Thanks guys. So the follow up is say I have a 0° underquilt and want to go into the 20's. Could one pull that off with the 0° quilt and a 40° top quilt? In other words would having a "more than enough" under quilt offset what you would need for a top quilt?
Personally, I don't play that game. The TQ is "theoretically" more efficient, which is not to say that it "is" more efficient. Since I have 40*, 20* and 0* quilts, I use a 10* cushion over expected low temperatures. If the expected low is 30* F, then I use my 20* quilts. If the expected low is 50* F, I use my 40* quilts, etc. I never mix and match quilts.Originally Posted by TrailSlug
You're really pushing it using a 40* quilt in the 20s. Even if the TQ is "theoretically" more efficient, I don't think it's 20* more efficient.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
For winter I finally sprang for the downy goodness and got a JRB Winter Nest and a HG Zero Burrow.For 3 season use,a 20F HG Phoenix and a Snugsack Blanket because it is cheap.Eventually my bucket list will be to replace the blanket with a HG 40 tq and save a pound or better right there.Losing weight is expensive but worth it once you get over the initial financial pain.Come to think of it,the 3 season tq would also double as a nice household comforter in winter.
I have used pads, but I think that my best purchase was an underquilt. I use an old 20* sleeping bag as my top quilt. Have been sleeping out this way in a hammock for over ten years.
Don't argue with the alligator until after you cross the river.
With just a 40 degree top quilt I would say no. However it's not hard to increase the effectiveness of your top insulation. You can use something like a Costco down throw, or a fleece sleeping bag liner, or another sleeping bag, just a wool blanket, ect ect.
Definitely UQ!
Hanging in the woods, paddlin and catching trout- My kind of living...
an UQ all the way....worst case situation you can pack on the clothes to stay warm...very difficult to keep warm underneath even in summer months without an under quilt in my option...I have found 20degree UQ is good for most of my backpacking experiences. Enjoy....this is a great site for info...
Turk3
When you split quilt ratings UQ to TQ, its usually no more than 20 degrees. Like others said, you might be able to do it. But here's the thing, and where a lot of folks get into trouble... down is the most efficient at trapping heat. The more clothes you wear, the more you rob down of the heat it needs to trap to insulate most effectively. Trapped heat is an important factor in how down insulates. If the down doesn't have good access to your body heat, its less efficient. Synthetics are a little better in this regard.
So, you could get into trouble trying to make that 40 TQ work at 20 with additional clothes, not only on top, but also on bottom with the zero.
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
Underquilt all the way. I love that you can use a 3/4 length UQ in warmer temps by pulling it up to allow air to flow. I've only slept down to 40 degrees F in my hammock, but with the underquilt I could barely have a summer weight sleeping bag on top of me.
i'm joining the UQ alliance.
“I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news”
― John Muir
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