Overquilt?

[aceatc]

What's an overquilt exactly? (Yeah I'm stupid)

When you guys talk about overquilts do you mean just bringing your sleeping bag and using that as a blanket or bringing an actual quilt to be used in the hammock?


( Oh boy, the hammock gods are laughing at me now )

[Just Jeff]

Overquilt is just a top quilt. Some folks use their sleeping bags as quilts, but there are also special quilts made just for camping. It's really just a blanket made out of sleeping bag materials...no idea why they call it a quilt instead of a camping blanket. They usually have a foot pocket, but other than that it's just a blanket.

[T-Dubs]

That sounds just like the ones I made. Footbox, no zipper, not quilted but sewn-through every 12" or so to keep the filling in place. I carried both but used one as a pillow (in reserve, just in case).

Tom

[Cannibal]

They usually have a foot pocket, but other than that it's just a blanket.

Yeah, an expensive blanket.

[txulrich]

A blanket is usually a single layer of material. A quilt is typically 2 layers of material with insulation in between. The material is sewn or tied together to hold everything in place.

To the original question, I used my sleeping bag as a top quilt until I could afford a lighter camping quilt. For car camping, it's no big deal. For backpacking, it's rather heavy (mine weighs 2lbs. 10 oz.). I bought a Nest (about 22 oz.) from JRB and used that on the bottom. I eventually made a JRB ORM clone and now use the Nest as my top quilt. When it gets real cold (seldom happens here in TX), I'll use both quilts on the bottom and use my sleeping bag on the top.

Be careful using an indoor quilt for camping. Longterm, the thread is cotton and will rot and fail. They are also made with lower quality insulation. Camping quilts cost more due to the higher quality materials.