Making a Mummy Bag Suck Less.

[F15ECrewChief]

I use a Big Agnes. It doesn't have insulation in the bottom, but a pocket for a pad (have a insulated pad and UQ) so plenty warm. It takes a bit of squirming, but not to bad. I do not like drafts, that may be my only concern with TQ, as I do move a round a lot.

[Chard]

+1 on gunner and dejoha's posts.

No need to hack it up, just unzip it to just below knee level. you now have a slightly oversized TQ.

This is assuming you have something under your body (pad, UQ, etc.). No need to squirm into anything. You have an item that functions in the exact same way as a TQ.

You could also use the bag as a pod if it has a two-sided zipper. Zip it around the hammock and you have a TQ and UQ all in one.

Yuppers...

I just unzip my mummy bag to within a foot of the end and drape the open bag over me. I like to think this give me a solid "go-to-ground" option as well.

[huauqui]

If I convert the bag to a quilt, am I correct in assuming the temp rating is going to go up a bit? It seems like no matter how you do it, a TQ isn't going to be quite as good at blocking drafts and such as a mummy bag with the same insulation thickness. I assume that depends to some extent just how much your UQ wraps around you.

Someone much smarter then I may need to correct me here but I think you are correct about the temp rating going up when you convert a bag (especially a mummy) into a TQ.

A sleeping bag is a sleep system and mummy bags are even more so. When I say system here is what I mean. The bottom and top layers of the mummy bag have different amounts of insulation due to the fact that when it is -20 out the bottom layer has less heat loss due to ambient ground temps and thus does not need as much insulative value as the top. Second a mummy bag gains some of its rating by being able to block almost all, if not all, drafts. Third it even wraps the head in insulation. Fourth a mummy bag has less dead air space around your legs then a traditional rectangular bag. All this increases it's ability to keep you warm and gives the bag a combined lower temp rating.

An unzipped bag used as a TQ will have, in essence, two half's and one will be rated lower then the other (unless you cut the bottom in half and sew one half to the other side like wings.) You will have drafts maybe not many but definitely more then the bag started with and, you will not have it around your head. I can't imagine the modified bag TQ could have the same rating as the bag. Fact of the matter if you just take the head portion off a mummy bag I believe it's rating drops.

Again that is just my two cents worth. I also think that is why we (us hangers) need to pay special attention to making our sleeping gear a system not just pieces. I like you am just getting my 3 and 4 season gear list assembled. I imagine it will take me a while but I look forward to the journey.

I camped for a long time and the joy of going out into the woods drew me back time after time. Now I look for opportunities to go out and sleep in my hammock, getting in the woods is just the iceing on the cake

Best of luck and let us know how it goes. I love the knowledge gained here through experimentation.

[streamline]

Don't forget that you can also remove the hood but still use it. Wear it on your head and your head will stay toasty all night.

[Porloff94]

Yuppers...

I just unzip my mummy bag to within a foot of the end and drape the open bag over me. I like to think this give me a solid "go-to-ground" option as well.

+1 more on this. Just watch that the zipper doesn't tear up your hammock.