Originally Posted by
BrianWillan
Greetings Indy
The short answer to your question is yes. An old sleeping bag can be cut down to make an underquilt. Lots of people have done it. I would say do a search for details, however, the built in search feature doesn't work well for me. I find using the advanced search function of google and specifying hammockforums.net in the site box tends to produce the search results I am looking for.
Do realize that if you are using an old synthetic sleeping bag or a lower quality down sleeping bag, there will be a weight and compressibility penalty. That is generally only a problem when backpacking to your hanging sites.
As for sizes, to make, it depends on whether or not you want a partial length or full length underquilt. In the bottom insulation section, there is a thread that contains a quilt comparison chart to all of the commercially produced underquilts that details all their specs, so that should be good place to start.
If you also haven't considered it, look at the MollyMac Gear Insultex underquilts. They are synthetic, light weight, and compress quite well and they are quite affordable in comparison to down made quilts.
Cheers
Brian
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