wondering about quilts

I am brand new to this forum, brand new to hammocking, but an old hand at camping out. I just purchased a HH asym, and look forward to trying it out this spring. Reading through everything though, it seems most suggest a quilt, as opposed to using an actual sleeping bag. My question is; what are usggestions for quilts? I currently own a Golite down bag, to 20 degrees, and live in NEw England. So, I'd need something capable of handling cooler weather, that can also be stuffed small (I am trying to go lightweight with my gear). So, what are some suggestions for quilts? thanks!

a good starting place is to use the sleeping bag you already have as a quilt.
if you like the quilt mode enough that you want to convert your bag into a quilt later on, that's a pretty easy thing to do. ...tim

Your Golite bag will work fine if you are using inside the hammock. You can use it just like you do on the ground, in sleeping bag mode. I use a Western Mountaineering Apache in my hammocks.

I no longer use it as a sleeping bag in my hammock. I use it as a top quilt which means I leave the bottom 12" or so of the bag zipped to form a foot box and then I open the rest of the bag up and lay it on top of me like a quilt. It is really much more efficient to use it in this way: It's MUCH easier to get in and out of the hammock without having to struggle with getting in and out of the bag and the insulation on the bottom of the bag that gets compressed when you lay on it and is basically useless as far as keeping you warm, can now be used to help keep the your sides warmer. A sleeping bag used as a top quilt really fills the inside of a Hennessy and makes it warmer.

You will still need to address some sort of insulation on the bottom of the hammock to keep your backside warm. Check out www.jacksrbetter.com for down under quilts. They make multi-use quilts that can be a top quilt, an under quilt, or camp clothing There are other methods out there for keeping you bottom warm, like Kick *** Quilts.

You may also want to check out Just Jeff's site and read up on staying warm in a hammock.

The problem with the Golite bag is that it is a 1/4 top zip; only zips down far enough to get shoulders out, about midway down my chest. As fas as under insulation, I am using the cheap wally world CCF, cut to 3/4 length. If it gets REAL cold, or my feet get cold, I can always use my backpack. I'm gonna check out the links posted as well. I dont plan on making a purchase for a quilt anytime soon; just wondering whats out there. Of course, if I come across a good deal, I'm gonna snag it though.

Check out Just Jeffs site at www.tothewoods.net. You'll find lots of good information there to get you started. BD

welcome to the forum old soldier..if you have the time look at a few of the old threads you will find the under quilt..HH super shelter ..bags and pads a common topic of discussion..reading these should bring you up to speed very quickly.. and again welcome to the madness!!

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Originally Posted by oldsoldier

The problem with the Golite bag is that it is a 1/4 top zip; only zips down far enough to get shoulders out, about midway down my chest. As fas as under insulation, I am using the cheap wally world CCF, cut to 3/4 length. If it gets REAL cold, or my feet get cold, I can always use my backpack. I'm gonna check out the links posted as well. I dont plan on making a purchase for a quilt anytime soon; just wondering whats out there. Of course, if I come across a good deal, I'm gonna snag it though.

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I found that I need some sort of insulation underneath all of me to stay warm. You might be different, but I think you will be surprised how little the sleeping bag will help underneath you in a hammock.

I currently use a sleeping bag as a top quilt. I am in the process of ordering stuff to make a top quilt. As long as you can get into it, it should work fine on top. You might have to get into the bag before you get into the hammock.

BTW, welcome to the forum. Feel free to ask any questions you have.

You can convert the GoLite bag into a quilt. It just takes some sewing and some cutting.

You could always make the zipper longer, maybe a 3/4 zip. That way you could still use it as a sleeping bag if you wanted and as a top quilt.

Welcome ... Don't forget to read the Archives at whiteblaze.net/hammock forum...more good stuff.

Pan