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Less is less, don’t let anyone believe you otherwise. This is especially true when you’re carrying everything you need to survive for a week on your back, which brings us to the backpacking bag: It’s a sleeping bag, but smaller. Usually, a baggy quilt is all you need, and here I come like them more than sleeping bags for all but the coldest journeys.
These clothes are not like what your grandmother gave you. Backcloths are made of nylon and are stuffed down like a traditional bag, but they sleep on you like a quilt, instead of wrapping up like a sleeping bag would. The benefit is two-fold: The jacket is lighter, meaning less weight to carry in your pack, and in the right conditions, you can sleep better too.
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Why Is A Quilt Better Than A Sleeping Bag?
I have the whole story volunteer to answer this questionbut the short version is that it is warm, and a little heavy. The science behind the first experience is basic physics. When you sleep in a sleeping bag, the weight of your body causes most of the floor to fill the sides. The bottom left of your floor is small and compact (for sleeping) so you don’t get any real insulation from there. Why, the thinking goes, carry weights you’re not using?
The quilts remove the bottom of the sleeping bag, and lie on you like a quilt on your bed at home. Quilts usually weigh less than sleeping bags and pack smaller, making them popular with backpackers trying to reduce weight and save space.
Is A Sleeping Bag Better Than A Quilt?
When it’s really cold. The problem with quilts is drafts (they don’t wrap you to allow cold air in) and their lack. Labels aren’t much in the summer when most of us carry a backpack, so I prefer them over sleeping bags most of the time. That said, when I go swimming or diving in the winter, I bring a sub-zero sleeping bag.
After years of testing, I have found almost every summer use fee. For shoulder season trips where the weather can drop below freezing, I still use a quilt, but I use a Zenbivy, which holds the notes better than other quilts because of the extra paper and side barriers. Whenever I think the temperature will drop below 20°F, I bring a sleeping bag.
If They Have Few Materials, Why Are Quilts So Expensive?
Sometimes quilts – but not always – cost more than a light sleeping bag. Why are we paying so much for so little? In most cases, the answer is to down-load the power. Cheap sleeping bags usually use 650 count, while most quilts are 800 to 1,000 count, making them more expensive. That said, there are affordable quilts, such as REI’s Magma Quilt (see below).
The Best Quilt for Ultralight Summer Travel
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Photo: Scott Gilbertson
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Photo: Scott Gilbertson
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Photo: Scott Gilbertson
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Lighting Equipment
Revelation Quilt (40°F)
For summer trips, when I want to be as light as possible, Enlightened Equipment’s Revelation Quilt is my top choice. I have the 40°F version, which weighs only 19 ounces. Unlike most manufacturers, Lighting Equipment does not a double counting of comfort and reduce/extreme limits. Instead it chooses a number in the middle and recommends on its website that most people “use a quilt 10 degrees warmer than the expected temperature.” My experience with Revelation shows that this idea is strong. I’ve found that Revelation keeps me warm to freezing, as long as I’m wearing the basics. If it’s colder than that, I also sleep in a puffer jacket, but in the summer, even in the mountains, this is not necessary.
Revelation can sleep comfortably on a warm night, that’s how I use it. The foot box has a 20-inch zipper and drawstring, which allows you to close it to create a comfortable (read warm) environment for your feet when you need them. There are also beads that form a loop and wrap around your bed to keep the Revelation. The cables are different, which is good because half the time I don’t use them, but it makes it lose and is a risk. It’s a little different from other systems I’ve tried in that it rotates around your pad (not the bottom) and then you cut Revelation to them. I don’t like sleeping on strings, so I use these strings “wrong” and put them under my pad, ignoring the loop feature, and it works fine. On a hot night I don’t mind the straps at all – the straps are easy to adjust.
Revelation is available in a wide range of sizes, with temperatures ranging from 50°F to 0°F. You can also find different lengths (short, standard, long) and widths (full, standard), and choose between 850-fill-power and 950-fill-power down. The graphic collar is available in bags rated below 30° F. I tested the 40° F model with an 850 fill capacity, which weighs 19 ounces and costs $370. It is also worth noting that there is an opportunity to create a custom, made in the US Revelation using your exact measurements and fill the power with the preferences of the fabric type.
The Best Way to Sleep for Shoulder Season Travel
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Photo: Scott Gilbertson
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Photo: Scott Gilbertson
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Photo: Scott Gilbertson
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Photo: Scott Gilbertson
When the weather gets really cold, I turn to Zenbivy’s variety of sleeping options. In my neck of the woods, winter can last through June and start into early September so I spend a lot of time at Zenbivy quilts. I’ve tried every color the company makes and part of the beauty of Zenbivy is that you can mix and match with different quilts and sheets depending on what suits you best. My favorite combo is the Light Quilt (adjustable, which opens flat), paired with a half sheet/hood from the Ultralight Bed. I like the 10°F version of both. This happens to be the most flexible, lightweight pass for the heat I tend to encounter (using half a sheet saves me 6 ounces to fill). That said, if I were packing in the mountains of the West or the tropics, I’d go with 25°F.
