Old rag mountain quilt

**BillyBob58** · 04-13-2009, 20:21

Originally Posted by Dutch

I just used my OMR this weekend down to mid 30s and I was cold also. I was wearing good quality mid weight running tights and warm socks. As Turk said I think it was operator problems more then the quilt. I kept getting drafts and air gaps and wake up cold. It wasn't too bad but I didn't get much sleep. The next night I was more careful to tuck it in where I could. It was much better.

I have long maintained that the potential draft situation can be a real fly in the ointment when using quilts rather than sleeping bags. I had a lot of trouble when I first started trying to use my mummy bags as quilt, though many here had great success. In addition to the draft free seal around the neck and shoulders and the tremendous benefits of a hood which can be adjusted down to a breathing hole if needed ( much better than any hat I have used), I always felt like I picked up a little extra back warmth once I got in the bag, with a synthetic bag anyway.

I do better these days with an actual quilt, designed to be used that way, with a snap that allows me to secure it around my neck and tighten it if needed for a "seal". Plus I seem to do a bit better with my bag as quilt.
But both work best if I don't move much, and changing positions requires really paying attention to preventing drafts. Let's face it, no matter how much loft is over you, if you have a poor fit around the neck and shoulders, or develop one when you move, you can lose a ton of warm air around that drafty area.

But the comfort benefits of a quilt in a hammock are so significant as to make solving possible problems worth it for most of us. Still, if I'm using a bag as quilt and I find myself to cold to sleep, I'm getting in that sucker. I've had it change things from cold to toasty warm. I've also had similar help by putting on my ridiculously thick Marmot Dryloft down hood to my quilt. I would think that, at the least, for a quilt to compete warmth wise with a mummy bag of similar loft, you need a separate hood. Like the JRB hood, for example.

I would think a mummy bag as thick as the ORM would keep most folks warm well below 20, maybe as low as zero( especially layered with warm clothing), and need venting at above 30. I figure the ORM would do the same if the drafts can be controlled and a thick hood is used. It seems to me that, when it comes to controlling drafts around the neck and shoulders, wider is better.

**cshama** · 04-13-2009, 20:56

The problem is that the slightest movement in the hammock let's in cold air- it just isn't big enough for me. Maybe I can sew some Velcro to the hammock and attach the quilt to it

**lori** · 04-13-2009, 21:43

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I think there are "wings" available from JRB you can add to the quilt. I have a draft stopper on my Ray Way - about 5 inches of uninsulated ripstop sewn into the quilt hems that keeps it tucked around my body more tightly.

**DougTheElder** · 04-14-2009, 14:28

I've posted numerous times about the benefit of using a Katahdin (large JRB winter quilt) as a topquilt. I would like to enter the foregoing posts into evidence. I rest my case.

**BillyBob58** · 04-14-2009, 17:18

Originally Posted by cshama

The problem is that the slightest movement in the hammock let's in cold air- it just isn't big enough for me. Maybe I can sew some Velcro to the hammock and attach the quilt to it

Yep,Like I said, ( FOR ME) with a quilt wider is better and so is longer, up to a point of course. I like long quilts because if I lay on my side, they can come up over my head and make a faux hood with small breathing opening-- this can be a huge boost in warmth. I am 6'1', and I wish my Golite Ultra 20 quilt was about 1 or 2" longer( though it is pretty wide). As it is, it doesn't cover the very top of my head, but it is a big help anyway. Of course, if I have my separate down hood (WARM!), I don't need it to be any longer.

**cshama** · 04-14-2009, 20:56

So basically my ORM is good for between 45 and 55 degrees. Any lower and it lets in the cold and any hotter and its too hot

**Cannibal** · 04-15-2009, 08:43

I think you nailed it earlier with this:

Originally Posted by cshama

I think the problem is I am 6"4 and 215lb. I have the tall orm but I think its still too small and lets in the cold air when I have bulky clothes on.

I have the long Rocky Mtn. Sniveller, which is the same as the Old Rag except with a head-hole. I'm 6' and 220ish. It fits me perfect and has taken me below zero without issue. However, if I added a few inches in height and another inch or two in shoulder width I'm pretty sure I'd have problems. Listen to DougTheElder; even though he's loving the "I told you so" dance he's doing right now.

**DougTheElder** · 04-15-2009, 10:31

Originally Posted by Cannibal

Listen to DougTheElder; even though he's loving the "I told you so" dance he's doing right now.

Ahhh! Recognition at last!!!! Cannibal, I'm starting to like you more and more as time goes on!

**TinaLouise** · 04-17-2009, 06:51

two reasons I made my own quilts:
when researching all the ones I could buy, either they were too long, (i'm 5'1") or the half or 3/4 just wasn't the right length and the temp ratings, which are subsectible to the user, just didn't work for me. So I ended up making 2 (winter & summer) and then started camping with them. (tent camping) I've had to do many adjustments after returning home. I've added a silnylon wing down one side of both quilts that I tuck under my pad I'm sleeping on. I've added velcro and cord w/cordlocks to cinch down the foot of the summer and the top of the winter, I've sewen shut the foot area of the winter, the summer just had the cord that I can cinch down if needed (haven't needed to though) With the winter I carry a hugh silk hankercheif that I use as cover for my shoulders, helps with those drafts that happen when I turn over. Point I'm getting at is that if I'd just made my quilts and not done the tweeking, they would not be as comfortable. Also look at what you're using for under insulation. I'm a firm believer that you need more under you than you need on top. I tried my summer quilt in my hammock with an air mat and was quite chilly, next night using an exped short 7 down pad and the same summer quilt, I was very toasty (temps both nights high 40s)
Look at what you're wearing too, stay away from supper bulky and look into silk or wool underlayers. And have night clothes (dedicated clothes for camp or night use only so you don't have to wear the same dirty clothes that you wear during the day) including socks.
You might find that your quilt is just not the right one for you and no matter what you do, it just doesn't work (such as to short a quilt)

**cshama** · 04-22-2009, 11:55

I just trade my ORM with a wider version the katahdin. So we will see how that goes. i also realized that my custom kaq uq has several tabs that can be closed together to make the hammock more of a cocoon. Had I realized this earlier I could probably have been ok with the orm as the drafts wouldnt have penetrated the side of the hammock due to the kaq enclosing me.