Quilt Style Sleeping Bag
The idea behind a quilt style sleeping bag is to eliminate the insulation that is on the bottom of a conventional sleeping bag. With a conventional sleeping bag, any insulation under your body is crushed. Since insulation must have loft and trap air to be effective, the crushed insulation under your body is wasted. So why not leave the insulation out of the bottom of the bag?
That is what a quilt style sleeping bag does, but it goes one step further. By eliminating the zipper, and leaving the bottom of the bag open, versatility is significantly increased. The sleeping bag can act as a simple blanket, laid over you on a warm night; or a mummy, closed up snugly against the cold; or anything in between.
With the Sawatch 15 quilt style sleeping bag you make the most of your sleeping pad, both for comfort, as well as for insulation. And with our unique attachment system, your sleeping bag stays on top of your pad, where it belongs. Other quilt style sleeping bags attach under your sleeping pad, causing inefficient draft tunnels, or attach around your body, restricting your movement while you sleep.
Attachment System
The backbone of our quilt style sleeping bags is our patented Cord Clip attachment system. The beauty of this design is its simplicity. All our bags feature our Cord Clips, and come with 2mm cord for attaching the sleeping bag to the pad. Simply tie the cords around the pad, and attach your bag! Got a Backpacking Light® Torsolight™ pad? Therm-A-Rest® NeoAir™? No problem! This system works easily with any sleeping pad.
Our Cord Clips feature two attachment points for maximum versatility. The first attachment position allows the clip to slide freely on the cord. For warm weather this gives you the most freedom of movement. As the temperature drops, clipping into the second position allows you to lock the bag in place on the cord. In this position you can control the girth of the bag, and are able to set the bag to overlap your pad to lock out drafts. Even with the Cord Clip in this position, adjustment along the cord is easily accomplished by lifting the Cord Clip vertically. With the Cord Clip held vertically it slides easily along the cord. Returning the clip to its horizontal position locks the Cord Clip in place along the cord. This allows you to adjust the interior volume of the sleeping bag, as well as adjust the bags position on top of the sleeping pad. Secondary clips help seal out drafts when the temperature really drops.
This unique design offers significant advantages. The ability to attach your sleeping bag to the top of the pad, as well as the ability to easily adjust the girth/volume of the bag, allows you to optimize the position of the bag depending on your sleep position, and the level of warmth you need from your bag. In warm weather you have much more room than you are used to in a mummy bag. In cold weather just close the bag in around you for maximum warmth.
Katabatic Gear’s Quilts: Attach on top of your sleeping pad for maximum warmth
Other quilt style sleeping bags strap under a sleeping pad instead of on top of the pad as our system does. This leaves a large draft tunnel inside the bag, particularly if you are a side sleeper. Your precious body heat is spent trying to warm this draft tunnel, which leaves less body heat for you. This design can also cause compressed insulation at your shoulder and hip. All this conspires to leave you cold.
Other Quilts: Attach under your sleeping pad, causing inefficient draft tunnels and loft compression
Katabatic have engineered Cord Clips to be strong and durable, while being thin and unobtrusive. Even if you have your sleeping bag pulled in under your body, our Cord Clips are designed to lie flat and to be unnoticeable.
Our Cord Clip system is fast, simple and easy to use. Tie the cords around your pad before you leave home. Then just lay out your pad, clip your bag on to it, adjust as needed, and sleep!
Differential CutOur sleeping bags feature a substantial differential cut, which is highly beneficial in a quilt style sleeping bag that has adjustable girth. The shell fabric is cut wider than the liner fabric, making the circumference of the shell larger than that of the liner. This means that when you start to draw the bag in more tightly, you will not crush the insulation. It is important to remember that even with a large differential cut, if you pull the bag too tightly around yourself, you can start to crush the insulation and lose loft and warmth.
Continuous Baffles
The baffles in our sleeping bags are continuous from one side of the bag to the other. In the lower leg and foot area they are continuous all the way around the bag. This allows down to be moved to the top or the bottom of the bag as necessary. On warm nights, you can move the down to the bottom, giving yourself less insulation. On cold nights, move more down to the top of the bag for more warmth. This works particularly well with quilt style sleeping bags, where the same part of the bag is always on top, no matter how you lie inside the bag.
Down CollarOur sleeping bags feature an overstuffed down collar around the neck opening. This is a critical area to seal the warmth inside your sleeping bag. Our collar fits comfortably against your neck, and keeps the warm air where it belongs: inside your sleeping bag.
Trapezoidal Foot Box
Optimized for when you need the most room down there, lying on your back, our trapezoidal foot box fits great no matter what position you are lying in. Giving you enough room to wear down booties to bed, but not so much room as to waste your body heat. Plus we overstuff the baffles over the foot section to provide extra warmth. Our goal is simple: we want you to have warm, happy feet while you sleep.
Separate Hood
When you think about it, a separate hood really makes sense. Your sleeping bag stays in place on top of your pad; your hood stays in place on top of your head. You are not going to wake up in the middle of the night, lost somewhere in your mummy bag, wondering which way leads out.
Do you need a hood? Here is what we have found: if temperatures are going to be near the temperature rating of your bag, then you will probably need a hood. If the forecast calls for warmer weather, leave the hood at home, and just wear a warm hat to bed. Looking to save weight and get the most use out of minimal gear? Take a warm jacket with a hood, and wear that to bed if the weather is cold. You keep your head warm, and add extra warmth to your entire sleep system.
Bivy Sack in Conjunction with Sleeping Bag
Our water resistant, highly breathable bivy sacks are designed for use under a tarp or floorless shelter. These bivy sacks provide a waterproof floor, full bug protection, and a water resistant upper to protect your sleeping bag from spray and mist. Our bivy sacks are designed to integrate perfectly with our bags. Simply tie your pad to the floor of the bivy through the pad attachment points, then clip your bag on to these same cords. Your pad stays in place in the bivy; your bag stays in place on the pad. Leave your pad tied into the bivy and setup the next night is a breeze.
The System as a Whole
What does it all mean? Set up and adjustment are quick and simple. The sleeping bag stays where it is supposed to: on top of your pad. The hood stays where it is supposed to: on your head. All our components are designed to work together, but the system is also designed to make the most of gear you already have. Use your hooded jacket or a warm hat on cold nights, or the bivy or tent you already own. All in all, you are making the most out of every piece of gear, while resting comfortably no matter what position you sleep in.
The bottom line? Katabatic Gear sleep system is much more versatile than any conventional sleeping bag, and it weighs a lot less!