Hack my bag into an UQ ??

[tammons]

I have a snowlion -40dF bag from the 70's. Cost $500 back then.
Tried to sell it but nobody is interested.

Bought it way back when I contemplating some serious mountaineering that never happened but I have used it off and on over the years.

This was a top of the line bag that weighs 4# with 10" of loft.
4" bottom, 6" top with V baffles.

It is still in fairly decent shape but I never use it. Too freekin hot.

It has a 1.9oz shell so I would assume the down is probably 950+ loft.

I am thinking about shaking out the down to get an even 4" loft, whack it down the middle to come up with a 44x48 UQ.

I can use the rest of the down for other things or just sell it.

Alternatively I could buy some of the new SUL fabrics, and use this down to build a quilt from scratch.

That said I have worked with down years ago and find it an incredible PIA to deal with.

Opinions Welcome

[JohnSawyer]

Given the age, I wonder if the fill is really more than 650...

If you remove some of the down, it might not loft up enough, and could settle leaving your shoulders/hips with no down covering them (brrr!)

But IF you're going to hack it, why not hack it as-is into an UQ? Double sew your lines, and cut inbetween to avoid a down blizzard.

Chocolatier did a similar UQ conversion:
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=17039

Backwoodsdaydreamer has some OD Green 1.1 downproof ripstop for $3/yd...

[tammons]

Nope its good to go.

Still lofts up to 10" in the chest area. In the legs its down to about 8.5 but I think a wash would help that.

That is what I am talking about, hacking at is.

The alternative would be to build a new shell.


Thanks

[G.L.P.]

I would build a new Shell....and use the down in the new shell....
you probly will have enough to make 2 UQ LOL

[JohnSawyer]

Good Point GLP. But, you always COULD hack it, decide if you like it THEN build a new shell.

Heck, you might have enough down from what you cut off to make a 3-season quilt. Then you could hang in -30 and +30!

[gargoyle]

If your fabric is still good and doesn't leak down, I'd use what you have.
44 x 48 is doable for some (too small for me) So before dicing things up know for sure the size you want.
Draw out your pattern on the bag, try to move the down away from the line, sew two rows of stitching (approx. 1/2 apart) then cut between the lines.
This will prevent a lot of down from escaping.
Once you got it stitched and cut, trim the edge with grosgrain and a suspension (either a channeled style or tieout tabs on the four corners)

Then send me the rest.
A ten inch loft on a uq Four should be plenty.

[G.L.P.]

Good Point GLP. But, you always COULD hack it, decide if you like it THEN build a new shell.

Heck, you might have enough down from what you cut off to make a 3-season quilt. Then you could hang in -30 and +30!

the main reason i would make a new shell is that its from the 70's... who knows how long it will hold up after hard use ...

[yakrs4]

Is your bag a mummy? Here's another option: just modify it into a top quilt. Your need may be for an UQ but it seems like it might be easier to build one from another bag or from scratch. You're gonna lose down and it will be messy. It might be more versatile on temp as a quilt and you can ventilate it some as needed.

FWIW,
here's my story...had a classic Camp 7 North Col mountaineering mummy bag from 1982. This bad boy was state of the art in its day! It cost me two weeks salary when I was a starving college student but I was an enthusiast. I loved that bag for backpacking and had a lot of memories in it. I never got cold in it. 31 oz!! of probably 650 goose down. Solid sturdy BREATHABLE nylon shell and a huge zipper that snagged a lot. BUT, it was only 58 inches girth at the shoulders and I went from 150 lbs to 235 (some of it is muscle) over the years. I could not even zip the thing up much past my belly any more. So it sat carefully stored in its large cotton sack for many years. I don't have any other down gear and always wished I could use it. Along comes the top quilt craze AND I get into hammocking. But Santa won't bring me a Nunatak Arc Alpinist. I think about it for months. Maybe I can sell it for something...no go on Craigslist, but the fact that I actually considered getting rid of it was liberating. So I go for it. But, I go slowly. I simply remove the zipper teeth/end pieces and then sew p-cord loops along the edges so that I can tie nylon fabric strips on to hold it closer together or around a ground pad. The thin sliver of heavy fabric of the leftover zipper embedded in the seam does not bug me when sleeping and acts to help hold down the edges. The foot box is about 18 inches long based on the length of the zipper. It works fine. The width is not excessive for hammocking and can work on ground also. I left the hood on because it has a drawcord at the middle when in TQ mode and I like to cover my head when I sleep in cold weather. I sleep on my side so it works great and I can cinch the drawstring a little to form a better hood. This is now a super TQ for below freezing temps. I only shaved an ounce or two by losing the zipper, but now I get to use it again. Sometimes less is more and the reincarnation is a feel good thing. I smile when I see the label of a pioneering company that made great products and remember every trip that bag ever made.

I built a perfectly good underquilt from an $11 wal-mart rectangular synthetic sleeping bag. It was pretty easy to do and I could make it whatever size I wanted. I tried to figure out how to make my down bag into an UQ but it just did not seem like the way to go. Maybe if it had been rectangular and a functional size for a full UQ... Trying to make a piece of equipment do something it isn't meant to do and/or trying to make it uberlight to compete with new gear just did not seem right and I am glad I did not try. I got a solid piece of gear out of it.

Good luck with your snow lion. Whatever it comes back as, may it roar.