QUILT ADVICE PLEASE…PROS AND CONS….BRANDS

There is a lot of info on Bpl just by searching for quilt vs bag, I use both bags and quilts and both have a time and place, an enlightened equipment x model seems to give the best value for money.

You might also look under the gear reviews forum under "Quilts and top bags"

Converting a sleeping bag to a quilt is pretty simple. I tried it with a $30 USGI patrol bag and discovered it wasn't for me. Hammock gear, Enlightened Equipment, Katabatic, and Jacks R Better are a good place to start comparison shopping.

Zpacks makes a sort of very light in-between that is basically a sleeping bag with no hood and no bottom insulation.

an unzipped sleeping bag is more or less as a quilt…
Try it for at least one night and see if that works for you.

Found some more.

Eagles Nest Outfitters
Washington Quilt Co

+1 on everything Scott said about Enlightened Equipment, I have 2 of his quilts and they are spectacular. I'll very likely be buying a third as soon as the "Enigma" is available. I still have a MontBell ULSS3 in my gear closet that I haven't used since getting a quilt from EE.

Today is Enigma training day! Next week we will sew a batch to iron out the kinks then look for them on the new site which fingers crossed should be by 10/25

-Tim

Don't buy a quilt from an outfit that specializes in sleeping solutions for hammocks. Hangers and grounders have different needs.

Your quilt needs to drape over your shoulders with enough left-over to easily cover you when you are laying on your side.

Your quilt should have some gizmos built in to help you attach it to a pad if desired.

A drawstring at the head is nice when it is very cold.

3-season quilts are usually rated to 20*F, which is more than enough unless you are winter camping.

A sewn-in footbox greatly improves cold-weather performance but gets in the way on a warm night.

Trying an unzipped down mummy bag is a good idea. Get a good pad, lay the bag out quilt style and spend a night in the backyard to see what you think.

A large 3-season quilt will come in at around 24oz or so. Good quilts are 850+ down.

http://hikinginfinland.com/2010/11/quilt-101.html

maybe this will help

FWIW, The Stateless Society (me) doesn't make quilts anymore, and the Cyanocitta was a special style I only made a few of for TiGoat and a few customs.

What someone mentioned about not buying a hammock quilt for ground sleeping is true. Honestly many (most) quilts even made for ground sleepers are too narrow, unless they're contoured and have a system to retain the quilt around the body like the Katabatic designs. The more contoured however, the less "versatility" in sleep style however.

Since I recently started using inflatable pads, I've realized that for a flat quilt to drape properly and not require constant adjustment, you need even *more* width than I realized, since the thicker pads sides encourage drafting when the quilt hangs down off those sides instead of laying down on a ccf pad or the ground around it.

Since someone mentioned Warbonnet (yes they are a hammock company) I had a chance to handle one of their quilts when Chris W. was doing an article on quilts a year or two ago, and I have to say it, and the Katabatics were the ones that stood out to me as having the best workmanship.

If you got them to make you a quilt to your height requirements with the same width as their "wide" top quilt, I think you'd be very happy with it for 3-season use.

For winter, the more I spend out on winter trips, the more i realize that a standard flat quilt without some advanced draft protection is just a horrible night's sleep waiting to happen. If you're a back sleeper, a Katabatic style quilt is probably an exception to this when utilizing the rigging, but I'm of the opinion that below 20 deg a flat bodied quilt starts to be seriously inefficient.

I did make some models (like the cyanocitta) that to greater or lesser degree alleviated this issue, but I never settled on a design I was 100% happy with, especially once dealing with 10 degree F or colder temps.

Hammocks are an exception to this rule however, since the hammock bodies tend to keep the quilt neatly on top of your body no matter how you lay, and need much less width because of that. I'm confident that with adequate bottom insulation, you could take a hammock to any reasonable temp desirable.

I am medium build and never got on with quilts until Tim Marshall introduced his 58" wide models, now I love them.

I like a zipper on my quilt personally. Helps with drafts and ease of rolling around.

I have an MLD Sprit 48 which I used frequently over the summer. The workmanship is impeccable but I do find the 50" width to be limiting.

It has been great in a hammock in the 50s and 60s.

My first use was in May in the Emigrant and was interesting as I misjudged the temperatures. It worked down to freezing with all my clothes and a space blanket, no bivy and using a tarp as a a lean-to. I don't recommend this, it was barely adequate due to the width and my tendency to thrash around while sleeping. I learned that some form of wind-block was essential. The hammock provides this as would a bivy although it is still frustrating to vent much of your heat rolling over.

Making your own quilt is probably simple enough for a sewing project that I would suggest trying that route to experiment with. 5 oz Apex or Climashield and appropriate shell materials are both cheap and light enough that you would be able to decide for yourself if it works for you. The worst that can happen is that your first effort is heavier than you anticipate while remaining functional for most three season trips.

I like a semi rectangular, hoodless sleeping bag. Mine is an overstuffed MW Mitylite. Unzip the top zipper and you still have a zippered footbox quilt. Too drafty? Zip up. Still too hot? Unzip both zippers and use as a flat quilt. A little heavier sure. But it is such a versatile piece of kit. I use it hanging or on the ground for 3+ season use.

A quilt with UL fabrics and 900+ fill down has some advantages over a bag.

It weighs less usually. So when unzipped totally and draped over you, it ventillates much better in warmer or humid conditions.

I would not consider a quilt with a totally sewn footbox. That would take away some of the versatility. Akin to using a sleeping bag with 3/4 zip as a quilt. Much poorer ventillation and much hotter in marginal conditions.

I wont buy a sleeping bag either that doesnt unzip almost all the way either so it can be used as a quilt.

There can be a 20F difference or more from the time you go to bed, till early morning sometimes. You have to be able to handle it with your sleep system, especially in humid environment or you will be uncomfortable. With a quilt, that includes closing up the footbox and snugging it up around you tight, and possibly putting on a hat or down hood too.