Western Mountaineering - MityLite

I’ve been a fan of Western Mountaineering bags for 20 years now. Made in USA, and they have a bunch of models to choose from. Currently, my main BWCA bag is the MityLite. 40F bag rating. It unzips all the way to be used as a quilt. In the shoulder seasons, I use the Alpinlite 20F bag. My Alpinlite is 20 years old and as good as new, the MityLite is 10 and also still perfect.

There’s a lot of quilts that cost less that are better than EE. Sell some gift cards on one of the gift card exchanges, do some research, and get a better quilt. EE made good, affordable quilts years ago and are still riding the hype with a mediocre quilt at exorbitant prices. See r/ultralight If you’re really stuck on getting something with those REI gift cards. Sux it up and get a sleeping bag by Western Mountaineering. A 30F sleeping bag by WM is going to be warmer than a 20F quilt from EE. Some brands to check out: hammock gear, hang tight (cheap good ETSY), Katabatic, Nunatak, Feathered Friends, Loco Libre, Zpacks, warbonnet, gryphon gear, UGQ, cumulus, Neve Warath Have fun!

EE hasn’t fixed the issues at all. Not sure where you heard they did, but here are the top 5 complaints you’ll see in the community: 1. Drafts sneak in around shoulders, sides, and neck—EE’s pad straps often fail to seal fully for side sleepers or restless movers, creating cold spots. 2. Temperature ratings feel optimistic—a 20°F quilt frequently performs closer to 25–30°F comfort in real conditions due to drafts and shifting down. 3. Down migration and clumping—U-shaped baffles let down shift over time, leading to uneven loft and cold spots that require frequent fluffing. 4. Fragile fabrics—lightweight 7D/10D shells snag, tear, or leak feathers more easily with heavy use compared to premium competitors. 5. Poor moisture handling—down loses loft quickly if damp from condensation or sweat, with no strong hydrophobic treatment standard. I agree, WM is probably overkill for the AT once warm weather hits. But, so is an EE 20F revelation. However, if the only place you’re shopping is REI, and you’re doing a thru hike starting March to mid-April, a 30F WM is going to be better than a 20F EE on all the metrics above. If you’re able to shop somewhere else besides REI, for the same money, a Katabatic Flex 30 is going to outperform an EE 20F revelation in every key metric. All the brands I listed will outperform EE for the same or less money. When you buy EE, you’re paying a premium for the brand name without accompanying performance. The only time I would consider EE for a quilt is if I needed a synthetic quilt in the 40-50F range for summer fast packing. But, that’s not an AT thru hike thing. And the synthetic climashield apex insulation solves all the issues EE has with down. This is because apex is one continuous sheet of insulation that cannot migrate like down to create cold spots. That said, I would still be wary of their temp rating even for a synthetic quilt.

Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends or Marmot for bags. Enlightened Equipment, Hammock Gear or Katabatic for backpacking quilts. Not cheap but quality and comfortable.

There isn’t really an absolute best, but I like Katabatic for a quilt and western mountaineering or feathered friends for a bag. I prefer quilts down to around the low 20s, bags below that. Having a pocket in your quilt for a sleeping pad seems silly to me.

Western Mountaineering is the benchmark. Their bags really are great. In addition to WM, I also own a Gryphon Gear quilt and can say that their quality is top notch as well and they make both bags and quilts. For a few hundred less than a WM bag, you can get a Gryphon Gear Taurus bag. They are a small cottage shop so you get to deal directly with the owner and he'll make it custom to your liking if you want it a little more roomy. I think there are so many better choices than the EE quilts.

Western mountaineering… cry once, but once

WM bags are expensive and absolutely worth it. I'll never buy anything else!

Numeri 1 - Western mountaineering - Feathered friends Li tocchi con mano e capisci subito di che pasta son fatti. Subito dopo metterei Katabatic, pieno di accessori e features utili. Poi ce ne sono tanti altri sotto molto buoni. In EU trovi piu facilmente Cumulus, fatti veramente bene. E poi ci alcuni piu piccoli che fanno roba custom made molto buoni. Ma c'è un abisso tra tutti questi e i classici commerciali e costano giusto qualche euro in piu o a volte in meno. 100-150€ per una roba che ti deve tenere caldo, essere leggero, compatto e deve durarti anni e anni, mi sembra un investimento molto piccolo. Ci prendi giusto qualche taroccata decathlon o ferrino. Io mi farei regalare lo zaino, il sacco a pelo è molto personale. Se poi dormi a pancia in giù o laterale devi prendere un quilt, col sacco non dormi.

I own two sleeping bags: one from Western Mountaineering (superb quality, but very expensive) and one from Cumulus (high quality at a fairly reasonable price). After a lot of comparison, I personally think both brands provide reliable comfort temperature ratings and are absolutely worth the money. Just remember: if you're physically worn out, the lower limit of the comfort range might not be enough-so it's smart to give yourself a little warmth buffer.

At those temps you don't want to be messing around with some (relatively) unknown brand. I would also go insane if I had to deal with some fiddly hood that let in drafts around my neck in the winter. As far as I'm concerned, in the winter you have two options -- feathered friends or western mountaineering.