GEAR GUIDE: Top Bags, Quilts, and Wearable Sleep Systems

Gear Guide Criteria: Top Bags are defined as fully-enclosed sleeping bags which are designed to be integrated with a sleeping pad on the bottom, rather than be fully insulated around their girth. Quilts take this one step further by providing coverage only on the top of a sleeper. (Although quilts may have straps, neck closures, and/or footboxes that provide full insulation around parts of their girth in some configurations.) Wearable Sleep Systems include sleeping bags of all types that have features that allow them to serve a dual purpose as insulated clothing. Compared to a conventional mummy bag, each of these types may result in a lower overall packweight when clothing, shelter, and sleeping pad weights are considered.