Climashield Combat Sleeping Bag.

I started this sleeping bag yesterday afternoon. Using the pattern from the all Cuben Sleeping bag saved a lot of time and I was able to finish the Sleeping Bag this morning. I did not make a hood or a collar for this bag so that saved a little time and weight. The opening has a circumference of 70 inches and the foot end of the bag has a circumference of 30 inches. The bag is 80 inches long. The opening has an elastic draw cord.

The shell material is Black Pertex Quantum and weighs 1.03 ounces per sq yard. Momentum90 from Thru-Hiker would be a great direct replacement for the Pertex Quantum if I couldn't get the PT-Quantum.

I used a panel of Cuben Fiber (0.42 ounces per sq yard) for the non-insulated bottom part.

The insulation for this sleeping bag is two layers of Climashield Combat. My insulation weighs 2.13 ounces per sq yard. The Clo for Climashield Combat is 0.79. This gives me a Clo number for the two layers of 3.365. This is more or less equivalent to 3.365 inches of loft (think Down) for temperature range planning.

Weight of the Pertex Quantum: (1.03 ounces per sq yard)
1 layer of PT-Q = 2.91 ounces. 2 layers required = (5.61 ounces - trimmed weight.)
2.91 ounces = 2.83 sq yards of material x 2 = 5.66 sq yards of material.

Weight of the Cuben: (0.42 ounces per sq yard)
1 layer for the non-insulated part of the bottom = 0.53 ounces.

Weight of the Climashield Combat: (10.39 ounces)
Clo for 2 layers of Climashield Combat - 3.365 = 3.365" loft +/-.

Weight of the shell (2 pieces of PT-Q. the 2 layers of Climashield Combat and sewing them together) = 453.6 grams / 16 ounces.


Total weight goal was 17 ounces.
Total Weight is 473.4 grams or 16.7 ounces. (current trimmed weight is 16.4 ounces)

This shows the two layers of Climashield Combat insulation.



The finished Sleeping Bag.



This shows the Cuben Fiber non-insulated bottom insert.


Materials:

Shell Material:
Pertex Quantum - Not available for retail sales.

Momentum90 - Direct replacement


Cuben Fiber

Cuben Fiber

Insulation:

Climashield Combat

OR

Climashield XP

Hardware:

Tiny Cord locks

Shock Cord

Edited by bfornshell on 02/04/2007 19:41:17 MST.

Bill,
That is one nice bag!
I am willing to bet that this bag has the highest warmth to weight ratio of any bag you've made, (including the Cuben)?

I would like to see a report at 20* with this bag and your down filled- air-dam mattress. I am willing to bet you would do just fine.

So, is this going to be your go-to bag for the thru-hike?
You've made at least 4 now. At least they are completely different from each other.

By the way, I thought you were out of Pertex ?

Hi Aaron,
Thanks for the nice comment.

I want to make at least two more bags. The next one will use 2 layers of Polarguard Delta. The top shell material will be Pertex Quantum (not gone yet). I will use Cuben for the inside lining and Cuben for the non-insulated bottom. The Down Quilt I made with PT-Q on top and Cuben for the lining works really nice. The Cuben inside is fine.

On a side note the other day after taking a shower I got inside the All Cuben bag with nothing on. Skin to Cuben. Slept for about 2 hours. No problem and no sweat. My feet got a little warm and were just damp but not wet. The rest of me was fine.

Weather here is going back to normal fast so cool mornings to play in my sleeping bags are gone for awhile.

I have made 3 quilts and 2 sleeping bags. After the Delta bag I want to make one more sleeping bag and use Down for it. I have about 20 ounces of Thru-Hiker 800+ and want a sleeping bag that should be good down to "0" F. Baffles are such a pain that I put this one of to last.

Next Sleeping Bag:

1. Top Shell PT-Q. ==== 2.90 oz
2. Inter-liner - Cuben. == 0.99 oz
3. Non-insulated Insert. = 0.44 oz
4. PG - Delta. ========= 10.39 oz
--------------
5. Total Weight Estimate.= 14.72 oz

Edited by bfornshell on 02/05/2007 09:49:27 MST.

Bill,

Would you guess this at a 32 degree bag or something much lower?

Great work .... you're an such an inspiration!

very well done again bill. I was curious about a few things- how did you calculate that 1" of down loft is about = to 1 clo ,and also where did you get clo info for combat?

Thanks

Does climashield have to be quilted to the liner material like other synthetics or can the insulation just be attached by sewing it into the perimeter seams?

Edited by sdwhitey on 02/18/2008 14:30:46 MST.

Scott,

I only sewed the Climashield Combat insulation to the edge (perimeter seams) of the material.

Thanks Bill! I really like your design and I think I would like to try to make this type of a top bag instead of a quilt.

I was also wondering, do you think it would be practical to use a double layer of climashield for the top half of the bag which covers your torso and only a single layer for the lower half that covers your legs?

My hope would be to save a little weight without sacrificing any insulation that covers the body's core.

Or would have a only a single layer covering the legs compromise the overall warmth of the bag and negate the benefits of the weight savings?

Edited by sdwhitey on 03/18/2007 15:08:21 MDT.

I'm going to make myself a quilt. I'm still hesitating between Climashield XP and Primaloft one insulation. Both shell and liner will be silk. I'm gonna use it in combination with a bivy.

Here is calculated thermal performance:

Primaloft one, prequilted (two layers)
clo: 3.0, weight: 4.4 oz/sq yd
insulation/weight ratio (including the scrim): 0.68

Climashield XP (two layers)
clo: 3.8, weight: 5 oz/sq yd
insulation/weight ratio: 0.77

I will go with both, since the primaloft one will be lighter in total and the scrim will "back up" the thin silk.

It'll be very helpful if there is someone more experienced than me who could compare these two materials in terms of:
+ durability
+ performance when wet
+ compresibility
to help me make the best choice.

wow this is incredible information. im planning on making essentially exactly what you just made (alhtough mine will certainly not look as nice).

thanks for sharing,
matt

Hey Bill, great stuff!

I'm planning on making a very similar bag myself, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing the dimensions of the initial cutout of the shell (as pictured in the first photo)? It would be incredibly helpful as a guideline.

Also, how did you manage to make the sewn edge look so neat? Did you sew it so the edge of the fabric is now on the inside, and if so, does that bother you when you're in the bag?

Thanks!

Very nice bag. Great info. if I want to follow you into this foray. Thanks.

I will say I'm most conerned with that pet tiger you keep in you home though....

Thanks Tornado,

This is another one of my Sleeping Bags. It may show the pattern better. This one is Silk for the top material and Cuben for the non-insulated bottom.


Silk Sleeping Bag

You sew the bag inside out so the seam is on the inside. I also leave enough Cuben to fold over the seam and sew it again. This gives the bag a nice "finished" look even though it really doesn't show. No, I don't feed the seam line.

I will look and see if I still have the pattern from that bag. If I do I will measure it and post it later today.

Edited by bfornshell on 06/02/2009 12:21:48 MDT.

Erik,

Thanks for the comment.

You did notice that the Tiger has a lot of food. A full tummy makes for a happy Tiger.

I have had the Tiger for 32 years.

I noticed the food and the tiger - I just found that juxtaposition sorta funny. 32 years!!!!??? But as for the bag - very, very nice work. I like it.

As you can see the pattern paper has 4 lines on it each in a different color.

1. Starting at the top or with the Green line, the Green line width is 50".
2. The Purple line width is 30" long.
3. The Orange line width is 44" long.
4. The Blue line width is 33.5" long.
5. Drawing a line down the middle of the pattern and going from the green line to the bottom or Blue line it is 80" long.
6. To get the distance from the Green line to the Purple line measure 59".
7. The distance from the Purple line to the Orange line is 1".
8. The distance from the Orange line to the Blue line is 20".
9. Once you have the points or ends of each line marked on your paper or pattern material draw in the outer lines.

The photo distorts the true shape of the pattern.

NOTE: This pattern has been modified several times to fit ME. If you use this pattern you might want to make a test bag out of some really cheap material to see how the size fits you.

Edited by bfornshell on 06/03/2009 14:34:59 MDT.

Thanks you, Bill! That's incredibly helpful!

As far as the length goes, I am wondering if I could get by with just 72" (specifically 2 yards of insulation instead of 3). I'm 6'1", and I'm planning on making the opening of the bag cinch around my neck. How does the length relate to your height and sewing demands?

Thanks!

Tornado,

I am 6' tall.

When you sew the ends together you lose length. Some will go for seam allowance and some will go when you make the "fold over" for the draw cord. Before you know it you are down to 72 inches. That is why I make it longer.

When I am ready to sew the end shut I get it ready to sew - pin it or use clips - then get in it to see if I want to trim a little off. If you end up with a bag that is to short it is hard to sew extra onto it.

I also like a bag with a little extra room in the foot for other stuff I don't want to leave outside my bag over night. Like my shoes / boots when they might freeze. I put them in a bag (to keep the sleeping bag clean) and stuff them into the foot of my bag.

Edited by bfornshell on 06/03/2009 19:50:05 MDT.

Well that settles it, I'll be sure to get extra insulation (I'm sure I'll be able to use it for another project anyway).

Okay, I'm off to order my materials, I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Thanks again for all the help, Bill.

When you sew one of these together do you lay both layers of the shell on top of the insulation, sew the edges and foot box togehter and then pull it all inside out? (if that makes sense)

Regards,

Mike