[pct-l] Heavier Sleeping Bag versus Lighter Sleeping Bag & Extra Clothing

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Hey John, here's my latest thing: I got a Jacks R Better quilt with a  
head-hole. I can wear it! It's a 45 degree quilt and a serape jacket  
all in one. On my last backpack where we camped on snow, I used it  
combined stacked on top of my 20 degree bag. Total luxury without a  
huge weight penalty. They also sell down sleeves which would make it  
into a better jacket and you can get a warmer version. I think if you  
had a 20 degree wearable quilt with the sleeves and a down hood (they  
have those, too) you could leave your down puffy home.

Diane

On Jan 6, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I figured it has been a rather long time since I posted a 'which do
> you prefer' type of question here on the pct-l and with many a hiker
> prep'ing for the 2012 hiking season, I figured it was time to start
> them up again!
>
> So the first one I am going to start with is a rather age-old
> question. It does not have a right or wrong answer - HYOH after all,
> right!
>
> Do you prefer having a heavier sleeping bag (say, a 15 or 20 degree
> bag) and only the lightest of clothing for when you are breaking
> camp.... or, do you prefer having a lighter sleeping bag (say, a 30
> degree bag) and than also having extra clothing (say for example, down
> legs and a heavier jacket) thereby giving you the ability to
> dual-purpose your clothing.
>
> Personally I have gone back and forth on this. I have tried them both
> over the last few years and can honestly say I do not really know
> which I prefer more. In many ways I like having the lighter bag and
> than extra clothing, as it gives me the ability to sit around camp
> when the rare situation arises that I do not just setup the tarp and
> go right to sleep.
>
> Either way the weight is pretty much dead-weight the vast majority of
> the time. Just a matter of not having to fiddle with extra clothing
> versus having more options. In the end both options work out to
> identical weights for me (within 2 ounces).
>
> John B. Abela
> HikeLighter.Com