3 Season Bag plus Quilt for Winter Use?

Many will rightly say that carrying two fabric carcasses will automatically weigh more than carrying one fabric carcass with sufficient insulation for the temps.

However, if your individual circumstances favor carrying a modular system such as you describe, it can work out. Sometimes other factors like versatility can outweigh chasing the very lightest weight.

Try it, and see how it works out for you.

Combining bag + quilt can work. I have done both a quilt over and a quilt inside the sleeping bag. Our experience was that the quilt inside the bag (provided there is room for it) was warmer than the quilt over the sleeping bag. Of course, a winter bag/ quilt will be lighter.

–Mark

I would say go for it! That way you have a summer quilt, fall bag and winter combo.

Yes, it might not be the lightest option, but it's cheaper and more versatile.

What about clothing? I already owned a 15F bag when i moved to Minnesota and have used it happily without a shelter below 0F simply by wearing nice warm clothes, which I wanted to have anyway for the non sleeping part of camp time or rest breaks.

I would suggest getting your wife a really warm down jacket, your son a medium warmth one and yourself a light one, that way, you will all be comfortable in the same sleeping bag, as well as in the evening/morning.

Don't forget serious down slippers for your wife, unless you like icy feet on your legs at night!

Absolutely,

While the weight may be worse than carrying a single bag for the rating expected it is a way to use two items that you will use often for the rare times you need the extreme rating. (If you get heavy into winter hiking you will end up with a single bag most likely though.)

The winter before last my son wanted to try snow camping so I put him in his regular 20 F bag and put my Nunatak Arc Alpinist over it. It worked great.

Someday I am going to try my Arc Expedition over my Alpinist to see if I can take that to -20 F or so.

Our two-person three-season quilt with a summer quilt on top worked fine down to 15 degF.