I'm a quilt guy but I use a hammock :-) I also use the quilt with a Thermarest xlite when I'm above timberline and have to go to ground. It works great. Like others have said, I just spin around underneath it. If you're concerned about it lifting, have the manufacturer install pad clips that hold the quilt edges down around the mattress. You can use shirt stays to do the same thing. It makes the quilt and pad a single unit.
If you look at quilts, I have to suggest you look at Loco Libre. George custom builds absolutely great quilts with the ability to customize as you wish. I have one of his 20 degree Ghost Peppers (and a Habanero UQ) that have worked great down into the 20's. The Ghost pepper weighs 20 ounces. Other manufacturers to look at include Hammock Gear Burrows, EE, Jacks R better. Mostly cottage industry folks with great customer service (but usually long lead times, other than some comapnies that are starting to make and stock the more popular configurations.
YMMV
Agree with those saying quilts are in fact better for restless sleepers. But that's my opinion... from my own experiences. I guess I'm confused by the disdain for quilts - Is that from actual personal experience or from some old guard mentality?? I used mummies for years...and slept like hell. I switched to a quilt and I sleep so much more soundly. Why? Because I struggle with movement AND temperature. Mummy bags would end up twisting with me until it woke me up. Or I'd wake up sweating. A large and wide quilt literally is like my comforter at home...if I'm hot I kick a leg out. If I'm cold I strap it down.
Again...i say this from actual personal experience with both. Everyone is different but if you have the chance I HIGHLY recommend testing a quilt (and not the Costco one) and making your own decision.
Ps get a good pad with a quilt and it literally feels like home!!
Hi there! Interested in the Western Mountaineering bags, however I prefer a rectangle shape because I sleep on my stomach and flip flop often. The rectangular bags are pretty big! 6' is the smallest, I'm only 5'1 and the bag I have now is a "short" Kelty and is the perfect length! Any ideas were I can find a shorter version of these awesome bags? I don't need the extra weight!
Try REI. Here is a selection of Kelty Bags.
Blackheart
Layering works for clothing, so it should work for sleeping systems as well. Here's what I'm bringing on my 2018 NoBo through-hike:
- Marmot Cloudbreak 30 synthetic mummy bag (31 oz.)
- silk mummy inner liner (3.4 oz.)
- SOL Escape Bivvy outer liner (8.3 oz.)
This works for me because I don't need a lot of room; I've got short legs and fit in all of these. The Escape Bivvy is there for two reasons: (1) emergency use if something bad (drop in a stream sort of bad) happens to my sleeping bag, and (2) cold in the GSMNP, which proudly features icebox-style shelters they want you to use instead of your own snug tent. The Escape Bivvy is narrow, but the Cloudbreak 30 is a narrow mummy bag that's contoured to keep the weight under 2 lbs. so it fits inside this bivvy. And while I fit inside all of these, actually getting into bed will constitute my nightly limbering-up exercises: the Cloudbreak 30 has a left zipper; the Escape Bivvy has a right zipper; and the silk liner has no zipper.
I may use all three layers at the (late winter) start of my hike, omit the bivvy after the Smokies, then in summer sleep in the liner on top of the sleeping bag.
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There usually a marmot Helium on BPL classifieds for around $240 or so. It's 2lbs 2 ozs I think? Down, but water resistant coated. Rated to 15F
IMO the Western Mountaineering Summerlite is an awesome three season bag. 32 degree bag weighing in at 18-19oz if you prefer a sleeping bag.
If you are a cold sleeper and those nights get down to or below 32 degrees you can wear clothes to sleep in. Before I switched to a quilt my most recent three season bag was a Summerlite. I used that baby in conjunction with my base layer all the way down to 15 degrees! Above 32 degrees I usually have to keep the zipper open so I don't sweat through. I've woken up with frost at the bottom before if I don't vent!
Top quilts are an entirely different topic. I hammock and ground/shelter sleep with absolute comfort utilizing a top quilt. The quilt doesn't allow drafts in and can be easily modified/adjusted if warm or cold. If in the hammock I wear clothing too when it gets cold and on those really cold nights; sub 15 degrees; I add an under quilt if hammock hanging.
The proper answer is to know your sleeping habits then choose. Then go out and use your gear. Decide whether or not that 20/25 degree bag is worth the extra weight and comfort vs. that 32 degree bag. Folks go overboard on the temp rating vs. weight, comfort etc. when in reality they rarely need a bag rated for the temp they have. Equate this to back pack sizing or food selection. Folks always go crazy big when in reality all is needed is a little.
"I choose to carry very little, but that little is chosen with care." Earl V. Shaffer
Pretty certain it was Feathered Friends who, back in the 1970s had an ad campaign going that was based on the following Statement (or something quite close):
"Feathered Friends, we make the most expensive bags available. If you find a more expensive brand, let us know, we will gladly raise our price!"
Tongue in cheek, for sure, but they DO make quality gear and you pay for the quality. Personally, I have Western Mountaineering and Marmot down bags, but would not hesitate to buy a Feathered Friends, either.
Look at Marmot Phase 20 - my friend is using it. This is a classic mummy bag complete with the cozy down-filled hood. The internal stash pocket keeps headphones or earplugs close by, and the full-length zipper has a draft tube to prevent wind from penetrating. Very comfortable, reliable and lightweight - 1.5lbs.
As a person who lives in a hot climate, I'll also be one of those idiots joining you on a hike in the snow in early March. My sleeping bag is a Zpacks 20 degree long with wide top. (extra room in case I need to stuff a fat chick inside to keep me warm) It's untested as it's mid-winter here and I walk around without my shirt off. It's very puffy and jamming it in its stuff sack takes ingenuity.
Western Mountaineering ~ 20F ~ 1lb 12oz <--- for a 5'6" person, $485
Western Mountaineering ~ 25F ~ 1lb 11oz <--- for a 5'6" person, $470
Marmot Sawtooth 15 ~ 15F ~ 2lb 11oz <--- ~ $200 on the REI sale
North Face Hyper Cat ~ 20F ~ 1lb 14oz <--- $240
Big Agnes Boot Jack ~ 24F ~ 2 lb 6oz <--- $190
I'd probably go with the NF bag, for $50 more than the BA or Marmot, you save half a pound or more. I've also personally had good luck with NF bags.
i love the quote.
That said, I actually bought a Loco Libre quilt.
My wife will probably buy a Magma.
We both have down bags, but my Marmot and her older REI are heavy and not that warm.
we both have lighter quilts (at 16 ounces of 850 fill) and those are fine for warmer weather. But layering up for colder weather gets into real weight quickly. Just changing out base layers added more than a pound. (So we skipped the heavier base layer approach).
Or the secondary quilt layer was a pound each.
It is so easy to take something too light for the weather and turn it into a four pound system when a two pound bag or quilt would have been warmer.
I can happily recommend MidAtlantic Mountain works and Loco libre quilts
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and it looks like the lead time is reasonable.
http://www.locolibregear.com/current-lead-times-1.html
assuming he delivers within the estimates.
Consider an EE quilt, we used Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilts (10* for Caboose and 20* for me) in temps from 8* to 65*. They were perfect for a one size fits 98% of the nights solution. I do love Western Mountaineering bags as well, I have a Caribou MF that's practically a work of art. Can't go wrong either way really.
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates