Bushwalk Australia

I'm finally making some progress in the diy department. I've nearly finished a quilt cover, which I slept in last night at home. I was happy at how much warmer it was inside it compared to outside it. I didn't need the quilt much at all, so it mainly just sat alongside my mat. At the moment I've been using a doona and a light insulated quilt on my bed, so this was significant.
(I went for the option of mat inside, so i still have the option of clipping the quilt to the mat if really cold.)

The last bit to do is sewing on the base. I have vague thoughts that it might be good to be able to open it up to let moist air out, keeping the foot of my bag drier. I'm wondering about a drawcord - probably the simplest. Vaguer thoughts re the option of a little hoop or stays or something for air circulation when not too cold. But that would add weight. Maybe a couple of tabs that allow mini tie-outs or something.

Has anybody thought about this??

Thanks for your thoughts.

A draw cord is the simplest
Is the quilt at least 150mm longer than you need tho, as that is how much a drawcord will shorten the quilt.
The hoop is an idea I'm playing with for my overbag but i don't think it's needed at all in the primary layer but you could sew in a narrow channel to hold one
My experience with the open foot section of a drawcorded SB is that you don't need a tab or a bit of string tied off to a branch as normal movement provided plenty of air exchange

Thanks, Moondog. Very helpful indeed. There should be a LOT of air exchange the way I sleep.

I don't have the extra length to allow for the drawstring as it is, but I can just sew that extra length on instead of the base I was planning.

Personally I find a shaped footbox more comfortable when I need warmth

My EE quilt has the draw string type foot box and I have never opened it to vent air. Even when its been hot I find I can vent air easily enough in other areas, and when its cold, I sometimes struggle to stop air venting

If or when I make my own quilt, I will be sewing the foot box up and be done with it.

That was my feeling as well. If it were that hot I'd just lay there outside of my quilt. But if it were cold I would want more than a tube with a drawstring closure. So I sewed a nice insulated footbox, modeled after one of my Western Mountaineering sleeping bags. I'm very happy with it.

That said, I usually camp where it is cool at night. And people are different. So even though a foot vent isn't for me that doesn't mean it isn't the right solution for someone else.

Moondog55 wrote:Personally I find a shaped footbox more comfortable when I need warmth

Not sure exactly what you mean here Moondog...?

DanShell wrote:My EE quilt has the draw string type foot box and I have never opened it to vent air. Even when its been hot I find I can vent air easily enough in other areas, and when its cold, I sometimes struggle to stop air venting

If or when I make my own quilt, I will be sewing the foot box up and be done with it.

Fair 'nough. I've gone with the drawcord now, but I can easily modify it down the track if I decide I should have gone the other way.

Orion wrote:That was my feeling as well. If it were that hot I'd just lay there outside of my quilt. But if it were cold I would want more than a tube with a drawstring closure. So I sewed a nice insulated footbox, modeled after one of my Western Mountaineering sleeping bags. I'm very happy with it.

That said, I usually camp where it is cool at night. And people are different. So even though a foot vent isn't for me that doesn't mean it isn't the right solution for someone else.

Ta for that, Orion. The main reason was the damp foot of sleeping bag or quilt, which some assure me is at least partly coming from the inside. I didn't want to be compounding that with a quilt cover, especially on multi day potentially cold/wet walks. I'm going with the insulated booties for evening and night - not ones I'll walk in though, to save weight/bulk. If that doesn't work well enough I might be interested in seeing what yours looks like.

Tortoise wrote:

Moondog55 wrote:Personally I find a shaped footbox more comfortable when I need warmth

Not sure exactly what you mean here Moondog...?

Shaped as in BOX or ROUND shaped not a simple stitch and exterior baffling patch
Tell you the truth tho I haven't seen a simple vertical box baffle since Point5 went out of business 30 years ago
With a simple box foot you sew the inner lining straight up as if you were doing a sewn thru baffle but you insert a bigger piece in the outer shell which gives you a 3-dimenional loft
Easy to do but hard for me to explain
But my point was my feet feel less crowded and my toes don't compress the down insulation when the foot of the bag is shaped to my feet

Here are a few photos of what I did:

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