Hello,
I'm sort of new to lightweight backpacking and my gear is now heading into the ultralight range. I need some help/direction deciding which sleeping bag or quilt to buy, ideally in or around the $150-200 range.

What I'm looking for:
1) A bag/quilt that is true down to 30 degrees.
2) Must be made of Down (800-900 fill if possible but I understand my budget may not
allow me to have a bag of this quality)
3) Lightweight (my current is 3.5lbs, so lets shoot for 2.5lbs and lower)
4) MOST IMPORTANT - $150-$200 Range

I've looked at WM bags and god do I want one but I haven't seen them for under $200, ever. Montbell has some decent stuff that I've seen too.
I have also looked at some enlightened quilts (I just missed their sell) but I'm not sure how they perform compared to a bag.
I'm open to any and all suggestions, just no synthetic bags please.

Thanks a ton!!!
MountainManDan (MMD)

Dan,

If you want a bag, look at something like the Marmot Arroyo for $196.

What the majority of people on this forum recommend (including myself) is a quilt, and For $230, you can get a really nice 20 degree from Hammock Gear.

MMD,
For something as "heavy" as 2.5 with a 30° limit, you should have LOTS of options. For starters, in the $100 range, you can find the Kelty Cosmic 20 or the REI downtime. Neither are 800-900 fill but are at or below 2.5 lbs and good well below 30°. I have the (old) Kelty Lightyear 25°. I have pushed this bag will below 20° and, well, survived, but 30° is a no brainer. Bought it on sale 4 years ago for $70 and it weighs in at exactly 2.5 lbs.

REI now has a weight based search component. If you look at prices <$200, there are plenty to choose from, but many are in the 2.5 to 3 lb range.

However, for just a little more, you can pick up a 20° Burrow from Hammock Gear for $229.00. It weights in at a stunning 21 oz and is a great product. I own this bag (long with 1 oz of overstuff, cost +$30.00). I love this bag! I can vouch that the rating on these bags is very accurate, not some manufacture-manipulated sales gimmick. These are serious quality products. hammockgear.com

1) Go for a quilt. If if they weren't lighter I'd still use one because they're awesome. It's a lot more like sleeping at home...so much easier to get in and out of.

2) Grab yourself a Golite quilt. They pretty much always have 40% off coupons (see the 'gear deals' forum on this site) so you can grab yourself an awesome Ultra 3-Season quilt (rated to 20F) for just 24oz (1.5 lbs) and the cost is a mere$165 ($275 minus 40% off). Nothing else will even come close to this....an awesome & generously wide 20F rated quilt with 800fp down for just $165.

I will second the Golite Ultra 20, no problems to 30 degrees with basic summer clothing (no extra down clothing) on a Ridgerest pad.

Guys, you haven't been able to buy a golite quilt in months. They are sold out till spring. I couldn't find any a few months back, called them and they are out. They under manufactured.

I saw several GoLite quilts at the GoLite outlet store in Silverthorne, CO yesterday.

At backcountrygear.com:

GoLite UL 3-Season Quilt on sale for $178.45

http://www.backcountrygear.com/camping-and-hiking/sleeping-bags/down-sleeping-bags/golite-ultralite-3-season-quilt.html

Yeah I tried that too(BCG). If you add it to your cart it will tell you it's not available. Not very cool that they do that. I told Golite I had the money to pay list if they could find stock for me and they said they are all gone.

Golite didn't say anything about outlets.

Edited by BigEarth on 11/04/2011 18:15:00 MDT.

Looks like the Regular size is in stock at BCG...

If I were you, I'd go to the Gear Swap thread and post that you are looking for an UL down quilt. I've bought two in the last six months (one Long for me, and one Short for my wife) that were both GoLite Ultra 20s. There are enough out there if you don't mind buying slightly (or lightly) used.

FWIW, I picked them up for around $180-185 each. And my wife and I have both tested them since in Glacier National Park when the temps went down to the low 30s. Were were both toasty, even a little hot.

Better than that, the weight beats your 2.5# limit. My long weighs 23.9 oz and my wife's short weighs 17 oz.

If you can't get something good there, Jacks 'R' Better should be having a Christmas sale soon. The Sierra Sniveler is an excellently reviewed quilt. I almost bought it until I saw a GoLite for sale on Gear Swap.

What are the advantages of a quilt over a bag, other than weight? Do you sleep directly on the pad? I'm a warm side sleeper, so I'm wondering if that'll mean I'm more comfortable in a quilt?

Doug Parker wrote: "However, for just a little more, you can pick up a 20° Burrow from Hammock Gear for $229.00. It weights in at a stunning 21 oz and is a great product. I own this bag (long with 1 oz of overstuff, cost +$30.00). I love this bag! I can vouch that the rating on these bags is very accurate, not some manufacture-manipulated sales gimmick."

Hi Doug,

Does it mean you can sleep under this quilt when it's 20°F inside your shelter? Do you wear anything other than a base-layer?

I'm a side sleeper who rotates a lot during a night. I'm a bit tired of getting myself tangled within my SD Nitro 30, and Burrow 20 looks like a good alternative (well, at least according to the stated specs).

Sergiy, yes, these are rated for comfort. I picked up a 20° Burrow, and I love it. It has 1 oz of overstuff. This roughly equals an extra 5°F, so this will keep me comfortable down to 15° with only a base layer; at those temps a base layer would be a polypro long underwear and wool socks.

Remember, I sleep in a hammock, so this only insulates me on the top and sides. For the hammock, I have other insulation under the hammock. I have found that moving around some is fine in the Burrow, just tuck it in as you shift around.

Hammock gear is accustomed to working with international customers, but you may be the first from Ukraine. Contact them via the website if you need to have them answer some questions. The usually answer their email daily, late in the evening, local time, so that may be a good time for you (early morning). They are very helpful and honest.

Good luck.

Thanks, Doug!

Sergiy, when you do contact hammock gear, ask them about quilt width for a ground sleeper of your body type. Quilts usually need to be a little wider for ground sleepers than they do when using them in a hammock.

Quick question:

So if the quilt is accurately rated to be comfortable at 20F in just a base layer, I'm guessing you could push it pretty far with more clothing in your sleep system right?

Quilt users: have you pushed a 20F into single digits comfortably? I understand a high R value pad is necessary, but say that's covered.

As others have said, 50" would probably be too narrow for a restless side sleeper on the ground.
I'm a restless side sleeper, and i need a minimum of 55". I'm 5'10", 175 lbs, and quite broad shouldered.

I have a burrow that was made for hammock use, and i'd take a bullet for it. I use it with a z-lite on the ground as well and it works fine (i'm a wider guy). I don't have any problems with it, even when sleeping on my side. I have nothing but good things to say about hammock gear quilts. I have the burrow and the incubator (underquilt for hammocking) and i slept snug as a bug during some really cold nights in the Smokies.