Mummy Bag vs Quilt

[TheWhiteWalker]

What sleeping bag/quilt do you recommend for a thru hike on the AT?

It will be NOBO starting in mid-April. I am willing to spend up to $325ish and would like to keep it light weight. I would prefer not to have to switch it out during the thru hike but if necessary I will.

I was recently talked into purchasing the REI Igneo Sleeping bag by a REI employee. https://www.rei.com/product/862532/rei-igneo-sleeping-bag It is a mummy bag, 19F at 29oz. I am not a huge fan of my feet being smashed together in a mummy bag since I often sleep on my stomach with my feet apart but I can definitely deal with it.

I did see someone on here recommend the Enlightened Revelation 20F at 20oz. Do you think this would be better fit for me instead of the REI Igneo I already purchased?

Also, the REI employee told me that a quilt would be big and bulky and cannot be smashed up into a compression sack like the REI Igneo mummy bag…. is that true??

Thank you in advance for your advice!

[Slo-go'en]

A quilt is a lot like a mummy bag except it has no zipper and no hood for the head. Usually the foot is boxed so your feet stay in it.

No doubt there will be many replies about how great a quilt is, but personally I see no real advantage for the small weight savings and an advantage to the mummy bag in that you can zip it up on cold nights.

A down quilt should be no harder to get into a compression sack then a mummy bag.

[Ktaadn]

The REI employee actually said that a quilt can't be put into a compression sack? I would return the sleeping bag and never shop there again.

As far as the bag vs quilt debate, I've seriously thought about buying a quilt a few times, but I continue to just use the mummy bags that I already own. If it is warm, I unzip the bag and lay it on top of me as if it is a quilt. I like that versatility. If I was starting out with nothing, I would probably lean toward a quilt because I roll around a lot and I just like that freedom. You just have to watch out for drafts if you do.

[Lyle]

I've not used a quilt, but I normally use my mummy bags as quilts. The foot box keeps you feet covered securely, the rest of the bag just drapes over you. It's good because in the event that the temps drop really low, you have the option of zipping the bag closed, which really adds a lot to it's warmth.

I find a silk liner is very effective at keeping the inadvertent cool drafts off of me as I toss and turn under the bag. Imagine it would help under a quilt as well.

[Brewguy]

Quilt is smaller than a sleeping bag and will pack smaller. Also will likely weigh less.

Part of the reason for the mummy bag is warmth. Laying with a quilt open and you all spread out won't get you don't to the rating, too much open space to heat. You can close up the end of that EE or open it up to see what works best for you.

[DuneElliot]

The only way a quilt is going to fit in more space than a sleeping bag is if it's one of the ones your grandma made

I highly recommend EE quilts. I have their crossover Convert which I use as a quilt in warmer weather and a mummy bag in cooler weather. Some people frown on the crossover design and say it does neither job well. Sure, it doesn't come with the straps, but it's possible to jerry-rig it and I like the option of having both since I wasn't convinced I'd like a quilt.

I sleep almost exactly the same way, in fact I often kick a knee up like I'm running in place when laying on my stomach. As such, bags with fitted hoods don't work well for me. The Convert is hoodless sleeping bag, which is exactly what I wanted.

I honestly don't think you can go wrong with EE, but I would recommend going up in sizes. The Convert I got was regular/regular and I'm 125# and 5'5". I wouldn't want it any smaller and glad I changed my order from slim width to regular.

[Auto Draft]

I started April 1 last year and used a 32-deg down bag all the way. It was borderline too hot during the summer but it worked. On the coldest nights, I wore lots of clothes inside the sleeping bag (and stuffed other stuff in with me to get rid of dead space). On the hottest nights, I unzipped the bag all the way and used it as more of a blanket. I might have had to switch out a 19-deg bag during the summer personally but it depends on each person.

[Hosh]

I use a quilt, not because of volume or weight, it's because I toss and turn, stick my legs out and roll into a fetal position. I also tend to over heat and it's easy to regulate heat.

As a quilt owner I have found them to be more versatile over wider ranges of temperature, flat blanket to strapped down cocoon. They are less effective in very cold conditions.

The issues I had with unzipping a sleeping bag is it always got twisted and sometimes the hood would rotate into my face. My daughter sleeps like an Egyptian mummy so a sleeping bag is perfect for her. She actually uses the BA system where the bag attaches to the pad to save some weight.

I too am a EE fan, great value, service and people. If you decide on a quilt, take into account you'll want some means of keeping your head warm if the temps drop. I vary from a skull cap to fleece beanie to a EE Hoodlum depending upon conditions.

[Bronk]

I find I am claustrophobic in a mummy bag and use mine like a quilt even in cold weather. If you have a good sleeping pad you shouldn't be cold. I had my doubts until I tried it...now I'm sold.

[Mudsock]

Depending on temperature, I choose a mummy, or quilt. I have a Feathered Friends Hummingbird 20 degree bag (25 Oz) and an EE Revelation 40 degree Regular/Wide quilt (13.5 Oz). If it is going to be below 45, I would choose to carry the mummy. For warmer weather, the quilt works much, much better for me.

My metabolism is compromised by diabetes. I have to be a bit cold when I go to sleep in a constant temperature bedroom to avoid waking up in a sweat about 2AM. Metformin helps greatly with that. Outside, with the temperature generally dropping, I would rather wake up cold and be able to do something, like tuck the quilt under me, or zip up the bag in order to deal with the change in comfort. I sleep so soundly that I can easily be drenched when I wake up. A silk liner is a must for me. Sometimes I carry two of them so that I have a dry one to climb into in the middle of the night. They protect the bag to a very great degree.

The ability to quickly raise an arm or leg and pull cooler air in under the quilt and the layering with the liner and quilt are terrific options for me in warmer weather. Generally, I start out on top of the liner, then in only the liner until I get cold. Fluffing up the down during the night, rather than at the start can help a bit too. The Hummingbird will keep me warm enough a bit below 20 degrees. I tried it as a quilt during the summer, starting with only the liner. I ended up drenched. A good warm down bag is too warm for me, even when used as a quilt. With a wide temperature range, at least two solutions is likely necessary for most people. My wife sleeps all night under three blankets and a sheet during the summer. I use one blanket and the sheet, just the sheet, or nothing as the night progresses. We are all different. Her metabolism may adapt to keep her from over heating. Mine does not.

[plodalong]

Big fans of the EE Revelation 20. Used it this winter with the optional straps under my pad and at 34 it was great. Love to give you a lower temp rating but every night we were out this winter it was freakishly warm. So 34 was it! Switching to quilt was a homerun for me since I am a side sleeping toss and turn guy who hates his feet confined. The open bottom option is great for me and the quilt has allowed me the best nights sleep I have ever had when hiking. My wife switched from mummy to quilt and she is a 'three blanket' gal too. (Gotta comment as well about that REI employee... Ktaadn is 100% right and I would love to have a chat with the manager about the advice you received. Hope it was a well intentioned error and not BS advice to get a sale.) EE was great to deal with. Check out their guarantee it is pretty impressive. The weight saving was a big plus for us as well.

[QiWiz]

I'm a big fan of quilts. I would use a Jacks R Better Sierra Sniveller quilt at the start of the trip and (budget permitting) switch to something lighter and less warm when it gets hot; switching back to the Sniveller in cooler New England early fall weather.

[gbolt]

Key points about the quilt are the lack of zippers, possibility of a more bag like appearance by a sewn footbox in the quilt, and most quilts come with shock cord straps and loops to attach it to a pad. The head end of the quilt has a snap and draw string to enclose the end around the shoulders. The mummy part of the bag is missing, but I prefer to vent and control temperature by utilizing various head and neck coverings. Final point, if you like a silk liner in a bag, it will work just as efficiently in a quilt looped to a pad. To me the quilt saves weight and adds versatility of venting. I have also been amazed at how a pillow lifting the head, can help with heat loss. I don't feel the need to carry the weight of a regular bag and appreciate the way a quilt sits in the trash bag towards the bottom of the pack versus a compression sac in a bag compartment, the way I use to carry.

[mortonjl]

Quilt for sure, too much wasted material and weight in a bag

[nsherry61]

. . . I was recently talked into purchasing the REI Igneo Sleeping bag by a REI employee. . .
I love reading over all the different strong opinions in these forums. We've all found what works best for us, and there are a dozen different best solutions found to every question. I find that I do great in either quilts, or sleeping bags or even both; a quilt over my sleeping bag for cold winter sleeping. Since you have it, go use your gear and see what you think.

As soon as you are "talked into purchasing" anything, it sounds like yet another person selling you on what they have found as the best solution instead of helping you find your best solution. In the end, there are probably a dozen great solutions for each of us that we haven't discovered yet.

The Igneo bag is a great bag for what you are using it for. The REI employee you talked with obviously isn't familiar with lightweight quilts, but, if we all stopped doing business with every company that had a somewhat misinformed employee trying to do their job, we would not do business with anyone including ourselves.

You have a good bag that will do a good job for you if you are comfortable with it or at least grow comfortable with it. The Igneo is a fairly narrow bag, so if you like space, you will be better off with either a wider (and thus heavier) bag or a quilt. As noted above, many people do well with sleeping bags that they just open up and use as a quilt having the option to zip up in colder weather. Opening up the bag doesn't make the foot box any bigger, but it does seem to make the whole sleeping experience feel much less constrained. I recommend trying out what you have and seeing if it will work well for you. If it doesn't THEN change your gear.

[Riocielo]

Think about how you sleep and if you can duplicate that in a mummy bag. I tend to sleep with one foot against the opposite knee (making a number 4) and I couldn't do that in a mummy bag. I finally bought a Sierra Designs Backcounrty Bed, but it was still too claustrophobic. I ended up canabalizing my down jacket (good excuse to buy a new one,) split open the bottom of my BCB and added a wedge from part of the jacket. Added a zipper and now it is perfect for me.

I said all that to say, you will have to find what is right for you, which may not be right for anyone else. :)


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[One Half]

What sleeping bag/quilt do you recommend for a thru hike on the AT?

It will be NOBO starting in mid-April. I am willing to spend up to $325ish and would like to keep it light weight. I would prefer not to have to switch it out during the thru hike but if necessary I will.

I was recently talked into purchasing the REI Igneo Sleeping bag by a REI employee. https://www.rei.com/product/862532/rei-igneo-sleeping-bag It is a mummy bag, 19F at 29oz. I am not a huge fan of my feet being smashed together in a mummy bag since I often sleep on my stomach with my feet apart but I can definitely deal with it.

I did see someone on here recommend the Enlightened Revelation 20F at 20oz. Do you think this would be better fit for me instead of the REI Igneo I already purchased?

Also, the REI employee told me that a quilt would be big and bulky and cannot be smashed up into a compression sack like the REI Igneo mummy bag…. is that true??

Thank you in advance for your advice!

Go try it out. REI has a 1 year return policy. If you find you don't like it, bring it back and get something else.

[johnnybgood]

Also, the REI employee told me that a quilt would be big and bulky and cannot be smashed up into a compression sack like the REI Igneo mummy bag....is this true ???

Thank you in advance for your advice!


Well...maybe ? , it depends. Here's what he didn't tell you . It's true Synthetic Quilts are bulky...compressible to a point .
However Down-filled top Quilts pack down really small....smaller than that REI Igneo bag . This here sounds like an REI salesperson trying to make a sale using logic as his strategy.

[nsherry61]

Well...maybe ? . . .This here sounds like an REI salesperson trying to make a sale using logic as his strategy.
I think you're giving the REI staff too much credit. REI doesn't have any sales quotas or commissions. He was probably just selling what he thought he knew and thought he understood, while not wanting to admit that he didn't really know some pretty key details. So, he made his best guess in favor of the gear he was familiar with. . . I've never seen that before, especially on these forums. :rolleyes: