[pct-l] Quilt vs sleeping bag

[Ed Jarrett]

Picture a mummy bag with a zipper that runs down to a couple of feet from the foot end of the bag.  Now remove the zipper, leaving the bag open, and remove any draft tubes and hoods.  Now you have a quilt with a foot-box.
When you lay on your sleeping bag insulation, especially down, it compresses and has little value.  So that insulation is dead weight that you carry, but do not use.  The quilt stays on top of you so there is no compression of the insulation.  
The downside to a quilt is that they can be drafty, especially if you move around much at night.  You do need to keep them tucked in a bit on the sides.
If you have a sleeping bag, you can pretend like it is a quilt by not zipping it up, and see how it works for you.

Ed Jarrett (Eeyore) Blog: http://aclayjar.blogspot.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/EdJarrett53 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ed.jarrett.71 

> Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2013 16:00:16 -0400
> From: ihearttrail at gmail.com
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] Quilt vs sleeping bag
> 
> Hi!
> 
> We've scoured the internet, and still have a hard time figuring out the
> true difference and pros/cons of a sleeping bag versus a quilt. We would
> love to hear about your experiences dealing with one versus the other.
> 
> Thanks!
> Katherine