Suggestions on Sleepingbag Mod (The Bunny Burrito)

**FBG** · 03-16-2013, 01:25

What you see below is a quick sketch of a Christmas Stocking shaped sleeping bag - minus the Bugs Bunny/Brachs promotional graphic that appears on the front.

Here's my predicament, if I mod the bag matching the curve of the hammock the zipper will be on bottom. If I flip the bag with zipper on top, the toe now points down.

With zero experience in this, I have no idea of the difficulties encountered without a zipper for entry or exit. Should I leave as is, letting the zipper sit at the bottom and just pull the pod/sleeve up over the hammock or is moving the zipper to the other side a better idea?

ANY questions, suggestions or brainstorms will be greatly appreciated as I'm going to need this done in a weeks time.

Wish me luck!

**sargevining** · 03-16-2013, 09:15

What you're describing is a top quilt. Top quilts, in their simplest form, are mummy bags with the zipper removed.

In fact, if you use a sleeping bag in a hammock, you will soon get cold on the bottom as your weight compresses the insulation rendering it useless. The pads one uses with sleeping bags are not for comfort, they are for insulation (from the cold ground). This is why pads are used in hammocks as well, although they do not work as well as an underquilt.

With a proper underquilt, there is no need to use a sleeping bag in the manner in which you normally would. You simply drape it over you like a blanket. You keep the foot box so that your feet "anchor" it and it doesn't come off while sleeping.

Both my first underquilt and top quilt were modified sleeping bags. One was cut into a more or less rectangular shape with grosgrain channels added the sides and ends to allow insertion of shockcord, and the other had the head end cut square and the zipper removed. Kept me toasty cozy but weigh way too much to take camping---but I use them while sleeping in the house.

**FBG** · 03-16-2013, 22:50

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post.

I'm not talking about using it as a top quilt. I'm talking about enveloping the entire hammock in it, same as a pod. Installing elastic at the top to cinch it closed around the person in the hammock and run the foot suspension through the toe.

The bottom of the sleeping bag would hang below the hammock and not between the hammock and the sleeper, therefore no compression would take place.

My main concern is with the zipper placement. With the zipper located where it is currently, it would be on the bottom, and of no use to someone in the hammock. Would having a bottom zipper cause problems getting in and out of the hammock as the pod would need to slid along the length of the hammock to be used. How difficult a feat would this be?

Anyone? Anyone? *said in her best Ben Stein voice*

**SnrMoment** · 03-17-2013, 09:19

If you are not planning to pull the bag over your head to sleep, you may want to pull the zipper all the way up, slide the bag down along the hammock to get in, pull it back up and use a shock/draw cord to cinch up the neck from the inside like the top quilts do.

**FBG** · 03-17-2013, 09:22

Originally Posted by SnrMoment

If you are not planning to pull the bag over your head to sleep, you may want to pull the zipper all the way up, slide the bag down along the hammock to get in, pull it back up and use a shock/draw cord to cinch up the neck from the inside like the top quilts do.

That's what I had in mind, but what if I did want to cover my head? What's the difference?

**sargevining** · 03-18-2013, 12:50

You'll have a hard time getting a diagonal lay if you enclose your hammock in a narrow bag. How wide is the bag you're planning to use?

**FBG** · 03-18-2013, 13:29

The bag is 32-33 inches across when zipped. Chances are, I won't be the one sleeping in it the majority of the time. I wanted this more for my daughter who's only 8.

**sargevining** · 03-18-2013, 22:12

Well, it should work the way you're contemplating then, but you may have condensation issues. Any reason why you're not going with a pad or underquit and a top quilt?

**FBG** · 03-19-2013, 01:22

Originally Posted by sargevining

Well, it should work the way you're contemplating then, but you may have condensation issues. Any reason why you're not going with a pad or underquit and a top quilt?

I need to outfit both myself and the kiddo for hammock camping over Spring Break and this was something I figured she couldn't throw off in the middle of the night. However, it may end up being a top or bottom quilt as I was just given a 0* mummy bag and I may give her that and the 1 pad I have on hand. (I have 2 more I can't find!

)

She surprised me by wanting to hammock camp before it warmed up. I'm working on JCPenny puffer underquilts, but those aren't enough insulation for the 30* nights we're currently experiencing... and the fact I hate seam ripping so it's slow going.

**Yojimbo** · 03-19-2013, 05:04

For my 10 year olds first few cold nights, we used an older camp style sleep bag in the manner you are talking. And for the same reasons. Our experience was no matter how he started with the zipper it would navigate itself to the bottom by morning anyway. With your drawings I have feeling it would do the same for you. This is not a bad thing. You cn get in with zipper up settle in and letthe bag naturally fall into place.

The only issue we ran into was the bag drooping more than the hammock thus air gaps. Might suggest a light weight fleece bag used traditionally in the hammock as well.