Got a rifle season elk hinting trip coming up. Montana. Thread in elk hunting forum. Doing a lot of research, a lot of new stuff.

I’ve checked out the quilt thread here. Tell me, what are the pros and cons of quilts and bags?

I did a quilt work up on a website for a custom quilt and thought it was pretty cool, but I don’t understand the practical differences beyond the outward appearance between quilts and bags. My finished quilt was rated to 0 degrees and weighed less than 1.6 pounds. A bag of that weight seems to be 2 or 3 times that weight.

Any other differences?

I've spent numerous nights out in 0 deg. and lower temps and unless you're the human torch or high on meth., a 1.6 lb quilt (or bag) will not keep you warm for any appreciable amount of time dressed in your normal sleeping gear. Even with full base and fleece mid layers with an extremely warm hat It will a be long night waiting for morning to come.

Another note. I have found Western Mountaineering's temp ratings are about as accurate as they get. If your quilt company is saying their product, sans hood, is as warm as a 0 deg. WM sleeping bag that weighs almost twice as much, I've got ocean front property in Two Dot, MT. I'll sell you cheap!

Hang on to your wallet and walk away.

Compare this quilts' down fill to comparably temp. rated WM down bag:

https://enlightenedequipment.com/enigma-stock/

https://www.westernmountaineering.com/sleeping-bags/specification-chart/

The Enigma has over a half pound less fill wt. of same quality down as a WM bag.

Here is another link to Feathered Friends down bag(another top flight co. with accurate temp ratings).
https://featheredfriends.com/collec...ered-friends-ibis-ex-0-down-sleeping-bag

Again, a half pound more fill than the quilt, and that's for a reason.

Better to lose the wt. under your belt and sleep well at night than trying to save a bit in the pack.

I live in SW Montana at 5500 feet on the Divide. Last year the temps were below zero for most of the rifle season and the winds were terrible. I never camp out any more since I live where I hunt but I can't imagine sleeping in anything that isn't truly capable of -15 weather at a minimum in the winter. Being rated at zero usually doesn't mean that you're warm at zero degrees, you'll need something rated for at least 10 degrees colder just to be warm in zero degrees. I hunted several days in -20 to -30 temperatures last year.

I've several EE quilts and love them. Saving weight on the zipper and the worthless compressed insulation underneath you is what first attracted me, but I find a quilt much more comfortable (less restrictive) and that's my primary reason for preferring a quilt now. EE makes a down head cover (Hoodlum) that is useful in cold temps. I use mine anytime it's below 20 degrees and find it well worth the extra 3 ounces.

My experience has been the same. I've used my 0 and 10 degree UGQ/EE quilts down to -25 comfortably many times. Unless I'm truck/horse/quad camping, I have no use for a bag anymore, regardless of the weather. I may change my mind in -30 and colder temperatures, but I doubt it.

I have a 10 degree UGQ quilt. I'm a side sleeper so I got an extra wide and very glad I did. I can lay on one side of it to keep it tucked and pull the other in under my front.

For those of you using quilts in cold weather, what are you wearing while you sleep. Base layers? Sweats? Please forgive my ignorance. I’m a Texan.,,

Merino wool in cold weather, with thinsulate booties and a heavy fleece stocking cap. I haven't used it below about 20 yet, though. If it was colder, one of those down hoods would be very nice.

If it's really cold I'm wearing my hunting clothes (Sporthill pants, merino baselayer and merino LS shirt on top, maybe a fleece button-up shirt on top), toque, neck gaiter, thick merino socks, etc. But that's only if it's a bunch colder than the quilt/bag is rated for. Oh, and I sleep rather hot, so that impacts what I wear in a given weather condition.

I typically sleep in a cotton t-shirt and fairly heavy synthetic socks. As it gets below 20 degrees I add a pair of lightweight fleece pants and the EE Hoodlum. If I'm finding it uncomfortably cold I'll add a 1/4 zip fleece shirt, but that'll keep me comfortably warm down to zero. I only sleep in camp clothes as I find being clean and absolutely dry makes a lot of difference in sleep quality for me.

I sleep in my Stanfields one piece wool underwear and a pair of socks. If it is much below 20F, I prefer my arctic survival bag. As has been mentioned, a zero rated bag will keep you alive at zero but it won't keep you happy! In order to be warm enough in a quilt, the quilt has to be just as heavy as my bag. The sleeping pad is nearly as important as the bag. GD

A quilt gives you extra room to improvise. I haven't needed it but I could easily put on my down puffy coat.

Looking at the reviews on the UFQ bandit quilts and people seem to like them. I guess they could be cherry picking their reviews, but they have 28ish pages of positive reviews. It seems a lot of people feel their temperature ratings are legitimate. I think that’s how I’m going to go I have good hunting and camp clothes to go with it so it should work out well!

UGQ makes all their quilts to order. You get many choices of color (both inside and out), size, and temp rating. When you order, they put you on a list and you can see who all is ahead of you. Once your name reaches the top, it's shipped within a day or 2. I had to wait about 3 weeks for mine a couple years ago. It's probably farther out now.

Ordered a UGQ Bandit. 0 degree 950 fill with all the extras. Now I need to find a good sleeping pad. I know I need a high R rating.
Who knew spending all this money could be so fun. If you see me lost in the mountains, I’m the guy with all the new stuff.

Check out the Thermarest NeoAir XTherm MAX.

What’s the scoop? I see it’s pricey. Are you using this pad, Jordan?

I use an Exped Down Mat 7 with my 0 deg Bandit Quilt. Very happy with it.

It's a bit bulky but any kind of ensolite pad, like a Thermorest Z Pad or a cheap 3/8 pad from Big 5 or Walmart, on top of any other pad will give you some very useful extra R's. They weight close to nothing and don't leak.

I use the NeoAir XTherm when weight/space is an issue, otherwise I use a Thermarest Base Camp or similar type self-inflating foam.

It’s about the highest R value for the weight, available. I own multiple pads and if I have space in my pack or I’m camping near the truck I love my Exped Downmat 9, but it’s bigger and heavier, so if weight and space are a concern the Neoair XTherm MAX cannot be beat. It’s a fantastic all around pad, and has proven very durable for me. The non-MAX version is cut in a mummy shape, and the MAX is rectangular. I find my bivy is less likely to slide off the MAX version.

The only downsides to the XTherm are the feeling and sound. It feels like plastic/rubber against the skin and crinkles a little bit when moved, so I recommend having a layer between your skin and the pad. The sound is minimal for me, so I wouldn’t worry about it. In contrast, the Exped has a soft, micro-fleece feeling, and doesn’t make noise when moved. I do think the XTherm is more durable and more easily repaired than the Downmat, from what I’ve seen.

Quilts are cute.....

It depends on what you mean by quilt. There are some that are just insulated sheets. There are also some that are hammock top quilts. Then there are ground-sleeping backpacking quiilts.

On the ground, you lose heat into the ground through conduction rather than radiation. You can lose heat into the air through convection, and in all directions through radiation.

Fluff insulation like a down or synthetic fluff held in place with a polyester or nylon cover (a sleeping bag or quilt) will be especially effective to reduce convective loss and radiated loss in the directions where it can fluff. It won't be so effective when it's squished under your weight. That's why we use foam or inflated sleeping pads.

The backpackers quilt comes about from the desire to shave weight -- the weight of mostly ineffective down or synthetic insulation fluff on the underside of the bag that often just gets squished by your weight. Such a backpacking type quilt should have a pocket or some attachment system so it fixes to the sleeping pad. It's an ultralight thing.

As a weight-concious backpacker of almost 40 years experience, I think the quilt/pad system is smart -- smarter than a traditional bag and pad. However:

It doesn't make any difference if you're not packing it on your back. It's superfluous for camping out of a vehicle.
There are other alternatives like the hammock, though they're applicable in fewer circumstances.
The options on the market right now are mostly high-performance down paired with inflatable pads
people seeking the advantage of the lower weight of quilt/pad systems are unlikely to forgo the advantage of high power down and inflatable pads
down and high power down are $$$
down performs poorly when wet (which is inevitable after multiple nights just from condensation)
ultralight shells tend to be delicate and they typically pair with inflated pads (lower weight than closed cell foam) that are also delicate.

The combination of expensive and delicate cancel the benefits of ultralight highest-R value per ounce quilt/pad systems for me. I sleep with a 90 pound dog when I'm backpacking, so I go inexpensive synthetic and it's a traditional bag and closed cell foam pad. They're more durable and less costly to replace. It might weigh a full pound more for a given warmth rating. I'm happy with the tradeoff but others will opt to spend the money and save the weight.

I've slept in bags for years but last year a friend loaned me his EE Convert with 850 fill, 0 degree, regular wide. I fell in love with it. You can use it as a bag, a quilt or just a comforter. Yes, it does need a pad under it, but so do bags. I ordered one for myself this year. On the other "quilt" discussion, someone suggested I change the order to a long, wide one, which I did. It came last week and I used it camping in the GA mountains this week, as a comforter, and when it got warm I just opened it. In my opinion, the main difference between a bag and quilt is room to move around better. As far as the 0 degree rating is concerned, remember, that is the temp that will keep you alive. You can usually add 20 degrees to that for comfort. All of the good bag/quilt companies have personnel that will be glad to work with you to make sure you have what you need. Good luck.