[pct-l] sleeping quilt

[agrestis9@hotmail.com (Richard Winterstein)]

>(1) does anyone have experience with such a setup; and (2) does anyone
>know if such a setup is commercially available?
>
>John
>
>
  I use a similar setup and have been very happy with it.  I did not include 
side flaps such as you're considering since I generally sleep in a small 
one-man tent.  The narrow width of the tent is enough to ensure that the 
long edges of the quilt stay gathered around my body.  To keep the quilt 
securely around my feet, I folded its bottom edge in half and stitched the 
two halves together to make a sort of pocket.  For ground insulation I use a 
half-length pad of Ensolite foam for my torso and (if necessary) rain gear 
spread between the ground cloth and the tent floor for my lower half.  I 
tend to be a warm sleeper, so this is really all the insulation I need.  
I've kept comfortable with this setup in as cold a climate as Mt. Shasta in 
May, when three of us spent a gusty night camped in a snow pit near Helen 
Lake.
  I don't know whether a quilt of this or any type is commercially 
available.  You might try GoLite (www.golite.com?), since they manufacture 
products using Ray Jardine's designs, and it was Ray after all who 
popularized the idea of the sleeping quilt.  On the other hand, sewing your 
own is much cheaper and extremely easy to do, even if you're a complete 
klutz with a sewing machine like I am.  (I get thrown into deeper fits of 
all-consuming rage from sewing machines than from old lawnmowers.)

For tips and instructions, refer to the appendix in Jardine's book or go to 
http://www.backpacking.net/ and check out the Make-Your-Own-Gear page.

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