Owner Review: Western Mountaineering Highlite/Western Mountaining Beothuk Sleeping Bag

Reviewer: Will Rietveld

Male/59years/6'/170#

Durango, Colorado, USA

willjanet@frontier.net

Date: 12/7/2001

Gear: Western Mountaineering Highlite/Western Mountaineering Beothuk Sleeping Bag

Website: http://www.westernmountaineering.com/ba_HighLite.htm

Size: Regular, 6'

Shell: .85 oz Extremelite ripstop nylon, DWR finish

Construction: Sewn-through box, baffled

Hood: yes

Fill: 750+ down

Fill Weight: 8 oz

Loft: 2.5"

Temp. Rating: 40 degrees F

Weight: Mfg 16 oz/ actual 16.5 oz; stuff sack 1.1 oz

Girth: 58"/38" (shoulder/foot)

Stuffed size: 5"x 6.5"x 9"

Usage: Ultralight backpacking

Cost: $220 US

The WM Highlite and the WM Beothuk are the same bag. The Beothuk is available from Mountain Equipment Coop in Canada (http//www.mec.ca) and costs $330 CDN ($210 US).

The Highlite is one of Western Mountaineering's Extremelite bags, and is intended for ultralight backpacking. My friends consistently say: "Is that all you use for a sleeping bag"? It's an awesome bag with remarkable specs (1# total weight / 40F rating), but with caveats: it is definitely a summer bag, it's tight-fitting, and the thin shell material requires careful use. The bag has only a ½ length zipper, and has no draft tube or zipper stiffener.

I do most of my backpacking in the mountains of CO, WY, and MT and canyonlands of UT and AZ. I typically sleep under a tarp or in a bivy. Consistent with Western Mountaineering's reputation, the Highlite is warm at its stated 40 degree rating, and even a few degrees colder. In the mountains, the Highlite works fine in mid-summer; I adjust the amount of clothes I wear in the bag to match the conditions. Most of the time I'm warm enough, but occasionally the temperature can drop down to freezing around 4:00 AM and I have to wear all the clothes in my pack inside the Highlite and draw the hood to stay warm. I have made it down to 25 degrees using this method, but I don't recommend it. The size Regular just fits my 6' body with the hood drawn. Because of its tight fit (59" at shoulders), there is a limit to how much clothing you can wear inside the bag. I frequently draw up the hood to stay warm (it makes a big difference), so the size Regular bag is pretty tight for me with a jacket on and the hood drawn. For cooler temps, I go to my Marmot Arroyo or Marmot Helium and do the same thing with wearing clothes inside to match the conditions. These bags are roomier (63"/62" girth) and make it easier to wear clothes inside.

The Highlite's Extremelite shell material has a very soft feel and is very water repellent. As I mentioned, the material is very thin and requires care not to snag or puncture it. It is not completely downproof, and down pokes through on a regular basis, more than I would like but tolerable.

Overall, the Highlite is a great bag for summer ultralight backpacking. For an ultralight fanatic like me, the cost and trade-offs are worth it to shave a pound or so off my pack weight. However, for conventional backpackers, for people who want to buy just one summer bag, or for people who don't want to spend a lot of money -- I would advise you to look at the many alternative bags available that are roomier, more durable, less expensive, and heavier. The WM Highlite is definitely a sleeping bag for the ultralight backpacker, and at that it excels.