View Full Version : converting from sleeping bag to quilt
how many people would consider switching from sleeping bag to quilt
advantages are
1.lighter
2.more comfortable
3.less exspensive.
4.easier to make
5. more compact
6.easy to use in a hammock.
7.they are sexier
how many people would consider switching from sleeping bag to quilt
advantages are
1.lighter
2.more comfortable
3.less exspensive.
4.easier to make
5. more compact
6.easy to use in a hammock.
7.they are sexier
I am going to try one of these. I'll have to get someone to make me one from the kit because I have never sewn a thing, in my life except a few buttons, and I did a poor job at that.:o
I have also thought about the Western Mounatineering POD 15. It is a 15 degree bag but it unzips all the way down. It is a bag with very little fill on the back but incorporates a pad right into it. Thas Kinda likea quilt.
If I dont like the self-inflating pad I could easily cut a foam pad to fit.
I know I wish I had a quilt during the warmest parts of the AT. Then, a quilt would have been warm enough and would have had most of the advantages listed.
However, in colder weather a sleeping bag kicks butt over a quilt. And keeping you warm is what a sleeping bag or quilt is all about!
here are a couple links if ya want a down quilt jackrbetter
if ya want synthetic try fanatic fringe
if ya wanna make your own ray way quilt kit:cool: neo
http://www.jacksrbetter.com/index_files/Products%20List_files/No%20Snivelling%20Quilt.htm
http://www.fanaticfringe.com/page6.html
http://www.ray-way.com/quilt/index.shtml
Tha Wookie
05-26-2005, 20:54
I switched a while ago. Made mine, and it holds two -snug.
Never a problem staying warm. 'cept when I'm all alone.
Does anybody hear that country music?
I know I wish I had a quilt during the warmest parts of the AT. Then, a quilt would have been warm enough and would have had most of the advantages listed.
However, in colder weather a sleeping bag kicks butt over a quilt. And keeping you warm is what a sleeping bag or quilt is all about!
not really quilts and sleeping bags are rated by loft,loft traps air
that where the r value comes in,i sleep in a hammock in the 20,s
never got cold yet:cool: neo
not really quilts and sleeping bags are rated by loft,loft traps air
that where the r value comes in,i sleep in a hammock in the 20,s
never got cold yet:cool: neo
What I'm saying is that it depends on the temperature more than anything. Polar explorers or people climbing cold mountains carry sleeping bags, because they offer more warmth for the weight. A sleeping bag will be warmer than a quilt of the same loft, because with a quilt you tend to lose lots of warmth around the edges.
Maybe quilts work well in a hammock where you're "cocooned" a little more. I know they're not as warm in a tent or under the stars.
Regardless of theory, if it works well for you, that's all that matters.
What I'm saying is that it depends on the temperature more than anything. Polar explorers or people climbing cold mountains carry sleeping bags, because they offer more warmth for the weight. A sleeping bag will be warmer than a quilt of the same loft, because with a quilt you tend to lose lots of warmth around the edges.
Maybe quilts work well in a hammock where you're "cocooned" a little more. I know they're not as warm in a tent or under the stars.
Regardless of theory, if it works well for you, that's all that matters.i understand what you are saying,but to help remedy the loss of r value/heat loss i added a couple elastic straps that snugg the quilt around my bodi,yes on an artic expedition or mountaineering expedtion extreme down bag for extreme weather fits the bills,but for what i do,he quilt works just fine.:cool: neo
peter_pan
05-26-2005, 22:18
Switched to a quilt 3 years ago....best move ever....yea it leaks air on the ground when one tosses and turns....but in a hammock this is never a problem...and, since I've not gone to ground in over two years, it is never a problem....quilts and underquilts are the way to go in hammocks...But then I'm biased.
Pan
Hammock Hanger
05-26-2005, 22:22
It is probably my next progression. I basically sleep with my sleeping bag over me and not in it anyway. Sue/HH
littlelaurel59
05-27-2005, 11:31
Has anyone used the combination of a quilt over a bag in cold weather?
I have a Kelty 30* Light Year bag I have used comfortably down into the 20s. I was thinking about a quilt for summertime use, and putting it over the above bag for winter use. It would be a lot cheaper than buying a winter bag for only occasional use.
Any experience? Thoughts?
how many people would consider switching from sleeping bag to quilt
advantages are
1.lighter
2.more comfortable
3.less exspensive.
4.easier to make
5. more compact
6.easy to use in a hammock.
7.they are sexier
HAMMOCK....SCHMAMMOCK!
QUILT.........SCHMILT!
Give me a sleeping bag any day...& with the DOWN bags approaching the SUB-POUND weight area....
i like my mummy bag! :D
i've already got a virtual quilt with my WM Caribou, at 20oz... i'm a hammocker, and seldom sleep in the bag, but drape it over me.
Just Jeff
10-03-2005, 12:03
Jaybird Schmaybird...the Anti-Hammock Crusader!! MUAHAHAHA!! :)
I like quilts in the hammock. A wide enough one seems like a lighter way to sleep on the ground, too...but I haven't tried to figure out how wide makes me comfortable. That would mean sleeping on the uncomfortable ground. And, well, it's just not worth it to me to do that...
HAMMOCK....SCHMAMMOCK!
QUILT.........SCHMILT!
Give me a sleeping bag any day...& with the DOWN bags approaching the SUB-POUND weight area....
i like my mummy bag! :D
hammock hanging is the only way to fly:cool: neo
hammock hanging is the only way to fly:cool: neo Some of us are better grounded than others. ;)
HAMMOCK....SCHMAMMOCK!
QUILT.........SCHMILT!
Give me a sleeping bag any day...& with the DOWN bags approaching the SUB-POUND weight area....
i like my mummy bag! :D
Yup, I'm in total agreement here. Quilts are fine if you happen to be in a hammock or something, where gusts of cold air won't go under the edge of the quilt, but if you're a tent or tarp camper you are going to want that pure down warmth up on Springer in March and April!
peter_pan
01-13-2006, 09:01
Has anyone used the combination of a quilt over a bag in cold weather?
I have a Kelty 30* Light Year bag I have used comfortably down into the 20s. I was thinking about a quilt for summertime use, and putting it over the above bag for winter use. It would be a lot cheaper than buying a winter bag for only occasional use.
Any experience? Thoughts?
Stu Bilby, sleeping bag editor at BPL, used a No Sniveller over a thirty degree bag on his Napal Trip... Think they were out something like seven weeks unsupported... He has reports at yahoo groups, Backpackinglight and on the BPL site ( picture there also).... He alternated between using it as an over quilt and a quilt liner...both worked....What he reports really liking was using it as camp wear, convenient, warm and enabled him to eliminate an insulated top.
Pan
Youngblood
01-13-2006, 10:12
What I'm saying is that it depends on the temperature more than anything. Polar explorers or people climbing cold mountains carry sleeping bags, because they offer more warmth for the weight. A sleeping bag will be warmer than a quilt of the same loft, because with a quilt you tend to lose lots of warmth around the edges.
Maybe quilts work well in a hammock where you're "cocooned" a little more. I know they're not as warm in a tent or under the stars.
Regardless of theory, if it works well for you, that's all that matters.
My experience has been the same as yours when I have used a sleeping bag as a quilt and it works that way in a hammock as well. A hammock does tend to wrap around you but you still have to try to keep ever thing tucked and any movement causes air leaks somewhere. The hood, foot pocket, draft tubes and drawstrings for the chest/neck and hood work wonders in a well designed sleeping bag.
I use my sleeping bags basically the same way in a hammock as I did when I slept on the ground, use it as a quilt until I need more warmth and then I get in it and use it as a sleeping bag. It is more difficult to get in a sleeping bag in a hammock and quilt style is not as restrictive, so a quilt or using your sleeping bag as a quilt is the way to go in a hammock as long as you are warm enough.
I've always thought the primary tradeoff was comfort versus warmth, but that is when that is all you are using. A quilt sounds like a great way to extend the temperature rating of a sleeping bag, but it needs to be the right size to do that as its girth requirements are different if it goes on top of a sleeping bag versus inside a sleeping bag and likewise the girth requirements of a sleeping bag will be different if you are using a quilt inside it. If you sleep with a warm jacket with an effective hood, then a wide enough quilt will likely work as well as a good mummy bag. There are lots of ways to do the same things but you need to pay attention to some of the details to make sure your system does every thing you need it to do.
conventional sleeping bags suck,quilts rule:cool: neo
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=6063&c=577
Stu Bilby, sleeping bag editor at BPL, used a No Sniveller over a thirty degree bag on his Napal Trip... Think they were out something like seven weeks unsupported... He has reports at yahoo groups, Backpackinglight and on the BPL site ( picture there also).... He alternated between using it as an over quilt and a quilt liner...both worked....What he reports really liking was using it as camp wear, convenient, warm and enabled him to eliminate an insulated top.
Pan
What'd he use undreneath?
peter_pan
01-13-2006, 20:21
What'd he use undreneath?
Didn't ask...whatever it was I'm sure that it was light.... it will probably be in the upcomming article in the paper copy version of BPL magazine.
Pan
Frolicking Dinosaurs
01-14-2006, 09:39
I'm in the process of developing a three quilt / bag system similar to GoLite's Fierce Sleeping bag system (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12076) - a system that is basically three quilts of various weights that can be zipped together for extra warmth. I am making this a system for two people as the dinos have been sleeping together for many years and like it that way. I will also be incorporating some lame' for reflective warmth.
brancher
12-06-2006, 19:19
On my last section, i used my 15F down bag as a quilt anyway, so I figured why not just get a quilt and save TWO POUNDS (duh)!!!!!!!!
So I did. I have a Mt Rogers quilt, and I have used it in under 35 degree temps with midweight poly and a hat). And what can I say - it works. And it weighs 27 oz., which is 21 oz less than my 15F bag.
conventional sleeping bags suck,quilts rule:cool: neo
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=6063&c=577
Maybe but they don't suck as much as ham-icks.
superman
12-06-2006, 20:00
I used a 20 degree down rectangular bag which was comfortable until the summer caught up with me. I sent the bag home and had a fleece bag liner sent to me. On some nights the liner wasn't quite warm enough. I looked for a light weight quilt in the stores along the trail but never found one. When I got to Vemont I got my sleeping bag back. To me all gear is a consumable and subject to change. The AT teaches flexability...adapt and over come.
hammock engineer
12-06-2006, 21:32
Maybe but they don't suck as much as ham-icks.
Man that hurts.:confused:
Frolicking Dinosaurs
12-06-2006, 22:34
Has anyone used the combination of a quilt over a bag in cold weather?We are a couple and use a homemade sleep system that uses two insulated pads, a quilt that is good down to about 35 - 40F and a double bag that is good down to about 55F. When used them together we've been toasty down to the high teens.
hopefulhiker
12-06-2006, 23:30
I really liked using a nunatak back country blanket in conjunction with a silk liner, and an insulated air mattress. It was a very versatile and comfortable system.
I have used my 15° down bag as a quilt before when the temps didn't drop like expected. I might convert if I could find one that weighs less than my sleeping bag. So far I haven't found one.
Quilts are great for couples - much better than dodging the zipper pull of mated mummies. That's how Frito and I first started using quilts, then decided they would be good for solo.
Dino, Frito and I used the multiple quilt system for several years: 1 thin and one thick quilt that we could mix and match, depending on conditions. Now we just use single quilts with appropriate loft. The reason is simple: You get more loft with a single quilt than you can with the weight of another quilt on top; all the shells and baffles add up. So, we have a 1.5" with 17 ounces of good down, a 2" with 20 ounces, and a 2.5" overstuffed with 26 ounces. This avoids the hassels and weight of zippers. We use 100 wt. fleece for draft collars. We use a zipped undersheet on the two heavier quilts, and put the pads inside in colder weather.
FanaticFringer
12-07-2006, 00:52
Maybe but they don't suck as much as ham-icks.
Do you have an inferiority complex about sleeping on the hard ground?
Have a nice day.:sun
brancher
12-08-2006, 18:12
Quilts are great for couples - much better than dodging the zipper pull of mated mummies. That's how Frito and I first started using quilts, then decided they would be good for solo.
Dino, Frito and I used the multiple quilt system for several years: 1 thin and one thick quilt that we could mix and match, depending on conditions. Now we just use single quilts with appropriate loft. The reason is simple: You get more loft with a single quilt than you can with the weight of another quilt on top; all the shells and baffles add up. So, we have a 1.5" with 17 ounces of good down, a 2" with 20 ounces, and a 2.5" overstuffed with 26 ounces. This avoids the hassels and weight of zippers. We use 100 wt. fleece for draft collars. We use a zipped undersheet on the two heavier quilts, and put the pads inside in colder weather.
Great system. I have a Sierra Designs 15F/0F bag - it has a zip on lid for the 0F part, and the lid has another nylon zip-on piece for summer use (SD doesn't make em anymore - but they are great bags). My quilt has 2" baffles that (theoretically) loft to 2.5", good at least to 30F or lower (if you tend toward cold feet you need some booties on). Under that, I'll just use my SD zip-on lid as an insert. And it STILL is lighter than the average bag.
The bag to have, imho, for versatility and quiltlike use would be a WM Aspen, I guess. Rated to 25F and zips around like a quilt, and can be had with or without hood. Kinda expensive, though.