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is this bag a good candidate for a quilt conversion?
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Oct 7, 2009 at 6:56 pm #1240016
I see that Tim M offers a bag -> quilt conversion service and got me thinking a little :)
I have a circa late 80's NF down bag- rated at 35 degrees iirc- one of the lighter bags at the time- right at 2 lbs (maybe a oz or two more)- I'm thinking probably 650 fill (pure guess)- it's a continuous baffle design.
my main objective in considering this option is to get a quilt/bag that would work well w/ a small pack (Ion)- so it will need to be pretty small when compressed- in it's current state it certainly wouldn't do the trick- I have a Marmot Hydrogen that is a bit closer, but looking for something smaller yet.
this would be a summer only bag/quilt used in conjunction w/ a breathable bivy – something rated at around 40 would do the trick
if this were a newer (better) bag I'd just try and sell it and buy a new quilt, but thought this might be a way around spending a bunch of doe ray me on a new lightweight quilt
I can send Tim an email as well, but thought he might pop in anyways and maybe someone else was considering something similar
thanks in advance
Mike
Oct 7, 2009 at 7:07 pm #1534088Send in the Hydrogen, if it is long enough Probably one of the best bags to be converted, with it's continuous baffles, matching color sides, and ultralight pertex shell.
Oct 7, 2009 at 7:14 pm #1534090I'd rather put my circa late 80's bag under the knife :)
does the donor bag need to be a little longer than normal to convert to a quilt?
both bags fit about just right currently- not too long, not too short
Oct 8, 2009 at 7:43 am #1534225removing the hood and zipper/draft tube will reduce some oz but it won't take too much bulk out. 650down is pretty bulky compared to the 800+ stuff.
-Tim
Oct 8, 2009 at 12:05 pm #1534317Tim- thanks for replying to the thread
I'm thinking this still might be a viable option as dropping some weight and some volume (albeit maybe not a lot) combined w/ more willingness on my part to compress an older bag a little more than I might not normally- might (lots of mights :) ) got me to where I want to be.
Obviously w/ a small pack, trip length isn't going to be long- 2-3 days and probably not a lot of trips in the year- most of my trips will be done w/ my wife where I'll be toting a bigger pack (and bag)- so I don't think much undo harm will come of the bag.
If I'm missing the mark (or anything else for that matter)- please feel free to correct me :)
Oct 8, 2009 at 12:22 pm #1534329i compress the utter hell out of down gear. If you aren;t going to compress down it is a waste of money i say, just go synthetic. I really stuff down hard.
-Tim
Oct 8, 2009 at 12:35 pm #1534336that's very good to hear :)
I think I had better first give the old bag a good washing (found some great tips on the site) and see how it responds- it's definitely loss some loft, but has never been washed either- so hoping it "bounces back" a little.
Tim- if the bag currently fits just about right- do I have any worries on length once it's a quilt? w/ just the hood alone coming off it seems like I should be good to go, but may be missing something as I've never used a quilt
Oct 8, 2009 at 11:23 pm #1534561it will get shorter as i need to make a new top edge to cleanly remove the hood and tie it all together.
-Tim
Oct 9, 2009 at 6:32 am #1534595Tim- ballpark on how much shorter?
thanks
Oct 9, 2009 at 8:34 am #1534651should only be an inch or so. On the Apache conversion i was able to keep the liner length fully intact.
-Tim
Oct 9, 2009 at 11:41 am #1534717danke
Feb 4, 2010 at 5:41 pm #1569919I should update this thread- some time ago I found a real steal on a used marmot Atom long, I had Tim do a conversion on it and it came out beautifully! the original weight was 25 oz, it's now a svelte 18 oz :)
I'm sure it packs a little smaller, but not noticeably so
thanks Tim
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