Quilts

[John Klein]

Are there any viable options besides a Ray Way quilt if I want to buy my first one? I don't use a hammock, if that matters. I just want to lighten my sleeping system weight in a cost effective way. The advantages of a Ray Way quilt seem to be price (about $100 with stuff and storage sacks) and quality of insulation (web site says they only use insulation that's not compressed when shipped from their vendor). Disadvantage seems to be labor (I'd have to ask my wife to sew it for me). If there are quality ready made quilts at 1.5 lbs. or less rated at about 40 degrees for about $130, that may work out the same for me.

[flemdawg1]

BPL has afew quilts.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/s/Sleep%20Systems/index.html?id=dJ3gwUjw:71.207.178.169

As does Fanatic Fringe
http://fanaticfringe.com/page6.html

[take-a-knee]

Are there any viable options besides a Ray Way quilt if I want to buy my first one? I don't use a hammock, if that matters. I just want to lighten my sleeping system weight in a cost effective way. The advantages of a Ray Way quilt seem to be price (about $100 with stuff and storage sacks) and quality of insulation (web site says they only use insulation that's not compressed when shipped from their vendor). Disadvantage seems to be labor (I'd have to ask my wife to sew it for me). If there are quality ready made quilts at 1.5 lbs. or less rated at about 40 degrees for about $130, that may work out the same for me.

The price you quoted ain't gonna happen. You'll work your A$$ off all weekend to make a Ray Way. For $30, I don't think so. Quilts rule in a hammock, they pretty much suck on the ground, the zipper is worth the few ounces it weighs.

[ytsuejam]

If money is your biggest issue, then by all means go the ray way route.Sewing one is not that difficult ... if I did it,you can definitely do it!
You can totally customize it or follow the directions word for word.After using Golite quilts,I find I like my kit quilt much more.
Is it the lightest out there?no. With all that being said I do want to open it up and modify it a little more: shrink it down a little-I happened to make it just a bit bigger than needed,I wanted to room for one my dogs.They always seem to hog up my quilts. Maybe its because I'm such a warm sleeper but there is nothing negative regarding sleeping on the ground with quilts,haven't used a conventional bag for at least a decade.

[Ekul]

Jacks R better makes a nice quilt. Both asym and rectangular

[chiefduffy]

I built a couple of RayWay's (one light, one heavier) about 5 years ago, because that was all I could afford at the time. They proved to be perfect for my hammock. I have not used anything else since, and they are both still like new, despite nightly use on my bed, and many miles of backpacking. If you follow the instructions word for word and take your time, they are not hard at all to make.

[Snowleopard]

$195 for Mountain Laurel designs quilt. http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/index.php?cPath=34&osCsid=089e4314f5b911f386dea73606b928b6
It's actually not very hard to make a 40 degree quilt with synthetic insulation.
Thru-hiker http://thru-hiker.com/materials/index.php
has the material you need. Use his momentum for the top and bottom ($$) or 1.1 oz breathable nylon (cheaper). http://www.owfinc.com/Fabrics/insulation.asp has a bargain on 100" wide 30z.sq yard Climashield; you can make two layers with this width.
Basically it's two sheets of nylon with insulation in between them. Minimal effort would be to pull the dimensions off a commercial quilt. Cut a piece of cheap material (old sheet?) to size and lay down in it to see how it fits you. Then cut two sheets of nylon and one piece of insulation to size and sew all the way around the edges. It's nicer if you sew the foot area into a box, so your feet fit into it like a sleeping bag that is zipped up for 2 feet or so. With this version, you have to be very delicate when you wash it. Only a little more work is to put loops of yarn through all 3 layers to hold the insulation in place; this would be more robust than without the loops. For more insulation use two layers of insulation or thicker one layer insulation.
Material costs would be about $80-$100 using thru-hiker's momentum or about $50-$60 using 1.1 oz ripstop.

Rough directions can be found in Ray Jardine's book, "Beyond Backpacking".
You don't need to be using a hammock for a quilt to make sense for 3 season backpacking. For winter I'd recommend a sleeping bag.

[Snowleopard]

That should read:
http://www.owfinc.com/Fabrics/insulation.asp has a bargain on 100" wide 3 ounce/sq yard Climashield.