I guess that's where we disagree. I regularly have read on forums, and in articles those who have aggressively pushed for quilts over sleeping bags. At best you hear bags work if it's what you have, implying quilts are the better option. Telling someone to use a sleeping bag they have when they are beginners is not advocating for sleeping bags, although it is good advice. Telling people to try different things is also good advice, at least within reason. I would always try someone else gear first if you can. Dropping $400 on a top quilt just to see how they are is pretty steep if you ask me. I often hear that if you don't like it, you can sell it. Maybe I'm a terrible salesman, but I find it an absolute chore to sell things like that. Sometimes it takes months to get 3/4 of your money back.
One problem I see is often peoples opinions are a little skewed. I've stated a couple of these things in this thread, the main one being weight. There are absolutely sleeping bags every bit as light as the lightest quilts. Here's an article I found with a 2 minute search. https://hammockgear.com/news/why-bac...g-bags-7074e7/
#1 Quilts are lighter- This isn't true. I proved it's not true in the very first example I looked up. You could cherry pick examples, but the truth is there are absolutely bags that are as light as the lightest quilts out there.
#2 quilts are warmer- This is a prime example of someone aggressively pushing their view with no basis. Sure there can be variation in the temp ratings which have no standard. You could make the argument that quilts can be as warm as bags. They absolutely are not warmer than bags, not at all. The idea that what is essentially a blanket, can be warmer than something that surrounds you on all sides and you zip into. Fail.
#3 quilts are more packable- This might be true, I don't know. I'll leave this to someone else to argue over. If it is true, this is something people should talk about and quantify more.
#4 quilts are more affordable- maybe? It does seem the top of the line top quilts depending on rating are $300-$400. A really warm one appears to get close to $500. Comparable top of the line sleeping bags seem to be $400-$500. Sleeping bags can get way more expensive, but thats due to the cold rating, and use, because... shocker, they are much warmer. Western Mountaineering for example has bags over $1000. Unless you are in the arctic circle, you wouldn't even consider those bags. As I posted earlier, For $160, you can buy a sleeping bag that is warmer than any top quilt on the market, it's just bigger and heavier. There's also lower cost top quilts that are decent, that are also bigger and heavier too.
#5 quilts are better ventilated- No, no they are not. I guess they are when you don't want them to be. You can unzip a sleeping bag. You can then get out of the bag and use it as a top quilt. You can throw half the bag off and use it to cover your legs. There's not one thing a top quilt can to as far as coverage that a sleeping bag cant. There's a few things a sleeping bag can do that a top quilt can't though, such as have back insulation, and zip up inside.
So I guess you could say I am aggressively pushing for sleeping bags, which in this thread is true. I'm never going to argue with someone who likes top quilts, they already found what they like. This thread is more for either beginners, or those who aren't completely sold on their setup. It might even be for those in warm areas with top quilts, but want to try winter camping in a colder area. I just wish we could all be more honest on what the differences between them are.
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