I bought the wrong WM bag

[AKDoc]

Get the highest rated pad you are willing to carry and try it again.

^^^This^^^

Your sleeping pad is way under R-rated for a down bag in the temperatures you shared with us...regardless of bag sizing, you will sleep cold with that R-rating. Get a new pad with a minimum of R-7...even higher if feasible for your intended uses.

I have a WM Badger MF and a high R-rated pad, and it is perfect for me for late fall hunts up here in the temperatures you shared. I'm 5'10" 185 and my shoulders are wide and I sleep warm, so the Badger is perfect for me, but not if sleeping on a lower R-rated pad in colder temps. In fact, I was gifted the Nemo Tensor pad for Christmas a few years back, and took it with me on one hunt to test out...nope.

The best to you OP...WM are great bags!

 

[MattB]

Sleeping in the truck on a low R-value pad was very likely your problem. The air under the truck would have been a good bit colder than the ground and the air outside the truck circulates so you can't warm it. That is not a bag issue.

If you had a better pad and had slept on the ground, I bet you would have been comfortable to near the bag's temp rating.

On sizing, you have the Badger and the specs are on the WM website. get in it and have someone else estimate how many inches of extra space you have at the shoulders, hips and foot and then compare those estimates to bags with similar temp ratings on the spec chart.

 

[t_carlson]

Well that’s also because the bag design is different and has taller baffle height.

I emailed them and what they said is what I posted.

 

[406sparky]

Well thanks for the all the information guys. I think I’ll hold off for the exchange for after bear camp next weekend and I’m the meantime I’m gonna grab a xtherm nxt at 7.3 r and see how that does. If I can stay warm in the badger it would be a great bag. The roominess is something I’m not super used to but it’s honestly pretty nice.

 

[arlenmyles]

The Exped downmat 9 cannot be beat for its warmth/weight. I'd bet if you pair that with the badger you'd be perfectly fine. I'd rather have a bag I can breath in than a bag that's too tight and I risk compressing down.

And if the single/teen temps are the exception and not the norm...eat a good meal and boil a Nalgene of hot water to stuff down by your feet...it'll keep you toasty warm all night. You can also add a silk bag liner if you want, for about $50. Nice to keep your nasty dirt/sweat off a bag during a week of hunting without a shower.

Thermarest Xtherm is roughly the same R value and half as heavy as the downmat. I love my expeds but they can be bulky and heavy.

 

[arlenmyles]

Well thanks for the all the information guys. I think I’ll hold off for the exchange for after bear camp next weekend and I’m the meantime I’m gonna grab a xtherm nxt at 7.3 r and see how that does. If I can stay warm in the badger it would be a great bag. The roominess is something I’m not super used to but it’s honestly pretty nice.

I just picked up an xtherm nxt reg wide because Im a side sleeper. Super pumped on the pad.

 

[sacklunch]

Thermarest Xtherm is roughly the same R value and half as heavy as the downmat. I love my expeds but they can be bulky and heavy.

It's roughly 2 r-value less, on a scale of what, 10, I don't consider that to be roughly the same, that's a ~20% difference.

I also don't enjoy sleeping on a pad that's louder than a roll of foil, but 'different strokes...' I guess.

 

[arlenmyles]

It's roughly 2 r-value less, on a scale of what, 10, I don't consider that to be roughly the same, that's a ~20% difference.

I also don't enjoy sleeping on a pad that's louder than a roll of foil, but 'different strokes...' I guess.

The xtherm nvg has an r value of 7.3 and is not much louder than my sea to summit pad.

 

[sacklunch]

The xtherm nvg has an r value of 7.3 and is not much louder than my sea to summit pad.

The exped downmat 9 is almost 20% warmer (r-value) and whisper quiet.

I had a the rectangular red colored sea to summit insulated, liked it better than my xtherm, not nearly as loud, but not nearly as comfy and quiet (and warm) as the exped. If cold is a factor, which it is for the OP, a few extra ounces (IMO) is well worth it.

 

[Runningwater]

Fwiw the Antelope is more "mummy" than the badger, and has a lower temp rating. That's what I have. That said, as already discussed a better pad makes a huge difference and there isn't much colder bottom platform than a truck bed if it's cold out. Good Luck!

 

[9.1]

The exped downmat 9 is almost 20% warmer (r-value) and whisper quiet.

I had a the rectangular red colored sea to summit insulated, liked it better than my xtherm, not nearly as loud, but not nearly as comfy and quiet (and warm) as the exped. If cold is a factor, which it is for the OP, a few extra ounces (IMO) is well worth it.

I'll second this. The exped more than makes up for the extra weight in overall sleep quality.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

You’d really be served better with a bag that fits you better. Even if you can get it to work, you are carrying more weight and material than needed and will not be as efficient.

 

[insanelupus]

I choose the Badger for a little extra room based on reviews on here. Great build quality hope to test it out soon. Xtherm pad for me too, which i like.

Right or wrong, I also considered the possibility of using my puffy as an extra layer within the bag if temps unexpectedly dropped below where I'd be comfortable. The puffy is almost always along anyway There's enough room to do so without being bound up, unlike my old bag that was tight in the shoulders in a base layer.

I reserve the right to change my mind though. Lol.

 

[Rokwiia]

"Hey fellas,
This winter I purchased a WM Badger thinking I was getting my bag for the next 10 years. I went on a little fishing/ camping trip when it was about 10- 15* to test out the bag, and came back a little disappointed."

Both your sleeping bag and pad must be rated to the temperature you are sleeping in. I believe you need a pad with an R-value of ~ 5.0 to be thermoneutral at 32F. Your 4.2 pad is not cutting it at 10F. You're experiencing conductive heat loss.

You can combine pads to get you to the right temperature or simply get one pad that is rated properly. Exped makes fantastic cold-weather pads. In 10F-15F, I'd be looking at the the Dura8R with a R-value of 7.8. I have an older Exped, the DownMat 9W, and it feels like a furnace is beneath me.

https://www.expedusa.com/collections/sleeping-mats/products/dura-8r

 

[Coveyleader]

Agree, I got the long version of the same bag, and I get cold in it. I've thought about selling it for this very reason. They are big bags and sleep cold for me, and I sleep warm.