Quilts, pads and side sleepers

How wide is your quilt and your pad? I don’t use pad straps, I am side sleeper, and I do a lot of tossing and turning. With a wide quilt, clips (two sets) on the bottom of the quilt connected, and a 25″ pad, I can usually move in the bag without inducing drafts. Every now and then I will have to adjust the quilt. I found this was impossible with a regular width quilt and 20″ wide pad and I’m 5’8″ and 150 lbs. If I slept on my back and didn’t move when I slept, I was say it would be doable.

I don’t think there’s any right way to get comfortable. Most quilts I’ve seen, and both of those I’ve owned, had strap attachments at waist and chest height, so my legs were free to curl up or stretch out, as I wanted. I sleep on my side and toss and turn a lot, and the straps didn’t prevent that. The actual cut/sizing of the quilt relative to my body shape has a lot more to do with keeping drafts out than anchoring it to my pad.

Some quilts are wider than others, e.g., the Katabatic Flex and the Therm-a-rest Vesper are 58″ wide, while the EE Revelation is only 54″ at the shoulder…something to consider when buying a quilt.

As a fellow tossing and turning side sleeper that has successfully made the transition to quilts, I have found that for me a wide pad and/or wide quilt is necessary.  I do not attach my quilt to the pad as the quilt’s main attraction for me is the freedom of movement.  I simply use a couple of pieces of shock cord with my Katabatic flex quilt to gather the back together and I can roll around to my hearts content.   With my WM Astralite quilt (latest version) I just clip the attached short buckles together for cold nights.

For single digits and below, I move back to a sleeping bag but it’s a very roomy WM Kodiak that allows for all kinds of movement including changing clothes inside it.

Side sleeper toss and turner here too. I use the straps to close the quilt up. I don’t use the straps that attach the quilt to the pad.  Too confining for me.  I’m 6’4” about 230lbs.  I have a wide Katabatic Flex and wide pad.  I wouldn’t want the quilt any narrower.   I find snapping the the button on the top and using the bottom strap is usually sufficient to keep any drafts out while still being able to turn inside the quilt.  The elastic edges on the Katabatic also help.  Highly recommend some type of edge tensioning to help keep drafts at bay.  Also have a Gryphon Gear that is 64” width. Almost swimming in it but easy to tuck underneath without straps.

Been using quilts for 14 years. Never attached the quilt to the mat.   Just tuck the sides under me. I use a stretchy cord n mini cordlock behind my back to cinch up to keep it closer when cold.

I toss n turn under/within it, like I do in bed at home.

But I use a bag if temperatures much under freezing

I am new to quilts. I have used my new 20 quilt on two winter snowshoe backpacking trips. I did not use the straps. When I flip from side to back, side to other side, in my half awakened state I just hold the edge of the quilt to the sleeping pad so that the quilt stays in place as I twist and turn. No drafts, no problems. 27 degrees in the tent, no drafts inside my quilt. Happy camper! I ought to mention that this quilt is wider than the “correct” size wrt my body. In other words, I intentionally bought a quilt that was wider so I’d have more room to move around inside the quilt, and can tuck the sides under me and still have room to spare.

I don’t have much of a problem with drafts, and I toss and turn all night and always end up on my side (or worse)…but as was mentioned above, I shift to warmer, more confined bags when it gets chilly.

I concur with all the others who recommended a wide quilt. I am 5’10” and 150 pounds, so I’m not a very big guy, and I don’t know how I would have managed my rotisserie sleeping style if I didn’t have the extra width. That being said, I recently bought a Feathered Friends Tanager and think I might be sold. It’s lighter and warmer than my Katabatic quilt and I don’t need to worry about drafts.

Fellow side sleeper and occasional turner when I need a new side…. lol

Wide quilt and just recently got a wide pad, specifically the exped hl mw, 25″ at the shoulders.

I’ve always attached to the pad, haven’t had an issue if I get it tight enough but I might try not going to the pad…. would be afraid of completing turning with me and exposing my side or back……

My problem is a pillow!

I think as the other posters said, sizing is key.  I’m 6’2 and 225, with pretty broad shoulders, and I bought a UGQ X Wide, tall (65″ wide, 78″ tall) 10F quilt and have never used the pad straps, One night at -10 C (around 10 ish F) I felt a bit of cold air a couple times after repositioning.  I ordered no taper, and in hindsight, I wish I would have ordered a custom 1/2 taper – It feels a little bulky and baggy at the foot, even though I move around a lot…

I think my experience is much the same as the reports above.  I sleep on my right side for 60 minutes, then on my left side, then move to my back, then start all over.

I switched to a quilt about 10 years ago. I had Ron at MLD make mine a bit wide because side sleepers had reported better comfort with wider quilts.

I too do not use the strappy things. I just fold the quilt under me and when I turn, keep it around me. I usually am under a tarp or a pyramid. So between 30 and 40 degrees, I am in a bivy sack which stops the drafts.

When I expect the temps to drop much below 30, I pull out the down mummy bag.

I sew the two sides together with fabric and put my sleeping pad on top.  That stabilizes the quilt.  48 inch wide is plenty.  Maybe a couple inches wider.

I have a UGQ and love it but since finding the pleasures on Zenbivy, rarely use the UGQ these days.

I use a silk liner when I use a quilt which helps with the drafts.