Why Choose a Quilt Over a Bag?

Price. Comfort. Weight. The corners of the Backpacking Triangle :)

You can only pick 2.

As the great philosopher, Meat Loaf, would say. Two out of three ain’t bad. :)

Some people would be miserable just using a tarp and a sheet of Tyvek, but they can find lightweight walled tents that make them happy.

Others probably watch Naked and Afraid and yell, “WHY ARE YOU OUT THERE WITH ALL THAT HAIR? SHAVE YOUR HEAD AND SAVE 3 OUNCES!!!”

If you are happy with your current bag, stay with it.

I’m one of those folks who was never comfortable in a mummy. When I heard of quilts I had an immediate “ah, yes, that is for me!” response (same with hammocks and hiking poles). My quilt makes me happy. I have never yet been cold in it (a 20 degree EE that I’ve taken down to freezing once).

If you are happy with your current bag, stay with it.

+100

And this goes for the whole kit. And the kaboodle. ;^)

Recently there was one of the “critique my gear list” threads and the OP explained that he knew about the lighter options and had used some of them but for various personal reasons opted for heavier stuff for comfort, packing flexibility and reducing the futz factor. Overall the list was complete.

There was a lot of stuff on his list for which I would have chosen something much lighter in weight—for instance, a 52oz (!!) pack—but his rationale for carrying various items was sound.

So if somebody wants to carry that much stuff it’s none of my business. On the trail I don’t proselytize about UL but will definitely opine if a heavy-hauler brings it up. But, as others have noted ad infinitum, this IS BackpackingLight and people are going to recommend lighter stuff if you ask.

“Sell items online, have the buyers transfer funds into your personal PayPal account, buy items with the funds in PayPal, and have items shipped to work.  I have no idea why I know this :)”

Then break out new gear on hike with spouse who asks when you got THAT followed by stinkeye look.  So I’ve heard.

In addition to others’ thoughts, I like using a quilt because:

I can rotate UNDER it instead of winding a sleeping bag around me.

If there’s no zipper, it can’t end up under me (and no zipper and no zipper baffle means less weight).

It is more durable for a given weight of fabric: I don’t stress my quilt as much as I do a sleeping bag.  If I draw my knees up too far in a sleeping bag or get wrapped up in it, I’m stressing the seams and the fabric.  So I’m more comfortable with a very light fabric on a quilt.
And that light fabric feels like a warm, gentle cloud resting on me instead of, at times, being squeezed by a sleeping bag.

I will go against the grain a bit and say I like a bag better than a quilt.  I’m at the point my UL life where the fiddle factor of some items is just not worth a *small* amount of weight savings.  Even the weight savings can be reduced to zero by picking a wide quilt which is a very common choice.

With that said, my absolute favorite is more of a hybrid between a bag and a quilt. Hoodless with a half zip underneath.

Aside from the many practical advantages of a quilt, also it’s REALLY EASY to sew your own synthetic quilt and save a bundle!

In fact, it’s a beginner MYOG project, either from a kit or from instructions on the web and suppliers of material such as OWF.  Note that synthetic bags are not that much more difficult, but maybe not a beginner project.

Now down quilts and bags are a different story…

I am an ASM and have made the jump to a quilt. Mine is a 20 degree EE and I use it year round. The quilt will keep you warm. It’s the R value of the pad that you have to deal with. I usually just use a wally world blue pad. If the weather is going to drop below 30 I use a different pad.