Wiggy's sleeping bags

[GreginAlaska]

Does anybody have significant experience with Wiggy's sleeping bags? I bought them for me and my wife this year and they seem really good. They have the hollow tube synthetic insulation but it has a big difference, they say you can leave it compressed in the stuff sack and it will not hurt it at all. They also WANT you to wash it after every trip. Oh ya, they also have a lifetime warranty. I was wondering if anybody has left them stuffed for long periods and washed them often, if so, how have they held up?

 

[BucknRut]

Why hasn't anyone replied??

Why hasn't anyone replied??

Why hasn't anyone replied to this post yet? I have heard of people using them on hunts and such. Any insight would help me out too. I was planning on purchasing Wiggy's bags for Coral and I, but not sure now. I was expecting to hear that these were the "Meindl" of the sleeping bag world. Am I wrong? Would my money be better spent elsewhere? Help us out here PLEASE!! I hate to throw away good money on bad gear.
Thanks in advance!
BNR

 

[blackbear]

wiggys

wiggys

i have a wiggys -20 bag i truly enjoy it as my wife says it has cozy factor you get in it and you get sleepy i do not like one thing and that is most of the filling is on the top so you need a ground cover or mattress but it probably is that way with any bag i am overall very pleased and the zipper definitely never gonna break i do plan on buying the over bag to make it even warmer

 

[Romo]

I have 2 Wiggy's bags...a Kifaru/Wiggy's (20 degree) bag I use for sheep hunting and a Superlight (0 degree) bag I bought and used on a recent moose hunt. The 0 degree bag is a reg/wide body (I'm 5'9", 165#) b/c I wanted extra room and it is toasty. The 20 degree bag has been discontinued and is thin but I've never been cold in it either. I keep mine in stuff sacks year around...no problem. When I wash them, I turn them inside out and zipped up; use no detergent; and, no heat/low heat dry. I wouldn't have second thoughts about purchasing another if need be and I will likely be buying one for my nephew for this Christmas.

Also, give Marc Taylor a call. He owns Wiggy's-Alaska and is a salesman but won't hold any punches to tell you if something is better.

 

[EricL]

I Was Waiting

I Was Waiting

I Was Waiting For Marc Taylor To Respond. He Probably Knows More About Wiggy's Than Anyone. He Has A Store Here In Anchorage That Sells Them. He Can Tell You Everything You Need To Know!! Eric

 

[BucknRut]

Thanks guys!

So would I be better off purchasing the "hunter" model or the "flexible sleep system" model as a "do-all" bag? Do the overbags really add that much warmth?

Romo, I thought about you today when some kid offered to give away a LSU Pencil! He said, "Anyone want this, I don't even know what L-S-U stands for...and who would want yellow and purple for colors!" I couldn't help but laugh ;-)

Joshua

 

[GreginAlaska]

Thanks for the replies, sounds like I made the right decisions.

 

[Bill S.]

If any one is still looking for information, here's Marc's website that will get you in touch with him. I was on a hunt last year with a friend that has a wiggy's bag. It rained a lot and he decided he was going to bed wet to check out the statement that you can go to sleep in a wiggy's bag wet and still be warm. Well, it worked, he was dry and well rested in the morning. Its on my Christmas wish list.
http://www.huntinghardinalaska.com/

 

[AkHunter45]

I've got a Wiggy's Superlite and so does my wife, we used them on our sheep hunt and I used mine again on my moose hunt. These things are killer, very comfortable and warm and the huge # 10 Zipper is a big plus as well!! I know, most people are probably thinking "a big zipper, big deal", well let me ask you this, how many times have you zipped up your bag and had it get caught up in the material??? This never happened using my Wiggy's bag, not once. I also like the idea that if your wet you can still sleep in the bag and chances are very very good that you will be completely dry in the morning, try that with down or some of the other synthetic bags, chances are good that you will still be wet and won't get much sleep either. Lamilite is the bomb!!

 

[GreginAlaska]

The other day I went into Marks place to buy a hunter model for my brother-in-law for his birthday, they also have coats and vests etc made out of the lamolite. I tried on an Arctic model that had Nomex3A for a shell. It was really light and flexible. I work on the slope and think they would be good for up there.

 

[KirovPDR]

We use the Wiggy's at work, and have about 200 of them. They are used week in and week out, laundered EVERY week and work GREAT. We wouldn't buy any other brand. They typically last 2 years.

 

[Duster]

Wiggy's Bags---Best piece of gear I have ever bought.

Wiggy's Bags---Best piece of gear I have ever bought.

I have used on of the Dual Bag sets on the last 9 hunts here in AK. I have had them on Sheep/Caribou/Goat/Bear hunts, that has taken me from one end of the state to the other. I have used them on Float trips, fly-out hunts and walk till your feet bleed sheep hunts. These bags are bar none the finest piece of gear I have added to my inventory EVER. I have compacted those bags to next to nothing using a shop press and an industrial vaccum system and the extreme compression did nothing to the effectiveness of the sleeping bags. I have slept in these bags in soaking wet clothes and woke up bone-dry. I recently went to Kodiak last week and was wet as hell the whole time, I would put other wet clothing in between the two bags and they were also dry for the next morning use. I dumped my raft on a recent float trip in the Alaska Range for sheep and my bag was soaking ass wet(put all yer stuff in waterproof bags no matter how far you float), I wrang out the bag as best I could and went to sleep no problems, inside of the bag was dry as a bone 3.5 hours later, outside was till wet but who cares. The outer bag makes a huge difference in warmth when both bags are used together. My hunting partner has the exact same set-up and is equally impressed.

I have a garage full of stuff that isn't worth a **** and I would be just as happy to tell you about that stuff. Meaning, I have bought and used many thousands of dollars worth of gear that wasn't worth a crap before I found the right stuff. My assesments of the Wiggy's bags aren't made just to justify my purchase. I knowingly head into dicey hunts on a fairly regular basis, and the gear I take along could very well be the difference in life and death. I trust Wiggy's bags to keep me safe.

T Langford

 

[AKMarmot]

Weight & Overbag

Weight & Overbag

Todd,
Hopefully you can help me out here. I have been eyeing them for awhile to replace current gear I already have. My question is on the weight issue. The bags weight is listed at 4lbs, & then you talked about the outer bag as well. (I am guessing you are talking about the 0 degree superlite & then adding an overbag.)
Sounds like it compresses fine but starting at 4lbs & adding an over bag it would go up. Currently I am looking to replace a sheep bag weighing about 3.2 lbs & my utility bag is rated to -20 & only ways 4.4 lbs.
So how much weight are you talking about?
I don't see hauling a 5lb+ bag sheep or goat hunting past base camp.
I guess bottom line is I should go into Marks store & see how they compare.

 

[AlaskaCub]

I am with you AKMarmot, I looked at the Wiggys Ultralight and dont see anything ultralight about it. I am using a Cats Meow for sheep hunting and its 2lbs 13oz and I am still looking for something even lighter. I can see using the Wiggys for remote hunts where weather is colder in late fall but have a hard time visualizing me packing a 4+ lb sleeping bag in my pack for sheep hunts. I guess some guys prioritize extra weight allowances on different items than I do. Just havent had the North Face bags not do what I asked of them yet. But I have looked at the Wiggys many times.

 

[GreginAlaska]

Well I'm kinda too old, too slow and too big of a target for sheep hunting ;-) so I did probably use different criteria. What I really liked is the ability to keep it stuffed and not lose loft, the fact you can wash it after each use and the ability to use, or not use, the overbag for different temperatures. My wife used to get mad because I was always using space to hang my other bags, she ruined a couple by stuffing them and then I didn't notice it for a few months. She also ruined one by washing it numerous times after the kids had spilled something on it. I didn't learn about this until AFTER I got back from a really cold Afohgnak hunt. ;-) I'm glad to hear the Wiggys do as claimed.

 

[Mr. Pid]

I recently was in the market for a new -20 bag. I looked at them all. Wiggy's was the frontrunner when I started. I looked hard with an open mind. I talked to friends whose opinions I respected. I bought goose down.

 

[Alaskacanoe]

quality stuff

quality stuff

The product Wiggy puts out his fantastic. Wiggy himself is his own worst enemy though as he puts other products down. He basically says that you are taking huge risks not using his product and that anyother product is so inferior that you may die in brand x where you will survive and be warm in a wiggy.
There are indeed many great products out there, and if he weren't so onery and crumedgenly about his stuff he would be better recieved.
He has attempted to strong arm magazines such as Backpacker magazine etc. You will propably not read in these magazines about Wiggy products due to Wiggy himself being so forcefull with them, and many don't even talk about his stuff... I have read miles of Wiggy's struggles with outdoor magazines.
His stuff is great, tough and holds up under washing.
I have 2 of his bags and live in them for a month at a time during the fall hunts. I do lots of rafting so I am setting up and taking down on a daily basis, and wiggy stuff is well built to handle this kind of abuse. Yes you stay warm when wet....
Wiggy has pizzed off the outdoor equipment writers so much that he does not get much press from them, or he would probably own the world...
LOL
I am the scout master of troop 562 in Sterling on the Kenai and I have the adventure group of boys from 14 yrs to 18 yrs old. We all ordered bags from Wiggy last fall. One of the fathers in my group is a Northwest air pilot and suggested we get the bags for our group. I think we got 22 of them. Most have been stolen by my scouts fathers, so we need to order up anouther 20 so my boys can sleep in them.. Last winter I had 6 of my boys complete the coveted -100 below badge awarded to scouts that winter camp and sleep in unheated tents or snow caves when the outside temps are below -0, this means that the boys had to sleep outside at least 5 nights at temps at or below -20. Also to get this award you have to be actually camping, not just setting up some tents in your backyard. We camped at Turnagain Pass, the Swanson canoe lakes, Skilak lake, Cooper lake, Upper Russian river lake, Trout lake on the Resurection trail, etc.
I can tell you that it took 8 nights sleeping outside for our group.
No one complained or said they were cold. We used double sleeping pad under each bag and did not have the additional cover. Yes a few other brand bags were used, one used a Goretex shell and the other not.. they did ok, but like was mentioned earlier,, I fought the Zipper on one for a Half an hour so we could get it closed up... just not the same quality.
Max

 

[AkHunter45]

I recently was in the market for a new -20 bag. I looked at them all. Wiggy's was the frontrunner when I started. I looked hard with an open mind. I talked to friends whose opinions I respected. I bought goose down.

What happens when a goose down filled bag gets wet? I have heard that down is pretty much worthless when it's wet. Is this true?

 

[Mr. Pid]

I've heard that argument for years. In 40 years of camping, hunting, and fishing in Alaska, I've never had a sleeping bag get wet. I've had to elevate my ThermaRest pad using spruce boughs to keep me off the tent floor a couple of times in relentless rain, and I'd have done that regardless of what kind of bag I was climbing into. My standard packing includes a waterproof compression bag. Regardless of what type of fill my bag has, I air it out in the morning before packing it for the day.

If there's liquid water around I doubt I'd choose my -20 bag anyway. If there's liquid water around I don't need a bulky bag of any type.

 

[AkHunter45]

I've heard that argument for years. In 40 years of camping, hunting, and fishing in Alaska, I've never had a sleeping bag get wet. I've had to elevate my ThermaRest pad using spruce boughs to keep me off the tent floor a couple of times in relentless rain, and I'd have done that regardless of what kind of bag I was climbing into. My standard packing includes a waterproof compression bag. Regardless of what type of fill my bag has, I air it out in the morning before packing it for the day.

If there's liquid water around I doubt I'd choose my -20 bag anyway. If there's liquid water around I don't need a bulky bag of any type.

So i guess my question goes unanswered, thanks anyways.