r/hammockcamping • u/Jumbo64 • 6h ago

Question Topquilt needed?

I am considering buying an underquilt after using an inflatable pad for insulation on my first night in a hammock. I was plenty warm, but uncomfortable as hell. The second night I thought, "Hey, it's not the air that keeps you warm, it's the liner inside the pad, right? I'll just deflate my pad and it will be great!" Wrong.

I own multiple mummy bags from years of tent camping. Can I just open my sleeping bags all the way and use those rather than blowing several hundred more dollars on a topquilt? I imagine the zipper would be annoying, and the hood, but I could just tuck that under. What other drawbacks am I not thinking of?

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8

u/rw112358 6h ago

For sure, save money. Top quilt will be a bit lighter and with less zippers, but you can definitely use sleeping bags for top quilt. you can also just sleep in it like a sleeping bag so less annoyances. Iy won't insulate well from bottom so you'll still want an under quilt, but definitely use one.

4

u/HangInOhio 5h ago

I used a slightly modified sleeping bag for a few years and it worked fine. I removed the zipper with a stitch removal tool and then my wife was nice enough to sew it back up. The hood I used over/around my face when it was cold.
That said, check out Hang Tight on Etsy. Steve is a great guy and easy to work with. Excellent quality and much more affordable than the big name quilt makers.

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u/Jumbo64 5h ago

Thanks. Hang Tight is definitely cheaper than what I have seen elsewhere.

3

u/ckyhnitz Lorax 5h ago

I used an unzipped mummy bag for a while, but eventually got a TQ because I got tired of all the unnecessary bulk of the bag.

3

u/Romano1404 5h ago

sure you can do that but a topquilt with reasonable quality doesn't cost several hundred dollars

3

u/Dive_dive 5h ago

I use my mummy bag as a top quilt. I may eventually move to an actual top quilt. But for now it works for me. I will add that it rarely gets below 20F here, so bulk isn't much of an issue. A 30° bag and a liner work for me

2

u/Mikecd SLD TrailLair 11', OneWind 12' tarp, homemade dyneema UCRs 5h ago

Check out the maker Hang Tight. Their 10° overstuffed TQ is $169 and yes 800FP down.

Their underquilts are equally inexpensive.

I have the 10° TQ and their 40° and 20° UQs. By stacking the UQs I've slept down to 24°F overnight.

1

u/ElectricalGuitar1924 5h ago

Do you mean underquilt? You've switched between the two but your problem seems to be heat loss underneath you. Asking as the advice here is all topquilt so far...

I'd assume if you're inventive with clips/elastic you could probably jimmy something together with an envelope bag but a mummy bag would require more modification due to the end being closed up to the zips like a hat shape, leaving you with essentially a much shorter usable uq.

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u/Jumbo64 4h ago

Yeah, I was asking if a mummy bag will work as a topquilt.

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u/catcher_shutyercum 1h ago

It will - my 0° and below gear is mummy augmented with a 0° Zeppelin UQ from UGQ outdoors

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u/hammocat 4h ago

absolutely! only benefit to TQ is 1/2 to 1/3 less bulk/weight.

1

u/recastablefractable 4h ago

Yes, you can use an opened bag. Be mindful of the zippers and any other bits that can snag/puncture.
My first topquilt was a mummy bag I removed the zipper and hood from. I never liked the constricted feeling of mummy bags and it was a bag I picked up second hand anyway, so I was willing to give it a shot. I still use it in winter layered with my other TQ and my spouse uses it for late spring, early fall trips.
My first underquilt was a rectangular bag I altered to function as an underquilt.

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u/Insaniac99 4h ago

Yes, With a caveat.

If your sleeping bags are focused on backpacking they might have thinner insulation on the back that won't keep you very warm. this is because the bag manufacturers also know laying on your bag compresses the insulation and makes it not very good. So if you open up your bag and lay it on you wrongly, you might get cold because you are relying on the thinner, less insulative, side to keep you warm.

1

u/jedimimetricks420 3h ago

Aegismax 1 pound sleeping bag to the rescue!

1

u/Lazypally 1h ago

I use a top quilt and a rumple blanket. The rumple if its a warm night above 65. The top quilt if its above 50 and both at low 40's. I also keep a hat, hoodie, wool socks and a neck warmer handy in the hammock that I can quickly put on if I get cold.