I just bought (excellent deal) a Wiggy’s bag after talking to an Alaskan that’s an instructor for the SnipersHide class I took. Now I’m reading that a proper mat (also needed for bags) and purpose made quilt are the way to go. Anyone here using a quilt instead of a sleeping bag for the outdoors?
#RESIST
A quilt? I just got back into backpacking after a 20 year hiatus, and as far as I know a good down bag with the sleeping pad of your choice are still the go-to that they were back then as well. Are we talking about camping out of a car at campgrounds or way in the backcountry where you have to pack it all in on your back? And what temperatures?Originally Posted by LittleLebowski
I think it depends entirely on your use case.
Also, just like in the shooting world where there's an element of "I have the latest in tactical fashion and you people still shooting a Glock 19 are lOSers" there's an element of gear fashion in the outdoor world.
The argument for the quilt is they run 20% to 30% lighter than a sleeping bag, take up less volume in a pack, and don't have zippers that can fail on a trip. It's also a bit easier to thermoregulate if your bag is a bit too warm for conditions.
The argument against is that they are colder for the equivalent weight, particularly if you are the kind of person who shifts positions in their sleep a bunch. There are systems where they attach to the pad underneath with straps, ties, and etc that honestly look like a pain in the ass to me. I like to just inflate my pad throw a bag on top of it and go to sleep.
Personally I've never adopted a quilt. I look at my key pieces of gear: clothing, tent, sleep system not only through the lens of how well they work for the trip I'm planning to take, but how well they work if things to shit and my trip goes sideways. I try to save weight, but in the shoulder seasons in the PNW when things go bad, they go bad fast. A lot of my trips used to be solo too, so I would go a little heavier. I feel like there's more margin in a mummy bag.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
I'm a big quilt user. More versatile than a regular bag, IMO. I'm generally in a hammock with tarp setup or just a tarp/pad/quilt unless we are car camping in which case I'll sometimes use a tent.
I do trend towards the UL side of things when outdoors so that plays a big part in my gear selection.
I also spend most of my time in the southeast so I can get away with less and lighter gear year round.
It's a pretty niche thing unless you're hammock camping when there's no real risk of the weather getting nasty or you're dedicated to the ultralight thing.
I like mine because it's easy to wrap around while I'm getting a fire going in really wet country which can take a minute. Otherwise I've never found it attractive enough to test one out in cold temperatures or potentially cold temperatures. I forget who made mine. It's light and packs nice.
I think you're thinking of a different sort of quilt. They're basically sleeping bags without the backs, more or less. Most of them have footboxes.
I'm mainly a Fall through early Spring camper and use an older Cabelas Alaskan Guide -15deg mummy bag. These days I'm 100% a hammock camper, so I added a light underquilt to my hammock and sleeping bag. That combo keeps me warm down into the upper teens. Getting in and out of a sleeping back in a hammock can be tedious until you figure out a method. Heavier underquilts and a proper top-quilt is better for that, but I'm cheap and already have sleeping bags.
I'm a cold sleeper, hence the heavier bag. I have a +15 deg bag that I use when temps are above 40deg and a 55deg bag that I only use in the summer (when I actually go out in the summer).
It's backpackable too. I put the bag and underquilt, minus the stuff-sacks, into the bottom of my pack (there is a bottom access port) and pack everything on top of that. I've set up camp on hillsides, something you can't do when sleeping on the ground.
I could get onboard with a quilt for ground sleeping, but only in warmer weather (50deg and above). Otherwise, I want a bag that I can snuggle down inside of. My bags also have footwell zips that I can use to stick my "temperature control foot" from if necessary.
From a camp last winter:
Chris
I used a quilt successfully to the mid 30s on various BSA campouts and at Philmont. Any colder that that and I like a more conventional mummy bag. The quilt comes back into play at 15 and below where it augments another bag. I caught both a 30 degree down and synthetic (for my son) on sale as a second in the fall of 2013.
https://enlightenedequipment.com/sleep-systems/
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May depend on the environment/temps. In the typical terrain/environment of the Rocky Mountain West, I would take a traditional bag that I can zip up every time. There tends to be rather significant temperature swings from pre-dawn where it may be 25 degrees, then to the evening where it could be 85 degrees. I have found a bag is simply easier (for me) to stay warm and comfortable.
That looks... great!
From a camp last winter:
Chris
I have a sleeping bag that I use like a top quilt with a homemade primaloft underquilt hammock camping (cause I'm a savage). So, zip the sleeping bag down half to 2/3's of the way, hop in the hammock and stick my feet in the "footbox" and tuck the upper part in around my torso/neck. Works pretty well to accommodating shifting positions during the night. That said, in colder weather, I have been known to roll the zipper to the side or on top, and zip all the way up. As said, its a PITA to get in and out of, but it does cut down on drafts and helps if the underquilt is out of adjustment/drafty.
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