sleeping bag mod

[gunsfan05]

i have a swiss gear mummy bag that is rated at 0 degrees i would never trust it there but it works good down to about 15 or 20. the way the zipper works on it im thinking about doing some mods and getting rid of the zipper and the hood and making it a top quilt will this work or am i crazy

[Lost_Biker]

i have a swiss gear mummy bag that is rated at 0 degrees i would never trust it there but it works good down to about 15 or 20. the way the zipper works on it im thinking about doing some mods and getting rid of the zipper and the hood and making it a top quilt will this work or am i crazy

No, your not crazy. Many here have converted sleeping bags to top quilts. I converted my military patrol bag to a top quilt and love it. Still heavy, but keeps me warm. I say go for it.

[kiwi]

iam in the process of making one of my bags into an UQ and what i have seen on here it should work just dandy

[JohnSawyer]

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=28258

I love mine...

[kiwi]

hey john with the top quilt do ya take the zip out or leave it in?

[JohnSawyer]

From the thread I linked above:

The zipper was removed, as was the hood and draft tube. I also sewed up the footbox to cover to about my knees. I bought some omnitape to add, which would allow me to close it up to my butt, but haven't installed it yet..

John

I finally did it!

I bought a "vintage" down REI sleeping bag on ebay for $45. It wasn't quite big enough for my 210# of girth, but I don't like mummy bags (don't know when that changed...)

I bought it 5 months ago, thinking I'd just use it as a TQ, like I do my synthetic mummy.

Goals: make it more comfortable: get rid of the huge zipper and synthetic-filled draft tube next to the zipper. There was a thick tan stripe of grosgrain type ribbon next to the zipper to keep it from getting snagged on the shell material. I wanted that gone, too. If it get's lighter in the process, so much the better... I really didn't want to use grosgrain edging, or spend many hours on this project...

SO: I sewed a line across the hood and 1" down each side alongside the zipper. I cut off the hood. I Used my shop vac and some tulle between hose sections to capture the down. I then took the remaining edge of fabric, rolled it over and hemmed it.

The draft tube and grosgrain ribbon were next. I peeled them off carefully with my seam ripper. I'm glad I sewed down that edge a bit, as the down was really flying at times, despite my best efforts to contain it. The other zipper was easier, but still took 30 minutes or so to remove.

Again, I took the existing edges of fabric and rolled a new hem. I had a couple snags where I broke the thread (pushed the fabric into the machine too hard.) So I tied the ends, added a drop of fraycheck, and started up again. Given the 3 hours and $45 pricetag, I'm pretty happy. The stuff I removed weighed at least 6 ounces (I'm not a gram weenie, but I like the idea.)

Overall, the quilt is 48" wide, comes to the top of my head if I'm stretched out, (6'). and has about 3+" of consistent loft (more when I'm in the hammock). I haven't weighed it, but it's far from heavy, especially when compared to my 3lb synthetic bag.

Next, I'll go get some omni-tape and probably add another foot or so to the footbox for cold nights.

The end result:



Here you can see where I had my Top tension set too high, and the completed edge.


You can see the "containment" stitch and the fixed hem. I have a few of the original threads to pick out and some down clusters trapped in the edge..


Dr. Harvey Tiny Cat likes it! (No, I didn't name him.)



Now what to do with something like 1/4 oz of down?

John

[kiwi]

thats awesome john