Switched from a 3-season bag to a quilt after a guy at REI said I was sleeping wrong

I went in to buy a new sleeping bag last spring, and the sales guy asked me how I sleep. I said on my side, tossing around a lot. He said well then a mummy bag is working against you, you're compressing the insulation. Showed me a 20 degree quilt from Enlightened Equipment and I was skeptical. But I took it to Shenandoah for 4 nights and honestly I slept way warmer even though it's lighter. The draft control took some getting used to though. Anyone else make the switch and find the pad straps annoying?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige_martin1mo agoMost Upvoted

I mean, the pad straps thing is real, but you might be overthinking it. The big trick is getting the right pad width. When I first switched, I was using a 20 inch wide pad and the quilt was just sliding off all night. Once I went up to a 25 inch wide pad, the straps actually held things in place way better. Also, some quilts have a little elastic cord that cinches the footbox tighter, which helps if you're a restless sleeper like me.

alice_harris351mo ago

Haha "the quilt was just sliding off all night" - that was me for like 6 months. I thought I was just a violent sleeper and kept blaming my tossing and turning. Turns out I was using a dinky 20 inch wide pad on a narrow quilt and wondering why I woke up wrapped in a cold puddle of fabric. I finally got a 25 inch wide pad and it's night and day. Also that elastic cord trick is gold, I cinched mine so tight I look like a sleeping burrito and it actually stays put.

mark73117d ago

Wait, you had a 20 inch pad too? That's crazy. I thought I was the only one dumb enough to try that combo for months. I was out there with a cheap 20 incher and a 50 degree quilt that was way too narrow, waking up every hour to re-tuck myself like some kind of fabric origami project. And @paige_martin is spot on about the pad width being the real fix, but man, I still can't believe we all went through that burrito sliding phase before figuring it out.