Bag to Quilt: What is avg weight of full length down bag zipper?

most quilts are not simply down bags with out zippers. They also dont come with a hood, less down, and less fabric as the bag is only big enough to cover the top of you and some bed clothes.

I would say dont remove the zipper from the bag your using.

And I dont really know how much it weighs sorry but if you go to quest outfitters and check out there stock of zippers Im sure you could figure it out pretty easily or atleast close.

Most zippers are between 80-120g but you need to take in account the weight he draft collar.

Now if you cut off the zipper, hood at the baffle and part of one side of the bag you would drop that thing down a little.

Just push all the down to the opposite side of the bag and run a stitch from the foot box up to the top. Essentially sealing in all the down so you can remove some more side fabric. I would think this would also chang the rating and would only work on a continuos baffle bag. also this would not be pretty.

Im NOT suggesting you do this I was just trying thinking of the easiest way to turn a down bag into a quilt and shave as much weight as possible.

Note: Im not a bag maker and have no expierence. I just find this concept interesting.

I'm in the process of converting my USGI patrol bag to a synth quilt. So far, removing the zipper and draft collar has lightened it by several ozs (now under 2lbs) and I still have to remove the hood. In fairness, the USGI patrol bag zipper is probably heavier than what is normally found on a civilian bag.

i initimated but did not state that i have been using this bag "quilt-style" for some time now.

it is 50" wide at the shoulder, the same width as a HammockGear quilt.

it has NO draft tube.

so for me it's somewhat quilt-like already…and i own other down bags…thus my line of thinking.

being able to shave 3-4 ounces off is interesting…

YKK #5 coil weigh just under a quarter ounce per running foot.
YKK #2,5-3 coil zips weigh .1 to .12 oz per foot.
Then add the weight of the slider(s) which depend on the # of them and whether you remove the metal pulls and subsitute cord pulls.
Also, to completely separate the zip, a joiner piece and spur on the zip are required – most sleeping bag zips come with them already installed. But as I learned from posting a recent thread on this forum, #3 completely separating COIL zips could not be found in sleeping bag length.

So, a five foot #2.5-3 coil zipper on a quilt with a closed box foot would weigh about .6 oz, with .1 to .13 oz added for one double pull slider, depending on whether the pulls were removed and subsituted with light cord. The zipper would not totally separate, which would be a problem only if you wanted to mate the quilt with another like it. You could add a second pull at the foot end for ventilation around your feet while the quilt is zipped up. That would add another .1 to .13 oz. Altogether, a bit under an ounce total.

Please note: What Quest Outfitters sells as #3 YKK coil weighs about .1 oz/ft, and what Warmlite sells as #2.5 YKK coil weighs about .12 oz/ft, and appears sturdier. No clue why the lower number is heavier and sturdier. Usually, it is the other way around.

samuel,
thanks for the info but it leaves me confused.

my q is, how much wt can i save by removing the zipper entirely from my bag?

r u saying "less than one ounce"?

before discussing what i would replace it with [footbox snaps probably] i am asking what does the zipper ensemble weigh?

the dimensions of this older WM bag are not unlike many top quilts, the major diff being the zipper, thus the query.

I just weighed a three foot long, two way jacket zipper. Made of #5 Vislon teeth, metal sliders, metal pulls. Two of them, and a rubber band holding them together, weigh 62 grams, 2.2 oz. That's pretty much the best you could do. Coil zippers are lighter, so are most slides.