I also use a Blue Kazoo. Mine is from the mid-70s and has been used on multiple trips every year since then. Still seems to work as well as when new. It's rated to 20F but I only find it to be comfortable down to about 30F. Below that I add a vapor-barrier liner which only weighs a couple ounces but has let me sleep alright down to 0F in that bag. Not bad for a total weight of 2 lbs. Cost about $90 which seemed pretty expensive at the time. But now that the price/night is only a few cents it doesn't seem so high.

These quilts always intrigued me. But how do they differ from a sleeping bag without a zipper? Also, their temperature ratings are far more optimistic at a given fill power and loft than, for example, Feathered Friends. A J or B Hudson with 800 fill and 2.5" of loft is rated roughly the same as a FF Merlin with 850 fill and 4" of loft, the latter obviously being heavier. I'm sure that the insulating qualities of the materials used or the same (and are likely the best) for each product. What am I missing?

Does that 4" loft include both top and bottom side of sleeping bag? Bottom side will be crushed under weight of occupant and therefore offer little to no insulation property. As you note the quilt is like a sleeping bag minus the zipper and minus about ~20" of material and insulation, so that is why quilts can offer a weight savings against most similarly rated sleeping bags. For many the concern with quilts is exposure to a draft. Quilts with tabs on the sides allow one to run a string or ribbon underneath sleeping pads to connect sides and thus hold the quilt in place so it acts much like a sleeping bag. For many I recommend a quilt that is at least 52" wide, especially for larger folks like myself (weight = 215lbs). If in a hammock or a thin/small framed person can use 48" wide quilt.

Yes. I love my quilts. I don't make them with tabs to tie them to my pad since I stay fairly still, when I sleep. And, once you construct a footbox, it sort of "holds on" to your feet.

Using a reflective ground cloth (e.g.- space blanket) under your tent and a decent sleeping pad will do wonders for keeping you toasty.

Marmot Hydrogen,30 degree bag,24OZ. packs 6 x 10.Butt ugly green.
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pub...jzYJGqJrtGVKoA

What makes a sleeping bag ultralight.
I used a Mammmut Ajungilak Kompakt 3 season for a trip up to Norway in Aug/Sept so I needed something warm enough. It weight about 1.6kg so is in no way ultralight.
Do ultralight ones have less hardware, less stuffing, down rather than synthetic, more high tech bits?

That would explain it. Sleeping bags count the "loft" for top and bottom, quilts count just the top. I think quilts are the way to go for anyone using a hammock and for anyone who sleeps without shifting on their back or stomach. Otherwise, a narrow bag, used as a quilt in milder temps, might be the best of both worlds.

I think an ultralight design takes a good sleeping bag and cuts away all of the less efficient bits. It substitutes a lighter weight shell for a more durable, water-resistant one; removes volume that is otherwise "crushed" (loosing insulating effectiveness) in use; substitutes a higher fill-power insulating material; makes the bag as close fitting as possible to minimize having to insulate pockets of air; removes pockets, collars, baffle tubes, and eliminates or substitites a lighter weight (but less durable) zipper. All at a higher price.

There's no free lunch.

Lightweight gear isn't necessarily more expensive than the rest. In fact, it can probably save you money in the long run.

My 20 oz. quilt was around $220. Our Tarptent at 2.5 lbs. was about $250. You can use closed-cell pads for dirt cheap, make your own stove for pennies, use a stuff sack filled with clothes as a pillow. There's lots of ways to go light without breaking the bank.

Another benefit is you'll need fewer panniers and racks to carry your gear, which means less burden on your bike, which means you don't need to bring a lot of emergency parts and tools because parts rarely/never break. And because your load is lighter, you use less energy climbing, which means you won't need to eat as much during the day, which means less spent at grocery stores and restaurants.

All of that is money saved. :thumb:

Gosh you guys have too much money to spend (and are still toting too much weight for a summer bag). I have a cheap synthetic bag I got at Dicks Sportinggoods for forty bucks that weighs 1.1 pounds and is rated to forty degrees. It compresses to about six inches in diamrter and about thirteen inches long (2 compression straps on stuff sack). I bet it is only good to fifty but if I expect colder wear I wear a layer of fleece to bed too. As long as you are touring in the summer this bag is no problem. It does not compress as well as a down bag but it is still reasonably small and leaves a nice cushion in my wallet that I find makes a comfy pillow!

An ther cheap weight saver we do is use an REI bug hut tent (all mesh netting above floor) and a home made mylar fly made out of a space blanket reinforced selectively with packing tape. It weighs about 2.4 pounds and fits me and my two young sons. It has great ventilation and cost about $70 for the tent and $5 for the fly. It is maybe not suitable for a driving gale but when that is due we have the good sense to stay in a hotel.

I bring a little extra packing tape wrapped around a baseball card for field repairs of the fly and just figure I will make a new fly when this gets worn beyond reasonable repairability.

This is cheap, light, fairly roomy for what it weighs and has been downright practical for us. I just wish I could find a space blanket that was not orange on one side and chrome on the other.

what about a Hennessy Hammock? (http://hennessyhammock.com/articles/cycling/) Anyone tried one while touring? I'm guessing you'd still need a bag of sorts, but eliminate the sleeping pad and tent...

Remember, the sleeping pad isn't just to make you comfy, it's also to insulate you from the cold ground. You still need something underneath you in a hammock, or else all your nice body heat just drifts away. You can use a sleeping pad if you're cheap (like me), but the better solution is an underquilt, which is exactly what it sounds like, a quilt for, well, under.

I have a feeling that most of the people who insist that hammocks are too cold forgot about this.

I'm a fair-weather camper. My ancient, $35 Woods Cycle Bag is all I need. It has very thin synthetic fill augmented by reflective Mylar-like fibres, weighs very little and compresses reasonably well for a non-down bag.