Quilts are better than sleeping bags

I used to I’d say my best days started with waking up in a sleeping bag. Waking up in a sleeping bag usually means you’re out somewhere, doing something interesting. However, in the last couple of years, I’ve found myself waking up out there having great days doing interesting things, but without a sleeping bag in sight. Instead, I sleep in what hikers and ultralight editors call a quilt.

This is not a quilt like the one your grandmother gave you. Backpacks Duvets are made of nylon and filled with down such as a Traditional sleeping bag. The difference is that it lies on top of you like a quilt, rather than wrapping completely around you like a sleeping bag. The benefit is twofold: the duvet is lighter, which means less weight to carry in your bag, and as an added bonus, I sleep better than I ever did in the countryside.

Mummified

Let’s face it, there’s a reason why sleeping bag backpacks are called “mummy bags.” They cramp at the best of times, and suffocate at the worst of times. I don’t know about you, but for me, there’s nothing about a mummy that I want to imitate, not even when I’m asleep. So I was as ready as anyone to jump on the quilt bandwagon when it really started to take off a few years ago. However, I didn’t. Maybe it was something like this Stockholm syndrome; I had finally accepted the mummy thing, and I was, frankly, a little nervous to give up my sleeping bag for a quilt. But then I did it, and I’ll never go back. Or more likely never to return.

But first, what is the difference between a sleeping bag and a quilt? As mentioned briefly above, the duvet is placed on top of you, not around you like a sleeping bag. Think burrito versus taco. In this case, the sleeping bag/quilt is the tortilla and you are the filler. Would you rather have it wrapped like a burrito? sleeping bag. Prefer a distinctly superior taco experience, with a warm, soft tortilla sitting on top of you? You are (probably) a quilt person.

The science here is that when you lie in your traditional sleeping bag, your body weight forces most of the padding to the sides. The bottom left underneath you is so compressed that you don’t get any real insulation from it anyway – so why carry that extra nylon down? Enter the duvet. Duvets get rid of the useless nylon and down layer, and lie on top of you like a comforter on your bed at home. Quilts typically weigh less than sleeping bags and are smaller in size, making them very popular with backpackers trying to reduce weight and save space.

Although I think the weight savings make comforters a great option for anyone looking to carry a lighter load, how well you like a comforter over a sleeping bag will depend somewhat on how you sleep. If you’re a taco lover, and the thought of a sleeping bag rolled up like a burrito makes you sweat just thinking about it, a comforter is your happy, happy future. Or, if you like to curl up in a ball, move around a lot at night, sleep on your side, or want to share covers with a tent mate, then again, the comforter is for you.

If you rarely move during the night, and sleep somewhat like a mummy, you may not mind a traditional sleeping bag and won’t share my enthusiasm for the comforter.