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Sleeping bags, quilts, blankets, oh my!

DSquared

Idiot on wheels
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Feb 11, 2022
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Burlington, WI
So I currently have a Hyke and Byke 0 degree down bag that I would rate at 30deg comfort. It is a few years old and just barely fits my 5'11 215lb frame. I'm looking at something a little nicer and keep coming back to quilts. Something like the Jacks R Better Sierra Sniveler seems to fit the bill. Anyone make the switch from bag to quilt? Should I get an insulated pad to go with it?
 
So I currently have a Hyke and Byke 0 degree down bag that I would rate at 30deg comfort. It is a few years old and just barely fits my 5'11 215lb frame. I'm looking at something a little nicer and keep coming back to quilts. Something like the Jacks R Better Sierra Sniveler seems to fit the bill. Anyone make the switch from bag to quilt? Should I get an insulated pad to go with it?
I'm happy with my Marmot Nanowave 45 ( peeked in the closet, no way I'm remembering that name). It's rated at 45°, but I spent a couple low 30's nights in it. I was fully dressed inside the bag. No thermals, just jeans and a long sleeved Tshirt. I'm 6'2" and fit just fine. There's not a lot of extra room, but it's not cramped IMO. The compression sack it comes in packs it down to about the size of a cantaloupe, which is very handy.

I figure if I'm riding/camping in those sorts of temps, if the bag isn't cutting it, I can always drape my riding jacket over me if needed.
 
You'd be surprised how much warmth a sleeping bag liner adds, so even if you have a bag that is marginal, it is an easy and less $$ to upgrade the temp level..YMMV

 
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I swapped to a Hammock Gear burrow 20° quilt a couple of years ago and couldn't be happier. I'm a pretty restless sleeper and turn like a rotisserie during the night so the quilt is liberating compared to a traditional mummy bag.

I also use an insulated pad with one of these Klymit V sheets on it- https://klymit.com/collections/accessories/products/v-sheet
I find the V sheet to be key for comfort. Keeps any bare skin off of the pad material which feels a little weird to me
 
^^^ What FLrider said. I use a Mountain Hardware 5 degree mummy that I bought in the mid 1990's, and it's one heckuva bag. I love it. I was shocked to discover that the equivalent MH bag is now over $700. If I needed a warmer bag, I'd use a liner before gutting my wallet on a new bag.
 
I swapped to a Hammock Gear burrow 20° quilt a couple of years ago and couldn't be happier. I'm a pretty restless sleeper and turn like a rotisserie during the night so the quilt is liberating compared to a traditional mummy bag.

I also use an insulated pad with one of these Klymit V sheets on it- https://klymit.com/collections/accessories/products/v-sheet
I find the V sheet to be key for comfort. Keeps any bare skin off of the pad material which feels a little weird to me
That V sheet looks like exactly what I want to pair with a quilt. Thanks!
 
I'm a quilt person, and just a regular pad. But I'd definitely get the highest grade of down you can get. I was surprised just how much more comfortable my Hammock Gear 900 weight down in a 30° quilt was over my 750 rei bag.
 
last time I was Pheasant hunting in Oregon , it was in late fall, and snowy.

Knowing it would be cold by the forecast, wife took and old flannel bedsheet and made me a cozy liner for my bag.
Simple and cheap solution, provided you keep it dry. folded the sheet the long way, sewed the bottom closed. easy in,easy out, feet stayed warm.

Outfitter provided canvas tent and hauled our gear in a covered wagon so everything stayed dry.

Amazing how much of an improvement it made.
 
Anyone have an idea of compressed size of camping quilts? The one I'm looking at is an enlightened equipment long wide with synthetic fill. Down would be great for more compression, but I like the idea of easy care of synthetic fill.
 
I use a down bag but I never pipit up so it is like a quilt but if it gets cold I have the option to zip it closed. I always use down, I find it feels and breaths much better than synthetic.
 
Anyone have an idea of compressed size of camping quilts? The one I'm looking at is an enlightened equipment long wide with synthetic fill. Down would be great for more compression, but I like the idea of easy care of synthetic fill.
Apex insulation packs down pretty good, but nowhere near like 800-900 fill down.
 
I moved to quilts a long time ago. I have an Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20°, from 2013 when they were still using Karo baffles. 2 ounces of overfill. Weighs 22 ounces in the sack. I also made myself a summer quilt out of 10 denier Argon fabric and Apex 2.5 insulation. It weighs 12 ounces. By stacking both, and wearing a down hoodie, I’m toasty to 20°F. Summer quilt works to 50° if I’m wearing decent base layers.
 
Quilts for camping ... news to me!
Good to learn about bag liners. Mine isn't much good below 40˚ F - gonna check liners out.
 
In all but the very warmest of Temps, i use a vry old but well made and cotton lined with eider down Brass Zipper sleping bag that has only two small Patch repairs and some new stitching on the zipper tape in my own use in the best part of fifty years. I got it in 1974 and would say it was fiftys or sixtys when produced.
Not waterproof not light not compact . not easy to dry if your unlucky enough to get it wet(Never a good idea with down).
I use and have done since the 80s British army gortex bivi bag this combo keeps you dry and super warm no matter the weather and even if your fly sheep camping.
I have a few Lighteight Synth bags , not bad for what they are and ok for summer temps, but i have had to keep gear on on occasion when using in colder temps.
I have used wool army blankets on occasion in the past, and they work to a point, and if you can build a bit of heat in the tent and its not too cold wool blankets will suffice.
Not just the thermal efficiencey but more the breathableness of bags etc, I once had a thiner down bag great for packing smallish, but it was a sort of glossy green/ blue nylon sort of outer, that was an absolute pain for condensation and ultimately WET, I hated that bag, i woke up one morning at a bike meet yet again shivering and that was it the straw that broke the camels back it was draped on the door of a skip and left, no doubt some poor sould took that thing home and had a few thourghly misserable night with that before perhaps pitching it down for the dog to sleep on perhaps.
My tip for cold in a tent or even a fly, keep youur throat well covered covered and your mouth out.
 
I have a Dutch army M90 sleeping bag.
Its fucking huge. Plenty of room for moving about, or sleeping on your side/front whatever (I'm 95Kg/210 lbs). It you are a small guy, you could probably get a cute little Asian hooker in there with you. :D

The removable cotton liner is soft and snug and easily removable for cleaning. Comfortable at 0 degrees C.
Downsides, its not light and not small.

m90-slaapzak-kl-luchtmobiel-leger-1100x1100w.jpg
 
Use a summer model sleeping bag from swedish army big and roomy. Always sleep good. Colder? More layers.
 
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