Compression bags for quilts

**Hikenpaddleboy** · 03-08-2018, 10:09

Hey everyone, I have a couple questions regarding the best compression bags to use for my quilts. I have Hammock Gear Incubator and Burrow 0 quilts with 4oz extra down and a Gregory Baltoro 75 liter pack. The stuff sacks that came with the quilts take up to much room and was wondering if anyone else has these quilts, have the same issue and used a different compression bag? any ideas would help.
Thanks!

**TrailSlug** · 03-08-2018, 10:16

You can use compression bags but over compression is hard on the down. If you do use them use them sparingly as possible to prevent the down from breaking down.

**Hikenpaddleboy** · 03-08-2018, 10:18

I only want to use the compression bag while hiking, otherwise they will be on the hammock, unless in my storage bin between trips. Thanks.

**robertjackson** · 03-08-2018, 11:23

I use the bags with the quilts. They are a little loose and form in my pack pretty well. Or I can just use no compression sac and put the quilts directly in the pack and pack other soft stuff above it, allowing it to fill any gaps.

**jcksparow** · 03-08-2018, 15:41

I used to use a compression sack on my quilts, but now I stuff them into the bottom of my pack liner and pack everything else on top of it.

**SilvrSurfr** · 03-08-2018, 17:10

I would trust that HG supplied you with the smallest possible recommended stuff sacks for your quilts. However, 0* HG Incubator & Burrow quilts with 4 oz. overstuff will be insanely large no matter what stuff sack you use. They're not really backpacking quilts, and I don't think you'd have much room for anything else in a 75 liter pack. I don't consider my 0* quilts to be backpacking quilts at all.

This weekend I briefly considered backpacking with my 0* HG quilts (six miles), but once I put them in my 70L backpack, I immediately gave up on that idea. They just took up too much room, so I brought my 20* quilts. I'm glad I made that choice since the overnight low was 39* F! I was expecting the overnight low to be in the low 20's. Plus I brought my beagle Joey on his first backpacking trip, and a 40 lb. beagle is a lot of puppy insulation!

Your quilts are basically rated for -20* F, and I don't think many people consider hiking in -20* F temps. You'd probably want to use a pulk or just go car camping with the sheer volume of quilts you have. Or get a 100 liter pack!

**Hikenpaddleboy** · 03-09-2018, 06:59

Thanks,

I guess that's why I have been to warm, I had no idea they were rated that low. I was out in northern Minnesota last weekend it got down to 9 degrees and I was still to warm. Do they even make a 100 liter pack?

**old4hats** · 03-09-2018, 07:27

Compression sack, something other than the normal stuff sack supplied with most quilts. Just stick with the stuff sack, or like many, just stuff the quilt directly into your pack.

**Stubbed my toe** · 03-09-2018, 08:35

Originally Posted by jcksparow

I used to use a compression sack on my quilts, but now I stuff them into the bottom of my pack liner and pack everything else on top of it.

Easiest by far for me too. I've found compression sacks leave too much dead pack space around them in my pack for the bulkiest items. Just stuffing your quilts in your pack most efficiently utilizes the space.

**SilvrSurfr** · 03-09-2018, 15:04

Originally Posted by Hikenpaddleboy

Do they even make a 100 liter pack?

Oh yes, they make them if you're crazy enough to carry them. Gregory Denali, Osprey Zenith come to mind. Of course, packs like that aren't lightweight. The Denali comes in at around 6.5 lbs.

When I first started hammock camping I used a 110 liter North Face backpack filled to the brim with 70+ lbs. of stuff. Other hikers got tired just looking at me. One time I was night hiking in the Pine Barrens and I saw someone coming down the trail. When he was about 20 feet from me, he stepped off the trail, which I found odd. As I came even with him, he said, "I didn't want to spook your horse." My backpack was so big he thought I was riding on a horse!

I can't carry that much stuff anymore, so I downsized to a 50 liter GoLite (now MyTrail) backpack which I have used for five or six years (definitely had to change my whole load as well - no more hatchet and machete and other relatively unnecessary stuff). I recently got the 70 liter GoLite just for winter.

I keep my quilts in HG cuben fiber stuff sacks - my backpacks are not waterproof and just last March I had to swim across two rivers with my pack on. I was glad my quilts did not get wet! The water was very cold, but all my stuff stayed dry.