Western Mountaineering VersaLite Owner
Review
Tom Jones
Male, 46 yrs old.
5'11" tall, 180 lbs (180 cm, 82
kg)
tom at jrat dot com
Residence: Salt Lake City, Utah,
USA.
Trailname: Jrat or Ratagonia
August 19, 2003
Biography:
I started backpacking as a young sprout, climbing the 46 highest peaks in
New Hampshire by my sophomore year in high school. I discovered rock-climbing at
age 18 and devoted my outdoor life to climbing for 20 years. Aging knees and
renewed interest in wild places inspired by the redrock canyons of Utah has
brought me back to hiking and backpacking as a primary sport. Between technical
canyoneering and backpacking, I spend 60-100 days in the field per year.
My style started as heavy, but quickly evolved to mid-weight using the best
equipment available at the time. More recently, injuries, sore knees, and the
*need* to carry ropes and other gear has driven me to reconsider all my choices,
and pushed me toward ultralight stuff. I hike and backpack in the Utah desert,
in all seasons, and I rarely follow marked trails, visiting places where others
rarely venture.
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Western Mountaineering
www.WesternMountaineering.comDate
of Manufacture: 1996
Listed Weight: (not known)
Weight: 2 lb, 4 oz (1.02
kg) (without stuffbag)
Listed Weight of current VersaLite: 2 lb, 0 oz (.91
kg)
The VersaLite is a mummy-style bag with a long side zipper that stops 6"
(15 cm) from the bottom. It has a draft tube the full length of the zipper, with
a thin piece of webbing sewn in to keep the material from being sucked into the
zipper. A Velcro tab closes across the top of the zipper. The hood is not fancy,
but seems to fit quite well, and allows sealing up to a small breathing hole in
limit conditions. A down-filled tube across the shoulders works well as a draft
blocker.
Field Information:
This bag was used for the last six years on most summer, spring and fall
adventures where weight counted, including: about 10 lightweight bivys on
technical canyon trips; about 10 overnight desert backpacking trips in hot
weather; and about 15 overnight desert trips in spring or late fall with
temperatures down to freezing. Plus about 100 nights of car-camping. It was
mostly used inside a tent, with the addition of a down jacket and long underwear
when used in the spring and fall. While the desert is usually blessed with dry
weather, spring in Utah often means rain or snow, and this bag saw its share of
rainy nights, protected by a good tent. Elevations ran from 3000 to 7000 feet
(900 to 2000m).
Review:
Is it possible to never be cold in a sleeping bag? This is my experience
with the versatile Western Mountaineering VersaLite. Perhaps it is because I
have a quiver of bags and take the VersaLite under mild conditions only. Perhaps
the quality of materials and design make it considerably warmer for the weight
than I expect, even after using it for six years. Or perhaps I am so fond of
this bag that I get the warm fuzzies just thinking about it, and that keeps me
warm when physical warmth alone would not suffice!
Western Mountaineering is a small, specialized manufacturer of high quality
bags based in California. They are one of the few bag manufacturers to make
their bags in the US, and I like their high quality materials and attention to
detail.
The fit of the bag is excellent. Originally, I thought I would be giving up
comfort in the fit department for the sake of weight, but either I got used to
the efficient shape quickly, or the cut of the bag is excellent and fits my body
like a glove. Probably some of each. I never find the bag restrictive, even when
I wear a layer of long underwear to bed. I have the good fortune of being very
close to median size for men in height, weight and girth, and thus quite a bit
of gear fits me well.
The locking zipper slider was initially off-putting, but after using it for
awhile, I prefer it to the non-locking sliders I had used before. With a
non-locking slider, I can exit the bag by just pulling the sides apart. With the
locking slider, I have to find the slider and push it down the zipper - a
delicate operation sometimes when one wakes up with a full bladder. I got used
to this fairly quickly, and the benefit of the locking slider is that the zipper
will stay closed where you put it, without using the Velcro tab. I think this
convenience makes the locking slider a winner.
I've used down bags for 30 years, and this one is by far the warmest for
the weight. The lightweight fabric allows the high-quality down to loft to its
full potential, and the bag builds up a static charge and lofts even more on
cold, dry nights. The DWR treatment on the outside does a good job of repelling
moisture even after six years of use. When sleeping without a tent, often the
exterior is wet from dew, but the down and loft unaffected.
Western is known for having conservative temperature ratings, and on a trip
this spring I assessed my own bag's rating deliberately. Given a little frost on
the ground in the morning, I tagged the temperature at 30 deg F (0 deg C). With
minimal clothes, well fed and in a tent, sleeping on a foam pad and thermarest,
I slept warm all night. I thought perhaps the 4 AM chills were getting me, but
after getting up and emptying the bladder, I fell right back to sleep and slept
through till 8 AM.
Since the bag has a 20-degree F (-7 degree C) rating and is the lightest
bag I own, I often use it as a quilt in summer. Fully unzipped, the foot-box is
a nice size to keep the feet warm, and allows me to make warmth adjustments
through the night with a minimal amount of consciousness. (The current VersaLite
has a temperature rating of 15 deg F (-9 deg C) - my memory is that my bag had a
20 deg F (-7 deg C) rating).
My bag IS six years old, and technical changes to the model's materials
have been made. The current model is 4 ounces (110 grams) lighter, and slightly
warmer. I use this - my "best" bag - selectively, saving it for trips where
weight really counts, and use other bags for car camping. However, I find the
silkiness of the fabrics and lightness of the quilt upon my slumbering body to
be luxuriously comfortable, and I find myself justifying its use when I "really
shouldn't". I have not yet washed the bag, and try to keep it clean so I will
not have to. The black color of the inside fabric allows denial of slovenliness
as long as possible.
The bag comes with a fairly tight stuff bag and a large cotton bag for
storage uncompressed between trips.
Overall, this is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. Yes, WM bags are
expensive, but these are some of the finest bags made, and the superior warmth
to weight ratio make them a good value for all that can afford them.
