So what's the deal with quilts?

bulgron

bulgron

Joined
May 19, 2005
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I'm curious about the quilts that some minimalist backpackers apparently carry. Why are these considered to be superior to a sleeping bag? Are they lighter? Pack smaller? Warmer? What?

I just bought an REI Aura sleeping bag. It's a 2lb 15oz bag that is rated to 25 degrees. Tell me why I should have bought a quilt instead. I'm curious. :D
 
Lighter, pack smaller and the insulation under you in the sleeping bag does virtually nothing so it's wasted material anyway.
 
JoeLightcap said:
Lighter, pack smaller and the insulation under you in the sleeping bag does virtually nothing so it's wasted material anyway.
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Does the part about insulation under you doing nothing apply strictly in warm environments, Joe? I had always heard that the ground conducts heat rapidly and if the ground is colder than the body it drains a person of heat asap. Just checking.
 
Big time the ground will sap the heat from you. When I was a kid ( some where the battle of hastings and the internet arriving) I was told by my Grandfather to sleep on the "Sydney Morning herald" ( a large broadsheet news paper) since my early camping days also preceeds the arrival of closed cell mats.
So open the news papaer up and layer it out for your body length. It does nothing for comfort but does stop the heat loss. What keeps yopu warm with a sleeping bag and other insulators except reflectors is the "loft" the small pockets of air trapped in amongst the fibers of the fill. When you lay in a sleeping bag you squash the loft out hence no insulation.
Carl
 
I don't think the insulation on the bottom of a sleeping bag does a whole lot of insulating for conduction. That is what the sleeping pad is for. Years ago GoLite came out with a sleeping bag that had the bottom cutoff and you would just velcro the sleeping bag to the sleeping pad. Supposedly worked great. Big Agnes makes a high-end sleeping bag that has a sleeve on the bottom of the bag in place of insultation and you just slide the sleeping pad into the sleep on the bottom of the sleeping bag.
 
the insulation under you gets compressed so it's loosing a lot of efficiency.

sleeping bag ratings are also done on a pad and in a tent... so basically out of the wind and in the microclimate of the tent, which will retain some heat if it's closed up.

but i toss and turn. i can't stand sleeping bag liners and i don't ting a bag with insulation on only one side that had to be connected to a pad would work well for me.

i have used USGI poncho liners or "woobies" on occasion, but i think my cats shredded the last one i had... and they take a long time to break in so they don't make noise.

a quilt may work for some people... hard to say if it will work for YOU until you try it.
 
I have used down comforters from the Goodwill stores and just wrap them around me as needed. Not bad for less than ten bucks. When home, I just sleep on top of the bed covers and throw it over me. I don't like the weight of blankets and it drives the wife crazy.
 
Not sure about ground dwealers, but when hanging in a hammock they rock! Both normal quilts and under quilts, which go on the outside of the hammock itself so as to not compress the insulation.

Have you ever tried to get into or out of a hammock in a sleeping bag, there are two ways, fight it and get out all pissed off or just fall out!
 
The reason a lot of people like the quilts is because in a conventional sleeping bag, the insulation under you is crushed, rendering it useless. So, you are essentially carrying around all that extra material and insulation for nothing.

A quilt is just a sleeping bag that gets rid of the useless material and insulation.

To stop heat loss do to ground contact, you should be sleeping on a pad. If you are sleeping directly on the ground however, I guess that little bit of material under you in a conventional sleeping bag, may offer some slight advantage, but you should really be on a pad anyway.

Personally, I have a conventional sleeping bag, and since I payed a lot for it(800 fill down), it is unlikely I would be able to convince the wife to let me buy a custom down quilt. I REALLY want one though! Just like I really want that $350 tent my wife wont let me buy, even if it does save me 3lbs...
 
stingray4540 said:
Personally, I have a conventional sleeping bag, and since I payed a lot for it(800 fill down), it is unlikely I would be able to convince the wife to let me buy a custom down quilt. I REALLY want one though! Just like I really want that $350 tent my wife wont let me buy, even if it does save me 3lbs...
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Pants... wear them! :D

JK, JK. You could convert that down bag into a quilt if you wanted to. It would make for an interesting DIY project. As for myself, I spin too much through the night to use a quilt, though it might work if I had someting on the quilt like pad straps to emulate the BA sleeve on the bottom.

As always, use what you like and like what you use!
 
stingray4540 said:
A quilt is just a sleeping bag that gets rid of the useless material and insulation.
Click to expand...

Ah, now the picture becomes clear. Here I was thinking of the kind of quilt my grandmother and her buddies used to sit around and sew. It had me truly puzzled.

Losing the portion of the sleeping bag that is under you also makes sense from a weight savings perspective. I've always used a sleeping bag, though, so I'm not sure how well that strategy would work for me.

Thanks for all the replies. You've certainly given me some things to think about.
 
Ive used a woobie for years now.....I never liked being zipped up in a sleeping bag, so I always ended up using em like a quilt anyways. Plus in a hammock, they just rock.
 
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