lightweight sleeping for hammock or ground for a couple.

[The Wanna Bs]

We want to hammock on our Appalachian Trail Hike but occasionally will want to go to ground for marital "cuddling" and may have to in certain areas or conditions. We want to purchase our bags. We know we want down and since Bob is a big man and likes to move around, he needs one with room. We would love them to zip together when we want or have to go to ground. Meanwhile, we want as light as possible (under 2 lbs) and as warm as possible (30 or below). It gets cold in those mountains at night. Bob wants his to zip open at the bottom so he can wear it for middle of the night forays to look for just the right tree.
Any suggestions?

[Dochartaigh]

You know that you can’t really use sleeping bags in a hammock right?(just making sure) I mean you can, but a sleeping bag means it has a bottom portion you compress when you’re laying in it, and when down compresses it has virtually no insulation properties at all…and that’s why in a hammock it’s most common to use a top quilt (if there’s ones out there which zip together I don’t know), then use a bottom quilt underneath the hammock itself (so you’re not laying on top of it compressing it). OR, you can use your regular tent air mattress underneath you - but you’ll have to find a way to keep it in place and do something like add foam wings to the side so you’re not cold there either (both of which add weight, and many/most people find underquilts much more comfortable).


That being said, my 40º large and wide underquilt from Hammock Gear with 2 ounces overstuff weighs 17.5 ounces. 30º from another manufacturer I think is doable for around a pound. That leaves 1 pound for your under quilt (I recommend Hammock Gear for that as well), or for your air mattress + foam wings. It’ll be close, and expensive, but your 2 pounds goal should be obtainable. Adding a zipper to that will probably put you over your weight, and having a zipper in a hammock that’s strung tight with you laying in it isn’t a good idea since it can tear at the fabric.

[Damn Yankee]

I use my bag in a hammock but unzip it so it acts as a quilt with a foot box. There are bags that zip together but, at the moment can't think who makes them. There are also others that can be worn as down 3/4 length jackets in camp but, again can't think of the maker off hand. I don't think there is one that will do both.

[Tuckahoe]

You have established a criteria that I do not think any one bag can actually meet. There are bags that can be coupled together, and Sierra Designs has come out with what they call their Mobile Mummy -- http://www.sierradesigns.com/sleeping-bags/garment-style.

I think personally you would be best served with quilts since you are planning to hammock. However, possibly have a couple top quilts made without a taper, and with a velcro closure and gathered foot box, that can be coupled together. This may fulfill most of your needs other than wearable. Talk to one of the small companies that make quilts and who may be able to do a custom set.

ETA -- check out Jacks-r-Better -- http://www.jacksrbetter.com/
They do have a modification available for their quilts so that couples cand put their quilts together.
http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/full-length-omni-tape/

[SoniaButton]

Have you thought about a two person sleeping bag just for cold nights? This is what me and my partner think we have settled on for the beginning of the trail. I had a lot of doubts at first, but it definitely started winning me over after a weekend cam-pout in 14 degree weather. The one I have is very roomy, if it weren't, I don't think I would have even tried it out. We are both able to have our "own" space (We aren't squished up against each other, unless we want to be. In fact, I had room to move around without effecting my partner. It was extremely warm with our combined body heat:perfect for the very cold night, and could be adjusted to be less warm (we ended up cocooning ourselves inside).

We were lucky to find this bag for around $300 on the shed part of campsaver.com, hence why we decided to try it out. For its weight and price, it was an AWESOME deal. I don't think I ever would have thought about buying it for any other price, but this may work out for y'all.

Here it is at its original price: http://www.campsaver.com/saddle-mountain-sl-15-double-sleeping-bag-700-down-1