Sleeping bag

[Burnsie]

Check out Hyke & Byke bags.  They are starting to get a following.

[Ky longbow]

Bill Leeming, surprisingly no. It has the same quality zippers as bags in the 400-600 dollar range. YKK zippers are known for not snagging and are built very well in my opinion. I'm very pleased with it. Here in Kentucky this 30 degree bag has kept me plenty warm with an uninsulated pad on the ground. I'm impressed to say the least. If it starts to drop slighty lower than the temp rating then ill just throw a MSS liner and im good down to closer to 10 degrees.

[Steve H.]

Joe, thanks for doing the research for me, I just become "Enlightened".

[YosemiteSam]

If I had to buy a new system, I would do the quilt, as you suggested.  At least for the summer.  I use a sleeping bag as a quilt anyway when it's warmer.

Don't discount the value of a full mummy bag, though.  Although the points at which you contact the sleeping pad won't have much insulating value, there are a lot of points in and around the ground that are getting better insulated with a mummy bag.  There is also the head/neck area & that adds substantial warmth.  It isn't trivial.

On a recent trip, my buddy got a 30-40 degree down quilt that weighed in at about 1.5 lb.  He was plenty warm since it never dropped below 35 at night & he wore extra layers to adjust.  That kind of weight savings is serious on long hikes -- he was fully-loaded at about 18 lb for a 2.5-day trip while I was about 10 lb heavier.  His pack was just  a day pack while mine was a light external frame.  For warm-season trips, quilts are a pretty good way to go.  But if you're getting regular frost at night, you may want to double check your weights since you'll definitely need more fill on a quilt for the same insulating ability of a mummy bag.

[Roadkill]

I used and tested the 3 part Marine system...they use something really different now and I have not got to test it.  If you have the means of transport, I went to harbor freight and got a couple moving blankets.  They make themselves paid for quickly from being used as padding or rolling up against the side of the tent or covering up partially when warm or pulled over when really cold.  Look into the military poncho liner as a addition to any bag.  Hard to believe you could shiver while trying to sleep in Vietnam, but we did until we got those "snoopy " blankets.  Use mine to this day, altho 46years has it raggyity.

[Hawkeye]

Originally posted by Steve H.:
Joe, thanks for doing the research for me, I just become "Enlightened".

Steve my old(!) friend-

What temperature range did you decide to "enlighten" yourself for?

It is an interesting concept...

[Steve H.]

Other brother! I went with the 20° Enigma, fairly tall, fairly wide. I was sensitive and let my wife help select the colors.

[Hawkeye]

Originally posted by Steve H.:
I was sensitive and let my wife help select the colors.

I don't care what everybody else says about ya'...

I think you are OK!!!    

Hope the quilt proves to be really a great piece of gear for you.  (Just hope she didn't pick bright pink fabric for BOTH the inside and outside of the Enigma.)

[Biathlonman]

I was already running insulated pads so the EE quilts was a no brainer.  I'm by no means a warm sleeper, but have taken both of mine to the stated temp range with no issues.

[cacciatore]

A pad is as much important as the bag itself.

[Steve H.]

My Enigma arrived today, so it looks like 24 days from order to arrival. Light as a feather by the way!

[Archie]

I forgot what my bag is, and it's buried right now...

BUT I'm chiming in just to share that a lousy sleeping bag really inconvenienced me on my 14-day Alaska float hunt in 2013.  It was TERRIBLE to get bad sleep each night, in a bag that was too small and too cold.  I just read my trip journal again the other day, where I railed on that bag every day.  I had a bag that worked well on 1-2 day trips in the lower 48, after I'd moved out of Alaska and started camping in warmer climes.  But this was years later, and a few pounds heavier, and I also had to sleep with some diabetic supplies in the bag with me, to keep them from freezing.  The bag said it was rated to -25... that was a joke!  Man, was I miserable.  

The first thing I did after landing in that bush plane back in Fairbanks was to go to Beaver Sports and buy a really good bag... but the trip was already over.

[Ground Hunter]

kuiu Super Down!!!