Originally Posted by
Grumpy Squatch
Specifically to your questions:
1) Top quilt.
2) Go Hammock Gear because of the customization options (I didn't see any such options for Katabatic Gear). If the draft is a concern order one extra wide. With modern soft fabrics and well-designed baffles, a quilt will drape over and even if you roll over drafts won't be that much of a problem. I just ordered a UGQ Renegade longer than necessary (I like to pull my quilt over my head in the extreme cold or even just to block morning light) and extra wide because I'm primarily a side sleeper and sometimes have the back-draft problem you mention.
I hear you on the room issue. The first time I slept in a hammock under a borrowed quilt and could roll onto my side into a semi-fetal position in the woods I knew I was never going back to a pad, sleeping bag, and tent! Until now I've primarily used sleeping bags, opened as top quilts, because I had a solid collection of 40 deg, 20 deg, and 0 deg bags from a lifetime of backpacking. But I am about 40 days into the wait for a new 20 deg Renegade from UGQ and I can't see myself going back to the full sleeping bag route again. I'm sure a 0 deg top quilt will follow soon.
If I read into your question, most of the options you've listed are lightweight options, and for weight, a top quilt wins hands down. Since much of a sleeping bag, when zipped up, is compressed and really not insulating, I consider that wasted weight. With a top quilt in a hammock all the insulation should be uncompressed so all the weight you carry is "worth it." So on that account, the top quilt would win over the sleeping bag, even if the weights were the same.
Both can be very versatile ... I've used my sleeping bags as top quilts for a couple of years with few problems but there are compromises. Conversely, I've watched friends with top quilts go to ground with few issues other than a couple of extra minutes attaching a sleeping pad to their quilts with whatever system the manufacturer provided. Though the Renegade will be my first truly purpose-built topquilt, I've borrowed a Hammock Gear and a UGQ Flight Jacket from friends and found that quilts adapt to sleeping bag use a bit better than most sleeping bags adapt to quilt use. For instance, sleeping bags typically have zippers that either go all the way around the footbox allowing for lay-flat use (good in summer but not in the cold weather) or stop maybe 12" from the bottom creating a full footbox. I like a footbox when it's cold so I leave my full-zip bags partially zipped in quilt mode. I have damaged the teeth on a zipper or two doing this. Better luck with my Sierra Designs bag that has a partial zip which can be fully disengaged while leaving me a footbox. Then, for a winter bag, the whole "what do I do with the hood while in a hammock" issue pops up.
At the end of the day, what I've learned in a couple of years of hanging is that in cold weather, the main concern is the under quilt. If that is thick and warm enough, and fitted snugly around you, then the top quilt matters a bit less. That's why I used bags for a couple of years while I built my under quilt collection. Then, I decided for a dedicated top quilt and the Renegade is my first that I will actually own.
My 2 cents anyway. Good luck.
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