Quilt for Group Buy Underblanket
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Looks interesting. some of the US quilts have flaps of fabric around the edges of the quilt that can be tucked under a sleeping mat/the body. perhaps in combination with a foot pocket?
wanderinstar said:
I was thinking along the lines of a design with the under section being mainly material only, being something like plain breathable ripstop pertex/paratex with zips either side to make it easier to use with a hammock, small footsection of the underside quilted at the bottom and maybe quilted hood at the top not too sure about the hood though as hats and neck buffs work quite well anyway.
Zips at both sides should make it a lot easier to get into than a normal bag, plus could be used as a useful lightweight summer bag for ground sleeping, with a sleeping mat, under material should wick some of the summer sweat away from the body.
As a quick bit of market research it might be an idea to ask people to state which bags they use as quilts and if they'd prefer warmer or cooler than that. It'd give an idea of what sort of insulation people want ontop.
But throwing out yet another idea into the mix. If I was designing one purely for myself I think I'd look at the bottom, as suggested above, with a 2 tops that can be zipped ontop of one another ( kinda like nestled modular sleeping bags really ) giving warm, medium and cold use.
How amicable would Snugpak be to people being able to choose the level of insulation they wanted in a basic design anyway? As material and size of the quilt wouldn't change I'm not sure how easy/hard it would be for them to put in a different fill. ( though stuffsac and lableing might be another matter )
I have been thinking about a Woobie...
http://www.kifaru.net/woobie.htm
but will watch this space with interest
http://www.kifaru.net/woobie.htm
but will watch this space with interest
I've spent some time in the hammock thinking about this as well.
Rab make something called a 'top bag', which is essentially a sleeping bag with no filler on the bottom. Its designed for adventure racers and ultra-minimalists.
If you are thinking of designing one of these I think it might be a good idea that the bottom section could form a sort of a sleeve, so that a kip mat could be slid into it - enabling it to be used on the floor as well as in the hammock.
Also I was thinking, working backwards, that it might be possible to make a sleeping bag that could be zipped into 2 halfs so that the two halfs could then be used as an underquilt and top blanket, but could still be used as a regular sleeping bag if need be.
Rab make something called a 'top bag', which is essentially a sleeping bag with no filler on the bottom. Its designed for adventure racers and ultra-minimalists.
If you are thinking of designing one of these I think it might be a good idea that the bottom section could form a sort of a sleeve, so that a kip mat could be slid into it - enabling it to be used on the floor as well as in the hammock.
Also I was thinking, working backwards, that it might be possible to make a sleeping bag that could be zipped into 2 halfs so that the two halfs could then be used as an underquilt and top blanket, but could still be used as a regular sleeping bag if need be.
There is no need for a bottom section to a hammock top quilt. It would just complicate getting in and out. Also, the under section would serve zero purpose.
From experience, I'd say 48 inches wide, like the JRB quilts is a good width for average sized people. I haven't had any problem with the quilt becoming untucked while asleep, as the cocooning of the hammocks traps them against your body.
Someone mentioned flaps of fabric at the sides of the quilt. Ray Jardine uses this idea, as it allows you to have a smaller section of the quilt insulated (and therefore lighter) but still wide enough to tuck in to avoid drafts.
If the quilt were attached to the underblanket, forming a peapod, there would be an air gap that would have to be filled with something. Ed Speer uses a top quilt in his hammock to fill this airgap, but that sort of negates the use of the top quilt idea.
I've also had a play with a couple of quilts which I made longer than normal, after reading of people pulling the quilt over their head, with just their nose poking out to breathe. I found that this helps keep the head nice and warm, without the greasy feeling of sleeping in a beanie or balaclava.
My last suggestion (yes, I'm drawing to a close
) would be to put a head hole in the centre, a la JRB so that the quilt could be used as a insulated poncho. Now if the outer fabric could be make spark resistant, so that it could be worn round the fire, that would be perfect
From experience, I'd say 48 inches wide, like the JRB quilts is a good width for average sized people. I haven't had any problem with the quilt becoming untucked while asleep, as the cocooning of the hammocks traps them against your body.
Someone mentioned flaps of fabric at the sides of the quilt. Ray Jardine uses this idea, as it allows you to have a smaller section of the quilt insulated (and therefore lighter) but still wide enough to tuck in to avoid drafts.
If the quilt were attached to the underblanket, forming a peapod, there would be an air gap that would have to be filled with something. Ed Speer uses a top quilt in his hammock to fill this airgap, but that sort of negates the use of the top quilt idea.
I've also had a play with a couple of quilts which I made longer than normal, after reading of people pulling the quilt over their head, with just their nose poking out to breathe. I found that this helps keep the head nice and warm, without the greasy feeling of sleeping in a beanie or balaclava.
My last suggestion (yes, I'm drawing to a close
) would be to put a head hole in the centre, a la JRB so that the quilt could be used as a insulated poncho. Now if the outer fabric could be make spark resistant, so that it could be worn round the fire, that would be perfect 
Glen said:
well the SF system does that with 2 bags a Softie 3 and a 10 with a expander joiner panel
plus the Milspec bags have lined foot wells for boots on
I like it but for me in UK its way to hot to use together in any season ( cool sleeper
)how bout a rectangular sleeping bag with differential fill on each side that can be compleatly unzipped to give 2 quilts
the new Bushy Skitzo
ATB
Duncan
If it was going to be a strictly 'hammock only' quilt, then I would say there is little need for a bottom layer. However I think that by adding one it would mean the bag could also be a top bag thats used on the floor.
This would certainly make it more attractive to me, (and I suspect others)
this link has a pretty good review of a top bag
http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=446
This would certainly make it more attractive to me, (and I suspect others)
this link has a pretty good review of a top bag
http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=446
wentworth said:
True. Your average quilt at home is normally a lot larger than the person under it though. You can normally wrap a single quilt all the way round yourself.
My preference for an underside is that you would only use the minimal amount of top insulation because it would be wrapped around your body where it needs to be, ensuring no cold spots. As the purpose of this quilt is mainly to save carrying around the bottom insulation of your sleeping bag, it seems to make sense to me.
Also with a bottom section you can put a foot plug on, to ensure the feet are adequately insulated.
having a bottom layer would also mean that if you're on the ground you wouldn't be in direct contact with your kipmat, which can often be quite sweaty.
Whether the bottom layer is 'needed' or not is a matter of individual opinion I guess - personally I'd like one, but I'm not the one thats going to be making the decision.
CLEM said:
US army used to issue a quilted liner for their Poncho (tyed in ) and as a Jungle sleep system used to have one years ago (may even be in the loft
)but was very light weight from an insulation point of view
http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-48,GGLG:en&q=Poncho+Liner
Oviously bigger than that suggested here
ATB
Duncan
I'm interested in this one!
I've been thinking about getting one of the £38 Tesco down sleeping bags and asking my Mam to turn it into a quilt.
Sleeping bag and underblanket is too much weight, a quilt with box end for feet with enough width to tuck around shoulders would be great. Someone has already mentioned Ray Jardine and his lightweight quilts http://www.ray-way.com/quilt/index.shtml
I've been sleeping in a buffalo jacket and underblanket combination but a quilt is what I need. Not wrestling with a sleeping bag to get comfy sounds great.
Stu
I've been thinking about getting one of the £38 Tesco down sleeping bags and asking my Mam to turn it into a quilt.
Sleeping bag and underblanket is too much weight, a quilt with box end for feet with enough width to tuck around shoulders would be great. Someone has already mentioned Ray Jardine and his lightweight quilts http://www.ray-way.com/quilt/index.shtml
I've been sleeping in a buffalo jacket and underblanket combination but a quilt is what I need. Not wrestling with a sleeping bag to get comfy sounds great.
Stu
Well there have been quite a lot of suggestions. Some good, some not so good.
Snugpak have a minimum order limit so filling each quilt to individual spec wouldn't work. As regard having 2 different thicknesses that zip together, would be too costly and too heavy.
The design I have finished up with is single layer with a foot bucket and a flap either side to tuck under you to stop quilt falling on floor. I have one problem left, how to keep head warm. The idea of a hole in top of quilt for your face creates a problem.
If the hole is positioned for say someone 5ft 6in then someone who is say 6ft 3in would find the hole over the top of their chest. One thought I have had (now don't all laugh at once) is a separate hood, similar to foot bucket. That way it wouldn't matter how tall or short you were and it could be left off in summer.
Snugpak have a minimum order limit so filling each quilt to individual spec wouldn't work. As regard having 2 different thicknesses that zip together, would be too costly and too heavy.
The design I have finished up with is single layer with a foot bucket and a flap either side to tuck under you to stop quilt falling on floor. I have one problem left, how to keep head warm. The idea of a hole in top of quilt for your face creates a problem.
If the hole is positioned for say someone 5ft 6in then someone who is say 6ft 3in would find the hole over the top of their chest. One thought I have had (now don't all laugh at once) is a separate hood, similar to foot bucket. That way it wouldn't matter how tall or short you were and it could be left off in summer.
A bottom layer of material (pertex, quantum, whatever) would also help with the head warmth problem.
I think rather than a square edge to the top its either curved or pointed, which would allow it to wrap around the head leaving the mouth/nose exposed, either that or go with the mummy type bags and build a hood into the top, the only problem with that is like you say catering for body length. The hood is an interesting idea, but most of us has a favorite cool/cold weather hat that could be utilised, and would have already.
I like the idea of pertex or some sort of water resistant mat'l on the whole of the outside.
Stephen
I like the idea of pertex or some sort of water resistant mat'l on the whole of the outside.
Stephen
MagiKelly
Making memories since '67
wanderinstar said:
That is what I use. I call it a "hat"
Multi purpose too as during the day I can use it to keep my head warm
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