Another Summer Bag Question

[Bags4266]

Trying to lighten the load. Thinking of a quilt. Some thoughts are...
Ray Jardins quilt, it will run me $92.00, or should I go for Campmors 20* down bag that will cost me $128.00 and cut out the zipper and turn it into a light weight quilt. Or give me a decent cheapo bag that I could turn into a quilt. I don't want to spend more than the Campmor bag, thats at my high end.
Not sure I need the warmth of the campmor. But I would like the warmth for 45* and when I search and read other post everyone has negative comments on the warmer bags. My goal is a pound and 1/2 weight. Thanks

[Egads]

I use a Jacks R Better Nest very often. It is good to the high 30s* for me. Temps below that bother me when I roll over and feel the drafts.

JRB introduced wider quilts to solve this problem for ground sleepers.

I pull out my sleeping bag below ~35*

I'd go with the quilt if I was you.

[Spokes]

You can get a LaFuma x650 40 degree bag for $80 bucks on Amazon. Packs so small you'll barely notice it in your pack.

Google "LaFuma x650 amazon"

[Bags4266]

Thanks Egads but my price ceiling was the price of the campmor bag $128. JRB is out of my cost range. Remember this is just a summer bag. I was looking at the Lafuma and the Slumberjacks but there is a lot of neg. feedback on their quality and warmth rating.

[Egads]

Thanks Egads but my price ceiling was the price of the campmor bag $128. JRB is out of my cost range. Remember this is just a summer bag. I was looking at the Lafuma and the Slumberjacks but there is a lot of neg. feedback on their quality and warmth rating.

My point is to use a quilt instead of a crap bag. Buy the Jardins quilt

[Cookerhiker]

I bought a Kelty 45 degree down bag from Campmor 2 years ago for only $99. It served me well on my Long Trail thruhike (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=205427). Later, I also bought a Sea-to-Summit liner good for an additional 15 degrees.

The bag compacts to about a 7" length and 4-5" diameter. In addition to effective 3-season backpacking (with the liner), it also fits nicely into my bicycle panniers.

[mister krabs]

Tim Marshall who hangs out on backpackinglight.com makes custom quilts for as low as 110$ He has several options in your price range and I don't think you'll get lighter than his stuff for the price. I want one.

http://enlightenedequipment.webs.com/products.htm

[kanga]

i bought some good fleece 2nds and made my own bag. weighs about 1 1/4lbs. good down to around 45* or 50*. it cost me $4 and some time.

[buz]

Regarding Campmor bags, that is interesting thought about turning it into a quilt. I have one, and the zipper is no doubt heavy, and you could remove the hood, and put the down in the rest of the bag. The bag has continuous baffles, so that is a nice feature as well. The bag itself is IMO, a warm 30 degree bag, not 20, so it may have many of the things you want it for. But cutting out the zipper and hood won't get you to 1.5 #, I wouldn't think. Lighter yes, but initially it weighs 2#4 ounces, and I doubt the zipper and hood weigh 1/2 pound. The fabric in that bag is a little heavier then high end models, that is the cost savings IMO for campmor to be able to sell it at that price.

[garlic08]

Regarding Campmor bags, that is interesting thought about turning it into a quilt. I have one, and the zipper is no doubt heavy, and you could remove the hood, and put the down in the rest of the bag. The bag has continuous baffles, so that is a nice feature as well. The bag itself is IMO, a warm 30 degree bag, not 20, so it may have many of the things you want it for. But cutting out the zipper and hood won't get you to 1.5 #, I wouldn't think. Lighter yes, but initially it weighs 2#4 ounces, and I doubt the zipper and hood weigh 1/2 pound. The fabric in that bag is a little heavier then high end models, that is the cost savings IMO for campmor to be able to sell it at that price.

I put thousands of miles on that Campmor bag, and completely agree with this assessment. Modifying it sounds like a lot of work, ending up with a lower-quality product not quite meeting your needs.

I found a great summer bag (Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45, 17 ounces) on sale for my thru hike last year, for $160 shipped. I sold it used after my hike for $100. Maybe you can find a used deal like that.

[nox]

for summer i use a cheapo slumberjack tour lite 40. I've had it for about 4 or 5 years now and have no complaints. It is definitely not a 3 season bag but the zipper has never snagged and the material is holding up just fine. For $40 it was definitely a great buy.