Sleeping bags in hammock not getting proper appreciation

[DuctTape]

I use both SB's and TQ's when the situation warrants it. For me, this is not an either/or proposition, it is a when. I have learned to use my SB very well, it isn't difficult to get situated. For me, it is actually a bit easier than situating a TQ. The TQ is great for weight savings, or for supplementing the SB. this is where it really shines IMHO. I have 2 different SB's and a TQ, I use them all at different times and sometimes a SB/TQ in conjunction. As will most things it is about the system, not the individual item.

dT

[Festus Hagen]

Yeah, I only use SB's for the moment, and like them a lot. My Eureka Casper mummy bag can be a struggle to zip in, but if it's cold enough, I get it done

Camping last night on the AT I used a zero bag AND a DD (Snugpak) UQ and felt great in a breezy, snowy 19F. Using both a SB and UQ makes plenty of sense.

I do need better backpacking sleeping gear (The Casper is the only bag I have that is tolerable to pack and carry) but I may stick with sleeping bags except for UL summer stuff where I think a quilt would shine.

[Gailainne]

I still use sleeping bags, mostly because I have them already and I have a bag for all seasons, they are all down, and I use them as a quilt in warmer weather, and zip them up when it gets cooler, switching them out as the seasons change.

Plus I still do a lot of ground camping, a lot of Scotland has lost its forest, which is why I still have a exped down sleeping mat as well. Like the saying goes "Any fool can be uncomfortable camping" I like to be prepared

[E.A.Y.]

When I replaced my ancient Snow Lion poly bag, I sought out a (down) sleeping bag that had an almost full length zipper, since at the time I was exploring tarp tents and sleeping (on the ground) under a quilt.
Now that I hammock, I find that I like having an "unescapable" foot box to tuck my feet into. And I don't mind carrying some extra ounces for the greater coverage a sleeping bag gives me. I never use the zipper since I, like lori, dislike the claustrophobic feeling of a bag.

[Carolinahammockhanger]

Simple for me. Sleeping bags can be used for all types of camping and crashing at friends, underquilts only for hammocks. And I already had em.

[BillyBob58]

How many bag users out there think sleeping bags are not getting the proper appreciation on HF? Newbies get the impression that they just can't use them at all. That they have to immediately sell their bags and have a top quilt. While I do admit in a bottom loader they can be a bit of a pain. But in a top loader during cold, cold temps, I appreciate that I'm not constantly tucking and fighting icy drafts when I move around which is quite a bit. Yeah, it takes a little shifting to get the zipper up but then I'm good to go. Is it because I have a full zipper on my bag that I don't think it's such a big deal to always have a quilt?

I know I'm probably in minority, but certainly I'm not the only bag believer on this forum.

No, you are definitely not the only bag advocate. I have long argued that when it comes down to pushing a quilt to it's limits, that a bag( especially mummy bag) of equal top thickness- or maybe less thickness- will be noticeably warmer when used as a bag.

But the dif may not be so noticeable if using a quilt designed as such from the get go, as opposed to using a mummy bag quilt style. Especially if the quilt has some sort of neck closure system to allow it to "seal" around the shoulders. And in addition, if the quilt is wide enough for the individual.

Now I realize many folks feel that a mummy bag used as a quilt will be even warmer. Because you won't waste insulation under your body, and it will some how add to what is on top where you need it. OK, if that's how it works for them, but that simply has not been my experience. More than once I have been cold trying to use my 62" wide mummy bag as a quilt, at temps well above it's lowest rating. Only to become toasty warm when getting inside and zipping up.

I think it's all about drafts and head neck protection. There really are no drafts inside a sleeping bag with hood and neck collar. Under even a wide quilt, you must make sure all is tucked just right. And then if there is any movement while asleep possibly opening up a draft area, you wake up cold. Every time you roll over you have to make sure that skill is done correctly! That's right, rolling over becomes a skill! I find that when I use a quilt, I am always concentrating on getting things tucked correctly and keeping them that way. I don't really have to think about that once I am in a bag.

As I recently stated on another thread, I think one reason the Pea Pod has worked so well for most folks is because it is just a big sleeping bag, one where the bottom insulation is not flattened by body weight. As long as you deal with the hammock maybe lifting the pod off your body, there are no draft issues, unless you want a draft on purpose.

But having said all of that, there is still much to be said for a quilt and I go that route almost always. IF the quilt is wide(and long) enough for your body size and IF you have head protection equal to a mummy bag and IF the quilt can be closed around your neck and shoulders, well then I think it can be really close or equal warmth to a bag of same thickness. The only thing is you still have to deal with is loosing heat to a draft when you move, and that is a learned trick. But, if you take care of the above and are warm, then the quilt is just so much more convenient to use inside a hammock. Especially for beginners, it took me a while to learn how to get in my bag in a hammock!

One other thing with a quilt is to make sure your under and side insulation overlaps with the top on the sides/edges. Like the way the MWUQ wraps around my sides, particularly with the BMBH. That might be a little more important with a quilt than with a bag which is already well wrapped around your sides even after you move some.

But if a person can manage to get inside their bag in a hammock, and that effort does not bother them much ( another learned skill), then I see only one reason to go with a quilt. The same reason a ground dweller would: weight. If that is not that important to a person, and you can get in your bag easily enough for you, then save your money and use your bag. Use it quilt style or bag style when really cold.

[BillyBob58]

And I don't care how much people praise the down hoods that velcro in place, there is NO WAY they are as warm as the 3 inches of loft surrounding everything but my nose and mouth when I've got the hood on my mummy bag cinched up......

If it is really cold, and I am using my quilt, I use a separate Marmot sleeping bag hood..... Whooobuddy! It is several inches thick and cinches down to a blow hole. I have had adding that to my quilt make a huge difference, even though I was already using a fleece hat covered with the light Polarguard hood on my jacket.

[BillyBob58]

I went to quilts before I went to hammocks, because I hate sleeping bags with the burning passion of a raging claustrophobe. I don't mind tucking and re-tucking, or putting up with velcro, if it means I never have to fight with a zipper again. I also don't mind never going out in subzero weather because I hate being cold.

But that's just me.

Oh yeah, there is that whole claustrophobe thing. That can be a whole other ball game!

[pizza]

I've seen several folks make the "if you've got a bag might as well use it" argument.

Really, I think I was the only one that commented similar to that and it wasn't meant as an "argument" at all.

I want to be perfectly clear on where *I* stand on this one....

I think you were perfectly clear in your original post but thanks for telling us again though.

[BillyBob58]

But seriously, on the subject of bags pros and cons vs quilts, and on the subject of drafts, there is this approach, the above laying on my back with head out, in this next on my side with a breathing hole:


Obviously with head out of the pod, a hood or stout hat/balaclava would be needed, and would also be needed to prevent Velcro from scratching your face. I most often don't need a hood if completely in the pod with small breathing holes.