Quilts or sleeping bag?

**Splat** · 04-16-2008, 22:28

I just bought a Big Agnes Encampment bag but will be taking it back. No insulation on the bottom and I don't think I'll like a small 20" pad. In fact, I bought a deluxe Thermarest(24"wide) which I think will help give me a little room in the hammock. Now I'm thinking of getting something like a Campmor rectangular bag like this one http://tinyurl.com/4nvnmp since I'm a big guy and I don't like mummy bags. Would this be too big or ....? I'm trying to keep it under $200. Suggestions, complaints, meanderings....? Thanks.

**angrysparrow** · 04-16-2008, 22:39

Since you don't like mummy bags (which offer head and neck warmth), and since any insulation you lay directly on top of is ineffective due to the loft being crushed, there is no drawback to you going with a quilt instead of a bag, IMO. It would be lighter, and ultimately probably just as warm.

What temps are you trying to plan for? Have you considered the JRB Shenandoah Long? Or perhaps JRB Hudson River? Both are under or right at $200.

**Splat** · 04-16-2008, 22:41

Hello. I'd like to get out even in the winter but nothing below 20. I'll look at that JRB.

**Splat** · 04-16-2008, 23:00

OK, I like the Hudson River quilt. I just don't understand the difference between a quilt and a sleeping bag. Is the quilt simply wider, like a rectangular bag? Do you lay in it just like a sleeping bag or is it enough (temps permitting) to lay right under it? Please forgive my newbie-ishness here.

**Coffee** · 04-16-2008, 23:19

Quilts are nice in the hammock. Not for me on the ground. If you want to stay with a bag look at the Montbell Super Stretch bags. They give a little and are a little over sized. The only mummy bag for me.

**RAW** · 04-16-2008, 23:36

How big are you? And have you tried the BA combo in the hammock?

Personally, I think the BA bags are the BEST solution for hammocking. (All you top-quilters hold the flaming . . . it's just MY opinion)

I'm currently using an Encampment with 20" pads.
I find the combo very comfy in my Clark North American.

And I'm a 5'11" tall, 52" chest, 265# guy.

I'm even considering moving to the BA mummy bags and mummy pads to save weight and so that the shape will fit the hammock even better.

**Take-a-knee** · 04-17-2008, 06:51

Get a Feathered Friends Rock Wren and you can use it in a hammock or on the ground equally well. I would order it with a zipper at least 50in so that it could also be used as a quilt when it is warmer.

**jaiden** · 04-17-2008, 09:32

You lie under quilts. most (inculding the jrb ones) have a footbox, so it's kind of like taking a sleeping back and unziping it to your calves, sticking your feet in it and laying the rest on top of you. Except that it's sized more appropriately and there is no hood. You need head protection (balaclava maybe) when using a quilt in the cold. The nice thing about quilts is that most people who use sleeping bags in hammocks do this anyway, but bags aren't shaped quite right for this. It works, but a quilt is better and lighter.

Since you are a "big guy" be sure to check the length and width to be sure you're well covered.

**JayS** · 04-17-2008, 11:46

Like Hammock Engineer, I have a MontBell SuperStretch that works well as a quilt or a bag. I also made a synthetic quilt last fall that worked just as well on the ground and in the hammock but weighed about half what the MontBell weighs. I am making three down quilts now as combination UQs/top quilts for my daughter, my son and me. Told the wife I am using these three as practice for hers so it will be perfect but I think she may stick with a bag.