I know this has been asked about a thousand time, maybe it should be a sticky or something similar. Possibly have categories for MYOG. Anyway ive been lurking around this group for a long time but i think i have come up the a good first time project.

i want to make an elephant's foot with a.k.a half bag. no zipper just a draw string just above waist height. what im curious about is how much down i need to use to get the equivalent of a 20 degree bag or there a-bouts. id like to use baffles so i don't get any thin spots. is there an optimal depth and width for the baffles? fabric recommendations, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Adam

The quilt instructions available at thru-hiker.com explain how to estimate the amount of down needed ... basically you calculate the volume needed to fill the quilt and then divide by the fill power of your down ... and then increase that result by 10%-20%. More details are contained in the above mentioned article.

The thickness needed will depend on your own metabolic rate and nutrition and your goals (survival vs comfort) and also the warmth of the jacket and headwear you'll be using it with. but I think for the mythical average person a baffle height of 2.5 inches would be adequate for sleeping at 20*F.

Ill have a look, thanks. i sleep mostly outside of my sleeping anyway so why carry the weight.