General Help. Newbie. Sleeping Bag

If you want to try out a quilt without spending a lot of $ then build a 2.5oz per yd Climashield Apex summer quilt.

Fabric – ripstop by the roll just got in what they call membrane fabric which weighs .66 oz per SY and cost $8 per running yard.

You need 2.5-3 yards of the insulation and double that for the fabric of course depending on your height.
You can make a drawsting foot box type in about 2-3 hours. Basically just a large rectangle.

I am tall and I like my quilts wide to help with drafts so it takes me 3 SY of Apex and 6 yards of fabric.

In my case that would cost $78 and would weigh 12 oz.

I use mine everywhere, couch, sleep sometimes, hammock, hiking etc.

If you build a square drawstring quilt and put a neck slit halfway down you can use it in the summer as an insulated poncho vest/jacket.

Brendan, you're getting great advice. I can tell you from experience, if you go for "cheap" you'll end up buying that…and then what you should have got in the first place.

If you want to save money, keep a close eye on the gearswap forum here. Every single thing I've ever wanted has come up for sale on Gearswap at one time or another. So if you have time, buy it that way. That way, you get the top quality you want, for probably about 50% of the price of new, and you can re-sell it for what you have into it if it turns out that it's not for you.

My first bag was an inexpensive Kelty Cosmic Down 20. But it doesn't have enough room in the foot box and I seriously question the rating- I replaced it after one season. My next bag was a Western Mountaineering Versalite that I got used on Fleabay. A down wash cleaned it and fluffed it like new, and I love it and it remains my bag of choice year round. If I were shopping right now for a bag, it would be a tossup whether I'd go with a Z-Packs hoodless 20° or a WM Versalite again. But I definitely would stay with the good stuff for my sleeping bag. And I do see WM and ZPacks bags routinely on the Gearswap here.

Thanks everyone! The advice has been top notch.
I am going on a weekend trip next week. I will be using the same 1970's North Face mummy bag that I have used in the past. This time I will try different methods and really examine what I like and do not like.

From there I should be able to narrow down if I want a bag or quilt. I typically sleep on my back but tend to fall asleep on my side.

What I am looking for in a bag/ quilt is quality. How long will it last, ect.

Lori and Brendan. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression when I advised keeping the GF happy. Not meant to be condescending in any manner. I have spent the last 25 yrs doing the best I can to keep my lovely bride happy and hope to do so for another 25. A flower she is for sure, fragile, not so much. She has never faltered on any adventure we have undertaken. More than I can say for myself :)

apologies, jimmyb

No need for an apology! I can see how me saying " I am bringing my girlfriend" would raise such opinions. Fact is, she is more willing to be in the backcountry than I am!

Feathered Friends and Western Mountaineering both make some really nice rectangular bags that open up all the way into a quilt. They're heavier than quilts from EE or Zpacks or the like, but FF and WM are highly regarded and make last-a-lifetime products. My husband and I have a FF Puffin 20 and it is so ridiculously comfortable that it is almost always worth the weight, and it makes a palace of a one-person bag when zipped up. I think it weighs about the same as our two one person quilts combined, but it is way, way warmer. With our one-person quilts we're good down to around 32F, with the FF we've slept comfortably at 10F in winter-weight baselayers and proper headwear.

I also looked at the WM Alder and Ponderosa–similar specs to the Puffin Nano series. The Nunatak Backcountry Blanket is another good two-person option. Also, Underground Quilts is making some sweet "backcountry comforters" that I'm very tempted to try out…