Western Mountaineering Badger MicroFiber Sleeping Bag: Is This 3-Season Sleeping Bag Worth Your Money?

Three season sleeping bags are always specialized affairs, made with perfect detail and specific features meant to keep you warm while you slumber, without making you feel too hot.

The sleeping bag we will be talking about today, the Western Mountaineering Badger MicroFiber Sleeping Bag, is a three season sleeping bag of really good quality.

Product Specifications

• Designed for cool to cold weather
• 850+ down filling – maintains body heat and keeps you warm, maintaining weight to a minimum
• MicroLite XP ™ outer shell fabric – lightweight, comfortable and weather resistant
• Full down collar – traps your body heat and does not let it escape outside
• Continuous baffles – help you adjust the heat level inside
• Rated at 15 Degree Fahrenheit

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Being comfortable is just as important as being warm. After all, if the sleeping bag you are in is very warm but is too constricting or too rough, you are going to spend the night tossing and turning no matter how cozy you are (if you can even call it that). Thus is it is of the utmost importance to choose your sleeping gear with care and caution. Some bags are pricey but if they are of high quality, the investment may well be justified.

Review

Western Mountaineering is a well-known brand which manufactures a large number of outdoors gears. Their goods are of high quality. When it comes to sleeping equipment, Western Mountaineering offers a lot of variety. You can get summer, winter and three season sleeping bags by this manufacturer.

The bag is spacious, which is extremely important when it comes to choosing the right sleeping gear. You want something in which you can relax with ease, and this bag does not disappoint.

We will now talk about all the features of the sleeping bag, as well as discuss its pros and cons in detail. By the end of the review, you will know everything there is to know about this sleeping bag.

Packaging

How a sleeping bag is packed is an extremely important feature, particularly for backpackers. Hikers need to pack their stuff very carefully, so they can carry maximum amount of stuff in their backpack. This is why sleeping bags which come with their own compression stuff sacks are always favored by these people.

The bag comes with own storage stuff sack. You can easily fold the sleeping bag to a small size and pack it in the stuff sack. The packed size of this sleeping bag is only 8 * 17 inches. The smallest bag packs to a size of 8 * 15 inches.

Design and Durability

Like most sleeping bags designed for cool to cold weather, this one is also mummy shaped. This bag shape maintains body heat and keeps you warm. While many mummy shaped bags make people feel claustrophobic, this one actually has adequate amount of space inside.

Insulation is provided by 850+ down filling, which will keep you warm while maintaining weight to a minimum. The filling offers great warmth to weight ratio. It weighs only 21 to 27 ounce, depending on the bag size.

The outer shell of this sleeping bag is made of MicroLite XP ™ fabric. This fabric is not only comfortable and lightweight, it is also weather resistant. This means that you will remain dry even if the outside conditions are somewhat damp. However, the fabric is not totally water proof and you can’t hope to be completely dry if it is raining.

Temperature Rating

The sleeping bag is rated at 15 degree Fahrenheit. There are a lot of features which will ensure that you are warm and cozy at this temperature.

First of all, the filling is quite warm and divided very adequately, so there are no cold spots. There is a full down collar as well, which traps your body heat and does not let it escape outside. The hood frames your face in such a way that it protects you against cold without being too tight.

A zipper is a place from where cold air can find entry. However, this bag comes with a full length draft tube which does not let any cold air enter from the region of the zipper.

Sometimes, you might find yourself camping in a region where the temperature is higher than 15 degrees. To make sure that you are comfortable in all weather conditions, the bag comes with continuous baffles which you can move according to your own preference. If you are feeling cold, move them over you to protect yourself from the cold wind. In case you start feeling warm, you can move them below you.

Size

The bag comes in four sizes. The small size can fit a person up to 5 feet 6 inches in height. The medium one is for 6 feet, long one for 6 feet 6 inches and XL size can fit a person up to 7 feet in height. The bag is quite roomy and offers an adequate shoulder, hip and foot circumference.

The shoulder circumference of the four sizes is 64 inches, 65, 66 and 67 inches respectively. Hip circumference is 55, 56, 57 and 58 inches for the four sizes respectively. Foot circumference is 39 inches for small and medium sizes and 41 inches for long and XL sizes.

Thus, the sleeping bag is wide at all levels. Is also has a 6 inch loft.

Weight

When it comes to choosing a sleeping bag for hiking purposes, one of the most important aspects to consider is the bag weight. In this regard, this sleeping bag is a good one. The small size weighs only 2 lb. 1 oz., while the XL one weighs 2 lb. 10 oz. Thus, you can see that despite adequate filling, the bag still weighs quite less.

Value for Money

There are a few things you need to consider when you look at the price. The bag is quite warm, even though it weighs pretty less. Therefore, for backpackers, the price might actually be justified. Not only can they pack and carry the bag with ease, they can also use it in different temperatures.

We have already mentioned the presence of continuous baffles and how they help you adjust the heat level inside the sleeping bag. When you consider all these features, the price does not seem quite that high, particularly as winter sleeping bags are often priced more steeply than summer ones.

The bottom line is that the value for money depends on your own specific needs. If you need a warm, lightweight sleeping bag which will serve you in different kind of conditions, this one has good value for money. However, if you want a regular three season or summer bag, or weight is not an issue, you should go for another, less costly sleeping bag.

Warranty

If you ordered your Western Mountaineering sleeping bag but received a damaged product, you can claim your warranty and the company will repair or replace the product free of cost. However, this warranty will only be applicable if there was some manufacturing defect in the sleeping bag.

This means that if you somehow damaged the bag, or it accidently got damaged for example by an animal attack, you cannot claim the warranty. Also, only original buyers can claim the warranty, and that too if they bought the product from a certified western Mountaineering approved seller.

Close Competitors: Other Sleeping Bags You May Consider Buying

Before you finalize your purchase, it makes sense to look at a few other sleeping bags in the market and assess their pros and cons. After all, you are buying something which will serve you for a long time; you might as well consider other products and make an intelligent decision.

The bags we are going to mention now are all meant to be used in the temperature range of around 15 degree Fahrenheit, give or take a little. They are good quality bags which will keep you warm and comfortable.

Marmot Plasma 15 Long Sleeping Bag

If you were looking for an ultra-light sleeping bag to take on your next backpacking trip, the Marmot Plasma 15 Long Sleeping Bag one is an option you must consider.

The sleeping bag has an extremely low weight of less than 2 lbs. It is rated at 15 degree Fahrenheit and has a lot of features which are designed to keep you warm at this temperature range.

The filling is of 875+ Goose Down which is very warm while at the same time being rather breathable. This means that while you will be warm and cozy during the winters, you will be cool and free of suffocation during the summers.

The sleeping bag is water resistant, though not completely waterproof. There is a vertical baffle system which will keep you very warm through the night. The hood is very well designed and will keep your head and face warm while you sleep.

It definitely has a lot of good features, but whether or not you are willing to spend that much on a sleeping bag depends on your own preferences.

Brooks-Range Drift 15 Sleeping Bag

The Brooks-Range Drift 15 Sleeping Bag is another mummy shaped sleeping bag which you can use in the temperature range of around 15 degree Fahrenheit. The outer fabric is DWR treated, which gives it water resistant properties. You can place the sleeping bag on damp ground and you will still be warm and dry inside.

The filling is of 850+ Down, which provides warmth while keeping weight to a minimum. The insulation provided by this filling is more than adequate and you won’t find any cold spots.

There are two sizes; regular and long. The regular one is large enough to fit a person u-p to 6 feet in height, while people whose height is up to 6 feet 6 inches can fit in the long sized sleeping bag. The sleeping bag offers a shoulder width of 62 inches, which does not prove to be too snug.

The sleeping bag has a total weight of 3.1 pounds. It is lightweight enough that it can be carried by backpackers and hikers.

The dimensions are 17 * 12 * 10 inches. You can fold the sleeping bag to pack it inside your backpack. The down filling is quite compressible and thus the bag is easy to pack.

Considering all of its features, it has good value for money and is something you should consider buying if it fits your requirements.

Western Mountaineering Apache MF

The Western Mountaineering Apache Microfiber is another mummy shaped sleeping bag which has continuous baffles with 5 ¼ inch spacing. The shoulder girth is 59 inches while the foot girth is 38 inches. Thus the sleeping bag is narrower at the level of shoulders than the original bag we reviewed.

The temperature rating is the same; i.e. 15 degree Fahrenheit. The collar is filled with down and will keep your head completely warm. The shell is water resistant as well.

This sleeping bag has a total weight of only 2 lbs. 1 oz. and thus can be included in the league of very lightweight sleeping bags. Considering the amount of warmth it provides, this weight is quite less and thus makes the bag favorable for backpackers and hikers.

It can be used as a three season bag as it will serve you well even at temperatures higher than 15 degrees. However, if you want a pure winter bag for temperatures reaching zero degrees or below, you should look at another option.

Overview

It is now time to recap everything we have discussed about the Western Mountaineering Badger Sleeping Bag. This is a mummy shaped bag meant to be used in temperature settings of around 15 degree Fahrenheit. It provides great insulation without making you feel claustrophobic or constricted.

Three season sleeping bags are often difficult to choose. You want something which can keep you warm when the temperature goes down, but at the same time prevent you from sweating profusely if it gets warm. This sleeping bag by Western Mountaineering does a good job of letting you feel comfortable at all temperatures, except if you plan to go hiking in freezing weather, in which case you should buy a specialized winter bag.

Now for the pros and cons of this sleeping bag.

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Pros:

• Lightweight
• Can be packed to a compact size
• Adequate down filling
• Good amount of space
• Weather resistant outer shell
• Well formed hood
• Four different sizes available

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Cons:

• Pricey
• No sleeping pad provided
• Shell is not waterproof
• Cannot be used in zero degrees or in very cold weather

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Buying a sleeping bag for your outdoors adventures can be a tough job, but we hope our review helped you in deciding if this particular bag is for you. If not, you should consider one of the alternatives we talked about. Have you used this sleeping bag and have something to add? Let us know in the comments section!