Down sleeping bag to quilt? Anyone?

[mauidiver]

I know it's kind of a silly question but has anyone changed their sleeping bag into a quilt? Since I already have a 800fill down bag, but irritated at how much I slip around on the pad. Has anyone done this before?

 

[Weekender]

I haven't because I don't sew. I do own a quilt and there's really not much to them. Just keep the foot box add a couple attachment points so you can strip to your pad, remove hood and zipper. That pretty much sums up a quilt.

 

[twall13]

I've done it for my hammock setup, but it would certainly work on the ground as well. Mine was a cheap walmart down bag. I took the zippers off and added 4 Oz. of 850 fill down to the baffles. By the time I took the hood and zippers off I still came out of it about an Oz. lighter, even with the additional 4 Oz. of down. Of course, this was an $80 down bag so the components were cheap and heavy to begin with but it's been pretty functional for me. I've taken it down to about 20* comfortably. One thing I would note is that it is wider than most quilts since I didn't take any width off, just the zippers. I personally like that but you could definitely lose some more weight by shortening the width a bit.

It was a messy project but it's been worthwhile for me. I'm not sure I would have tackled it with an expensive bag but it created value for me by adding the down myself.

 

[belly-deep]

Sleep is uncomfortable enough in the backcountry. I can't imagine a quilt being better than a bag, but I've never used one. A cold night could be really miserable.

 

[twall13]

Sleep is uncomfortable enough in the backcountry. I can't imagine a quilt being better than a bag, but I've never used one. A cold night could be really miserable.

It's plenty comfortable in a hammock!

Quilts allow you to move around a bit more comfortably and are typically less weight. If you know how to use it you won't be any more cold than you would be in a similarly rated bag.

 

[colonel00]

I love my quilt(s) but for a lot of different reasons. I never really liked being confined in a bag, especially a mummy bag. However, if just slipping around is your major complaint, have you tried applying a thin layer of silicone to your pad in spots to help the bag "stick"?

 

[tanner68]

I do a lot of backpacking, and changed over to quilts a long time ago. The heavy, bulky, and long zippers on traditional backpacking bags always bugged me. And you don't need all that compressed down underneath you.

Some bags have a baffle divider between top and bottom, so you may want to redistribute the down. I don't know anyone who has done the conversion you are asking about, but if you have the sewing skills, it sounds worthwhile.

 

[mauidiver]

My wife's mom is a master with a sewing machine, so I might give this a try. Thanks for your guys feedback. Going to look for a basic design of one as I've never seen one in person.

 

[Brock A]

Sleep is uncomfortable enough in the backcountry. I can't imagine a quilt being better than a bag, but I've never used one. A cold night could be really miserable.

After about 70 nights in a quilt I'm definitely not going back to a mummy bag anytime soon. Had it in some downright cold temps too. Low teens. No issues.

 

[orionsbrother]

I love my quilt(s) but for a lot of different reasons. I never really liked being confined in a bag, especially a mummy bag. However, if just slipping around is your major complaint, have you tried applying a thin layer of silicone to your pad in spots to help the bag "stick"?

^^^^^^^This. I'm very happy with my quilt, but I think that I'd keep my bag as a bag and pick up a quilt in the future.

 

[Steve O]

Sleep is uncomfortable enough in the backcountry. I can't imagine a quilt being better than a bag, but I've never used one. A cold night could be really miserable.

I run Big Agnes bags. Is there any advantage to the quilt over having the sleeve to contain your pad?

 

[BRWNBR]

i was a sleeping bag fan, then i got my quilt. i am a quilt fan. wasn't sure i'd like the switch, but after a couple nights i just fell in love with my quilt! used it all season, logged about a hundred nights in it last year. only used my sleeping bag when i thought temps would get way below rating for my quilt.

 

[Felix40]

Probably not except that when I was looking to upgrade Big Agnes didn't have any bags that were even close to the same weight as my EE quilt. I sleep better in a quilt than I do in my bed.

 

[belly-deep]

Well maybe I'll have to try a quilt since several of you seem to really like them. What brands/models are you guys using?

 

[beachbunny]

actually , i was looking at my 20 deg slick bag today thinking i could turn it into a quilt.
try it with an old down bag, it is not rocket science.

 

[LBFowler]

I've done it with a few synthetic bags, I just stitched around where I wanted to cut it and then went to town with a pair of scissors.

would be a lot trickier with a down bag, but still doable. transferring the down from the portion you would be removing sounds like a good idea, but would add complexity to the project.
Just make sure you don't hack off too much it can be tricky to guess just how wide you want a quilt to be. I definitely took off a hair too much on one of my tries.

 

[twall13]

Well maybe I'll have to try a quilt since several of you seem to really like them. What brands/models are you guys using?

Check out enlightened equipment or Hammockgear.com. Hammock gear started out specializing in insulation for hammocks and that is still their main clientele but their quilts come standard with attachments for a pad unlike some of the other companies that make insulation specifically for hammocks. I have some of their gear and it's high quality stuff at a slightly more reasonable price than some of the others out there. They make everything custom to your order so it may take a couple weeks but it's worth it IMO.

 

[BRWNBR]

mine is an enlightened equipment, not sure what model. 0 degree and the waterproof panels i think. glad i did 0 degree. it is warmer than a 0 degree sleeping bag i think.

 

[twall13]

mine is an enlightened equipment, not sure what model. 0 degree and the waterproof panels i think. glad i did 0 degree. it is warmer than a 0 degree sleeping bag i think.

Ya the ratings on these quilts are true comfort ratings, they are pretty accurate in my experience.

 

[Brock A]

Well maybe I'll have to try a quilt since several of you seem to really like them. What brands/models are you guys using?

Enlightened Equipment for me.