Help me with my sleep system!

Danggit… subscription only! Sigh.

>Curious, if your quilt keeps you warm to 30 — why not just put on some clothing (e.g. an insulation jacket, etc.) — for an easy 5F boost to the mid-twenties?

That's with the clothing. I never take them off at night, and I generally add a light down sweater when I expect it to get below 20, i.e., really cold.

On the AT a week ago, the temp got down to the mid twenties. With all my clothes, a Nunatak Backcountry blanket, a wool buff over my head, and the down sweater, I never noticed the cold enough to get out the Heetsheets. If I had started with the Heetsheets, I wouldn't have needed the sweater.

Stargazer

" know these changes are pretty basic but they did wonders for me."

Good job, Justin. Sounds like you've got it dialed in really well. A lot of folks overlook eating a calorie dense meal in the evening. The heat generated by digesting it really makes a difference in how warm you sleep. It's not the whole answer, but it definitely helps.

Lori mentioned that her quilt is 20 ounces; my sleeping bag is 19 ounces and keeps me warm into the mid-20s. But whatever. If someone is particularly prone to sleeping cold, insulating your head with a bunch of down is going to keep you warmer, that's just fact. You'll also cut down on drafts–in or out of the bag. You can narrow down the face opening to a blowhole for your mouth. Even using a down balaclava w/a quilt I'm never as warm as I am in a bag.

The WM Ultralite is 29 ounces for a deliciously warm 20*F bag that includes a big, beefy, cinchable draft collar. The Apache is the same cut w/3 ounces more down and a weight of 32 ounces… if you're as prone to cold, I'd just get the Apache and call it good.

If you're still running into problems, and/or you're just looking for other options, the WM Hotsac is a great vapor barrier liner that adds an easy 15*F to a bag, in my cold-sleeping experience. I have found that along with actual increase in comfort/temp, the greater humidity in the VBL makes me feel like I'm sleeping warmer, too. I've successfully used VBLs into the mid-40s; shoot, I actually just slept in an aluminized VBL several nights; can't remember the lows, but probably around 40-ish?

+1

Either way, you should be good down to 20 and, with the addition of a light insulating layer like the Cocoon pullover or a Montbell Extremely Light Don Jacket plus equivalent pants, you should be good at least into the low teens. Caveat: You need to have a correspondingly good pad system, e.g. Thermarest Prolite Plus combined with a Gossamer Gear Thinlite 1/8" pad. You should still save considerable weight over your current system.

"Lori mentioned that her quilt is 20 ounces; my sleeping bag is 19 ounces and keeps me warm into the mid-20s. But whatever"

Give me a sleeping bag that weighs 19 oz that also keeps me warm to 20-25F and it is a fair comparison. Until then all bets are off.

In your next paragraph you quote 29 oz for a WM 20F bag – I would love to have a WM bag! I think they are probably the best quality you can find in bags. But it's still a bag, and for reasons other than warmth, I stick with quilts – they do the job I ask them to. And 29 oz is still 9 oz more than my quilt.

And no, it's not all about me. It's just the difference between warm sleepers and cold ones. I'm jealous! if I were a warmer sleeper I could get away with taking a lighter quilt and less clothing! I don't even pretend to be ultralight. But if someone wants to know if quilts work, they should have info from people who use them as well as people who think they don't work.

Travis,

Cool project. I will look forward to your report. This could be very cool.

Paul

Most of all I have learned that my Marmot Pinnacle at 44 ounces (just under 3 pounds) is a useful tool if things get below 32 degrees and I have a renewed appreciation for it.

I would be paying on the order of $300 or more to get anything that will replace it and cut 10 ounces or so off of my packweight, hard to justify. One of the Western Mountaineering bags or the Marmot Helium would be that sort of thing. However, the Rocky Mountain Sniveler at 28 ounces is still whispering in my ear. My last week long trip with 35 degree nights and camping up around 11,000 feet had me with an 18 pound baseweight – I am scheming on ways to push that down.

As for quilts, I really like the concept, and I often sleep just on my pad with a sleeping bag over me when temperatures allow. I am suspicious that a quilt with a bivy could be a slick arrangement and just might try the experiment.

"I am suspicious that a quilt with a bivy could be a slick arrangement and just might try the experiment."

Maybe you can have your cake and eat it too… Replace your bag with a quilt and bivy. With that, you replace your tent with a tarp to save some weight.