Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
A million years ago I saw what I think was a very light weight (<1 lbs.) down (mummy)sleeping bag liner. I have always regretted not purchasing it. It would have been an excellent addition to my sleeping bag in winter, and a perfect emergency bag for a one day snow-shoe hike. I can not find much of anything like it on line. The only thing close to it I see is what they call a "down camping blanket." But it is not a "mummy" style, so there would be some wasted weight in that. Any ideas? Basically looking for a down mummy bag at one pound or less with a price tag that will not give me a heart attack. Thanks for any suggestions.
The Sea to Summit Traveler TrI 50 sleeping bag might work - 1 pound, 2 ounces, hoodless, slight mummy shape. Not sure how strong your heart is - but I think $220 in a regular length might be less than a defibrillator.
Have you considered clothing rather than a liner? I've experimented with that over the last 2 yeears, and been very pleased with the results - it let me take my 45 degree WM quilt down to 25 degrees (might have gone a few degrees colder if I had used a warmer pad.) The setup I use is from Montbell: a hooded Superior down jacket, Superior down pants, and down booties. (I also use their down balaclava, but that's only because my quilt doesn't have a hood, and I wanted two layers of down around my head; it also seals around my face.) The bonus is that you can wear the down clothing while sitting around in camp, then wear one piece or all pieces (depending on temperature) inside the sleeping bag. It's a bit more costly than a liner bag, but I think the whole setup was right at $400, which was reasonable for the extra function it gives. (You get rewards points if you sign up for the no-cost program; the jacket and pants were enough points to buy the booties.)
Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
Yes, I have considered extra warm clothing. I happen to have a variety of weights of different high quality down jackets. MontBell lists the Superior men's down pants as $0. I think that means they are out of them. I did see some much more reasonably priced down pants when I shopped online, but not sure of the quality. I will have to read some reviews. Interesting the big temperature drop you were able to endure with the setup you described. I also happen to have a couple of pair of down booties, but I haven't used them at all since I moved from Alaska years ago. Thanks for your comments Glenn.
+1 on wearing extra insulation to sleep. It extends the temp range of your bag or quilt, but the reason I do it is for when I wake up. It really makes the 'do I really need to go?" debates a lot less distressing.
You might reconsider the blanket idea because a liner will be smaller than your bag and might feel confining. Throwing a layer over the top works, but if you have a lot of room you can stuff the blanket in with you to fill air gaps.
Assuming that is in the shell shock range I think your best bet is to buy the quilt from Costco and either sew your self a foot box or find a local sewer to do it for you.
There are a lot of links out there about how to do this. Here is one:
I'll second the Costco quilt, if it fits (length.) If you didn't want to sew a footbox, you could use safety pins to create one for a trial run, then get it sewn if it works out.
When my wife and I bought ours a few years back, they came as a set of two for about $25, including two small stuff sacks - if they still come that way, having two gives you other options for making a liner by sewing them together with or without a zipper. (Availability may be an issue: I couldn't find them on the Costco website today; I think they come and go depending on re-stocking.)
We use ours to wrap around us while we're sitting in the living room on a cold night, but it's not cold enough to have the fireplace on.
Registered: 01/16/13
Posts: 913
Loc: Nacogdoches, TX, USA
FYI, the hammock folks that modify the Costco quilt say they get a lot more loft if they rip all of the seams going in one direction, but I can't remember if they were ripping the short seams or the long seams.
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The journey is more important than the destination.
yeah, I am not a Costco member, so I don't know about the current availability. There are some options on Amazon that run about $60-70. Still very affordable but not in the price range of the Costco quilt.
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