[pct-l] Quilt vs sleeping bag

Sat Apr 6 05:16:04 CDT 2013

Yeah, I think I agree. I had an old one I used a couple times (actually an old bag with a bad zipper. I got the wife to stitch it back a couple inches and removed the hood.) In nice weather they work.

Overall, a quilt *can* be lighter. Theory says so. In practice, you need a foot box. And you have to wrap around your sides and under you slightly. And make sure your mat does not leave air gaps. This means the quilts are marginally worth it. Maybe 20% without worrying too much about bugs or occasional air infiltration. Condensation becomes an issue and you need a fairly good ground sheet...minimally 3-4oz of some good Silnylon or PU coated fabric about 6-12" larger than your pad.  

Another style, coming out of mountaineering, is the older "Elephant Foot". This is a belly length bag with a slightly heavier parka over the torso/head. This can save a couple ounces too, and is less susceptible to condensation. But, for the same reason a mitten is warmer than a glove, these generally don't work to well for more than survival. Using one, you find that you really want a larger parka so you can slip your arms out of the sleeves and next to your body.

Another style, the older BA bags were just a pocket on the bottom, sealing your body in a single space(holding heat better than an Elephant Foot,) with your pad below and 650 down fill. This was MUCH better in my opinion, except for the low fill down. I picked up one of those when they were first released but sold it after a few trips out. Just wasn't warm enough, and, it picked up a lot of condensation from the ground. Without a good tent floor, they get damp on the bottom (below the pad) easily. This required extra time for drying in the morning, and, would leave a damp bag if there happened to be a couple days of rain.

Another style, with more modern bags, is to use a differential fill. This means about 2/3 of the down is in the upper baffles which are closed from the lower baffles. Example: 4 inches over you with about 2 inches under you. With a proper pad (say an older Mt Washington pad, Nunatak's Luna, or Gossamer Gears NightLite) this is enough for the insulation to loft slightly into any voids in the pad, still maintain the "mitten" effect, and keeps the bag from contact with the ground/condensation. So, you can drop the ground sheet. But you need a full length pad, not the 3/4 or torso length that has become so popular with many UL'ers. 

The more traditional continuous baffle is great for long duration trips, because, you can shake the down around in the baffles. This will leave a warm bag sometimes, and, a less warm bag others. This is really versatile, but many owners complain that there is not enough fill because these bags are usually underfilled slightly to facilitate the down movement. Often this is because the user doesn't know how to use them. These require a bit more washing than the other bags to allow the down freedom of movement. 

There are several baffle arrangements, but, I don't think that is relavent.
	My thoughts only . . .
			jdm  

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Reinhold Metzger
Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 12:45 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Quilt vs sleeping bag

[pct-l] Quilt vs sleeping bag

Katherine,
Brick hit it right on the nail.
For a solo hiker, in my opinion, ounce per ounce you can't beat the sleeping bag.
It is true, the bottom insulation on the sleeping bag gets somewhat compressed and compromised, but the zipped sleeping bag, with only your nose and mouth petruding on a cold night, traps your body heat far better than the quilt.

As far as the argument that the bottom of the sleeping bag is dead weight, I will say the following:
If the sleeping bag and the quilt are made from the same material, the sleeping bag, since it more or less hugs your body and may be tapered to your body shape, may contain no more material than the quilt because the quilt needs to be wider and longer than your body to insure your body is fully covered and not exposed as you toss and turn in your sleep.
I know, to prevent parts of your body from being uncovered as you turn in your sleep, elastics may be used to keep the quilt rapped around you as you sleep on your side and under you as you sleep on your back, in which case the part of the quilt under you will get compressed just like the sleeping bag.
But, to accomplish this the quilt must be wide enough to wrap around your body and not just as wide as your body and therefore probably use as much material as the sleeping bag but not trap your body heat as well as the sleeping bag.

Also, the quilt will not keep out the crawling critters like a zipped sleeping bag, so you can sleep tight and not let the critters bite.

So,....sleep tight,....don't let the bed bugs bite....and dream of me and only me at night.

JMT Reinhold

-------------------------------

  Katherine <ihearttrail at gmail.com  <http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>> wrote:
>/  We've scoured the internet, and still have a hard time figuring out 
>the
/>/  true difference and pros/cons of a sleeping bag versus a quilt. We would />/  love to hear about your experiences dealing with one versus the other.
/-------------------------------

Brick wrote:
Here is my take on it.

When I am hiking alone, I use a sleeping bag.

When I am hiking with a partner with whom I want the skin contact, then the shared warmth under quilt makes it worthwhile, as the quilt weighs less than 2 sleeping bags, AND it is more enjoyable. Jardine is the reasons the quilt fad started, and I believe he was always hiking with his wife.

I would not carry a quilt while hiking solo.

HYOH, YMMV

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