modify sleeping bag to quilt, how, or who?

[Jeff LaVista]

I have this big agnes down bag I want to modify into a quilt. It's a pitchpine sl 40* bag, and I dislike a few features. I want to try quilts and before I run out and buy an expensive one, maybe I can get some more use out of this bag. In its current form its kind of tight, and the half-zip is annoying. I generally hate mummy bags, I like to move my feet a lot when I sleep.

For those not familiar, it is a "top bag" design, with a bottom layer of fabric your body rests on, below that is a pad sleeve. The whole bag hits 17oz, by deleting the zipper, pad sleeve, and bottom sheet of material, I think I can hit 12oz or less. With a granite gear thin-light pad, sub 20oz total sleep system weight, maybe more like 17 if I'm lucky.

Most of this stuff is self explanatory, but I want to remove the draft tube (its on the discarded side of the pad sleeve) and add it to the footbox, for a little extra room to shift while sleeping.

Any ideas? Any shops who do this sort of modifications?

[Joe Clement]

Just cut the sleep pad pocket out, and you should be able to get a pretty good approximation. I haven't been able to find anyone who does a full blown conversion, and I tried, because I wanted to turn my Atom 40 into a quilt. If you dig way back in the archives, there is a how to on there.

[Jeff LaVista]

I want to explore all my options before cutting.

It's got a quantum pertex top shell, quilted construction. Tag says 8.5oz 90% down fill.

Laid out as flat as can be without cutting the bottom out, its about 30" at the neck, 42" at the shoulder, and about 30" again before the sewn footbox forms. There is an additional wedge of down on the pad-sleeve side that is 6" by 22", I want to add this wedge to the footbox for extra room. Not quite sure how yet.

So, its not a big quilt but I also have a full zip + hood nano puff I can wear for additional upper body warmth.

The thin-light I have is 1/4" thick by about 60" long, by 40" wide. Gonna slice one wedge off of it, leaving the bottom edge at 30" and the top edge at 35", and maybe an extra sit pad chunk. I can lay across the diagonal for more space, or fold it in half lengthwise for a smaller, higher r value mostly 1/2" thick pad.

[Matthew Perry]

Jeff,
Give Mat at UK Hammocks a call. He did a great mod on an old Luxurylite V-Bag for me and added down and turned it into a top quilt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFhDEcHf4UY

http://www.ukhammocks.co.uk/

M

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