Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Feathered Friends vs. Western Mountaineering Bags

Anyone have a recommendations of one over the other?

I am trying to choose between Feathered Friends Peregrine/Snow Goose Pertex Shield Ex and the Western Mountaineering Puma/Bison Gortex Windstop.

Prices online seem about the same, but looks like the Feathered Friends bags pack a little bit smaller.

Any thoughts on the bunch would be appreciated.

Brian

I have a Western Mountaineering bag and wouldn't trade it for anything.

I have two Feathered Friends sleeping bags. A Grouse and a Petrel. They are both women's bags. Feathered Friends offers the bags in different sizes; so my bags are made for women who are 5'3" or shorter, which is great because that means there isn't any extra cold air down in the foot area. I've had the Petrel about 9 years and the Grouse a few years less. Both bags live up to their temperature ratings and don't seem to be showing any wear and tear. They wash up fine in my front-loading washing machine and then come out of the dryer as good as new.

It's really nice to have a choice of fabrics, colors (inside and out), sizes, and zipper lengths.

The only issue I had with one of the bags was when I burnt a hole in the Petrel with my stove. I put duct tape on the hole and shipped it off to Feathered Friends to be repaired. They patched it (can't tell where it's patched unless you look really close), added down to compensate for what came out of the hole, cleaned the bag, and shipped it back expediently with a new cotton sack for $30. I thought that was really good customer service.

I also have a pair of Feathered Friends down booties - they're pretty nice too.

I have heard good things about Western Mountaineering bags, but I don't have any experience with them.

Ditto eboniske's comment. The WM bag is one of the best quality items I own.

Looks like it is going to be a tough choice. I have a WM summerlite that has a lot of nights in the back country, and I love it. Very conservative in the temperature rating (32F), it is at least as warm as my NF Cat's Meow that is rated to 20 degrees.

I own about 7 bags currently, including a WM Alpenlite. No doubt the best bag I've ever owned by a big margin.

FF and WM are the two industry leaders by reputation, no doubt. I don't think I've ever really heard much complaints about either. Both American companies.

I don't think that you'll be unhappy with either choice. Here's where you get to make the choice by the color

Thanks for everyone's posts! Looks like whichever I choose will be good.

I've used both, and I think both are excellent. I ended up keeping a few WM bags because they can be found on sale quite easily. I have the Puma -15, Versalite 10, and Summerlite 32. All are excellent and some of the best gear I own. So to contribute something that hasn't already been: I personally do not care for a built-in membrane in my sleeping bag's shell. I find that a membrane makes it more likely that moisture from your body gets trapped in the down, especially when its cold and you get to wake up with little icicles inside the bag's shell. Good morning! I'd rather add a waterproof bivy sack if that's what is called for.

Edit: Gore Windstopper is a membrane, just in case someone doesn't know this.

Check out this link to Outdoor Gear Lab where 6 of the best cold weather bags were reviewed:

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Sleeping-Bag-Down-Cold-Weather-Reviews

I don't know about the others, but I can personally attest that feathered friends products are among the best or the very best (especially with the event fabric).

BSD -
I have WM Antelope +5 degree bag and it's the bomb...very warm, light, and packs down very nicely in your pack. All of their products are extremely well made. I also have a WM Meltdown jacket as well as the lighter hooded Flash jacket. Wouldn't trade 'em for anything else on the market...

BSD --
i've had a WM Bison GWS (-40) bag for Himalayas and winter Sierra ski tours since 1999 ....prolly more like -20 after all these years. I have a deep relationship w that bag ...

i dont have a FF bag but i do have a FF down vest that is warm and nice but i feel was not made tough enough for general alpine activities. id be afraid itd rip too easily if i even just scraped up against a rock. if FF's bags are simlar to their other products...

so imho - WM beats FF

Thanks for the extra input everyone, I am going to go with the WM (-25) Puma GWS bag.