Quilts have a big following amongst UL ground dwellers with a pad being the bottom insulation. This is similar to the idea behind the Big Agnes sleep system.
To me, the biggest advantage a sleeping bag has over a quilt [besides weight] is that, when you are on the ground, the sleeping bag will not open up if you move around a lot while sleeping.
Even then, you can rig up straps that wraps the sides of the quilt around the pad [see http://www.nunatakusa.com/site07/mai...s/arc_faq.htm]
I haven't logged enough hours with my TQ to know if the quilt opening up, due to restless sleeping, will be an issue for me when in a hammock. I think a hammock will be more forgiving since the quilt is confined in the body of the hammock.
But the colder it gets the more important it is to keep that heat trapped. That is why winter bags have lots of construction features like hoods and draft collars, etc.. Those features are required in addtion to loft when it gets below zero. Have you ever seen someone in their winter bag with only a one" diameter opening where their mouth is?
This will be my first winter in a hammock but there are plenty of people here who have done it and hopefully will comment on how a quilt holds up when it gets really cold.
For below zero hammock camping, I plan on using my 15*F down bag and a pad with the TQ/UQ set. The Tarp/Hammock/TQ/UQ will replace a 4 season 2 person tent, 2nd pad, and heavy syn overbag in my ground set-up
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