 230 1bs, 104 kg

o        alexanderjmorris@yahoo.com

o        Bay Area, CA

o        2/17/05

o        I started Backpacking in Yosemite in 1988.  Since then, I have backpacked all over California with particular dedication to the Sierras.  I also explored the deserts and parks of Southern Utah, the Tetons, Hawaii, National Parks of the Pacific Northwest, and Nepal’s Everest region.  For 4 years, I worked as the Assistant Manager for UCLA’s Outdoor Adventures Program.  I am very particular about my personal gear.  Depending on the trip, my backpacking style ranges from bring-it-all-and-suffer, to lightweight-but-not-quite-minimalist backpacking.  I never leave my chair at home, for instance.  In general, I pack heavy on food, and light on everything else.

Product information

o        Western Mountaineering

o        1999

o        www.westernmountaineering.com

o        Size – Long – 6’ 6”, 1.98m

o        Listed Weight: 3 lbs, 1.36 kg.

o        Actual Weight: 3 lbs, 1.36 kg.

o        Zipper: left side

o        5 degrees F, -15 degrees C.

o        Dryloft

Field information

o        High Sierras, Utah Deserts, Lost Coast of California,

o        Nearly every type of weather, elevation, and climate

o        Anywhere from below 0 degree F. (-17.77 degrees C) snow camping to 65 degrees F. (18.33 degrees C.) nights in Joshua Tree

 

Overall, I am highly satisfied with the Western Mountaineering Antelope.  It is 6 years old and, except for one zipper repair, has held up remarkably well.  This bag represents the old days where you only owned one sleeping bag and tried to use it for everything.  The bag lives up to the rigors of year-long use, though it certainly is heavy for warm summer weather and barely warm enough for cold snowy weather.  This review will list the best characteristics of the bag, followed by a few problems I noticed over the years.

 

I purchased the Antelope in 1999 when it was a top-level, expensive bag.  The manufacturer is based in the San Francisco Bay area and their support staff always had answers, particularly to my questions about product care, longevity, and appropriate use.  Western Mountaineering took my requests for information seriously.  Once, they even sent me free waterproofing material to boost my bag’s water resistance.  Western Mountaineering also makes notably warm bags – bags that actually work well at their listed maximum temperature ratings.

 

I ordered the 6’ 6” (1.98 m) long version of the bag to accommodate my 6’ 2” (1.88 m) frame.  I also invested in the Dryloft fabric which claims to boost warmth by 5 degrees F (2.8 degrees C).  By this logic, my Antelope is approved down to 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C).  In my experience, the bag works in these conditions, supporting the legend of Western Mountaineering’s toasty warm sleeping bags.  I am pleased with my decision as the extra length and warmth prevents the pain of cold toes pushed against the base of the bag, wet down, or a slightly colder night.  The bag is plenty wide for my girth, leaving my shoulders ample room to maneuver in the bag.  The large size of the bag affords room for fuel canisters, water bottles, clothes, and even heavy-duty mountaineering boots to fit inside the bag with me at night.  This feature is important in cold weather backpacking, so I place high value on the large size of the Antelope. 

 

During 6 years of heavy use, averaging 3 weekends a month, the stitching has held up, the Dryloft fabric shows no tears, and the loft still keeps me toasty.  In fact, it still maintains its original 7” (18 cm) of loft.  The pearly blue color of the bag looks clean and beckons me into the bag.  The bag dries of nicely in the sun, rarely smells funny, and compresses nicely using a 6” or 7” (17 cm) diameter stuff sack.  With more elbow grease, I could squeeze it into an even smaller bag.  Salespeople often say that down bags are good for 10 years.  My Antelope validates this promise.  The 800 fill down is still warm after much more than normal use for 6 years. In fact, it is wonderful to sleep in, even on sub-freezing Sierra spring nights.

 

Overall, the bag shows solid craftsmanship, but there is some room for improvement.  For instance, the zipper baffle, although enforced with a rigid fabric, still finds a way into the zipper.  After four years, I had to replace the zipper because of this flaw.  I also ordered the bag to be made with Dryloft, a fabric type and coating that is water resistant, breathable, and adds warmth to the bag.  Even with the Dryloft, I have never seen any water bead up on the bag.  It always gets the external fabric damp, but the moisture never penetrates in to the down.  The fabric dries quickly if you have an hour or two of sun to dry the bag.  I have not, however, slept out in pouring rain the way I did in my old synthetic bag. 

 

My biggest complaint is the shape of the hood on the bag.  Although the control cords works flawlessly and allowed ample adjustments, I never got the hood to fit comfortably.  Some friends claim that I have a large noggin, and I agree.  Nevertheless, the hood, when cinched over my face puts too much pressure on my forehead, nose, and chin.  This pressure in turn compresses the loft and sacrifices warmth.  The hood also feels worse if you stuff a jacket or pillow inside the hood.  Another tiny drawback to the bag is the lack of a fabric loop at the toe of the bag.  This simple loop or tag helps to hang the bag and dry it.

 

 Lastly, the stuff sack they include with the bag is awful.  Although few sleeping bags come with nice stuff sacks, I would like to see a company like Western Mountaineering achieve excellence in all aspects of their sleeping bags.  The Antelope’s stuff sack really ought to be a nice compression sack – a bag of this caliber and cost needs a nice stuff sack – instead of a medium size stuff sack I quickly replaced.

 

In conclusion, the Western Mountaineering Antelope is a fantastic 3-season bag.  It will even work as a 4-season bag in milder locations such as the California Sierras, my personal stomping grounds.  If I had to buy all over again, I would choose the same bag.