Sleeping gear, time to upgrade... Your help is needed!

so I have been thinking of swapping out the sleeping bag for a wool blanket. First, any good expierence in colder weather would be nice to hear about. I’m in southern Illinois it rarely gets in single digits but does get into the teens at night. Second, recommendations for a good wool blanket? I looked at pendalton but they didn’t seem very thick. I like this one from Faribault;

https://www.faribaultmill.com/colle...products/pure-simple-wool-blanket-olive-green

Thanks for the help!

****EDIT****

So this post is going away from the original wool blanket concept. I am open to this as upgrading my kit is the original intent. I plan on changing the title shortly but when it comes to sleeping gear I need a bag and a pad (not really into hammocks) so I need to upgrade from my car camping sized and weighted gear and move into backpacking style gear. This post will be mostly about the “sleeping bag” although if you have pad suggestions let’s hear them. My 3 main focus items and criteria that I want the bag to meet are;

1) packs well (small) and is less that 5-8 pounds. (This would be bag and pad etc...)
2) will be multiple season, 10 degree to 70 degree, even if in colder weather I have to double up or supplement but again refer to 1.
3) Is comfortable to sleep in with room for me to not feel like I’m being constricted.

Thank you all for the help so far!

 

what about a Woobie / Doobie or a Serape? ultralight and warm.

 

Like this

 

I have looked at the woobies, my expierence with the military surplus ones is that they aren’t that great. I have been intrigued by the kifaru ones but will they keep me warm at say 10 degree Fahrenheit with no fire? If I need a fire I would rather have wool. Now that hill people gear serape has me interested I’ll have to watch the videos... I wouldn’t mind the woobie but I need someone I trust to tell me about the temps it’s good for.

Shane, as always you bring up valuable points. Being warm and dry is very important. Now, I am a hot sleeper, my current bag is rated for 20 degrees and I’ve never been cold in it. Normally I sweat which is an issue then while asleep I work my way out and then I wake up freezing because it’s 10 degrees and I’m covered in sweat. What appeals to me of th blanket is if I wrap up right I can vent without freezing. At least that’s the thought I have. The other issue is probably my beloved sleeping bag. It’s not designed for backpacking. It weighs what a king wool blanket does, it doesn’t compress very small, as in its larger than my pack. I need to upgrade to a better sleeping bag but want to consider my option because I simply cannot sleep in a mummy bag. I need a bigger foot box.

Pic didn’t display...

 

Hey thank you for chiming in. I can’t disagree with you there but comfort is another factor and mummy sleeping bags aren’t very comfortable to me. As stated above my current bag doesn’t satisfy my packing needs but covers my warmth and comfort needs. A king size wool blanket weighs what my bag does but packs a little bit smaller when rolled up correctly. I’m not opposed to a sleeping bag if I can find the right combination. This has been a debate in my head for over a year, the rest of my kit is getting squared away after much trial and error, now I’m onto shelter and sleeping gear.

 

Okay I like the serape watched the video, sleeping bag mode would cover my non mummy bag requirements. Weight and packability look good. Their specs say 20-30 degree temperature gain in sleeping bag mode. Is that the temperature rating?

 

How about a top quilt with snapped or zippered foot box? Can use it like a mummy bag or like a blanket. Probably need an insulated sleeping pad for the cold ground.

 

I have looked at the top quilts they intrigue me also, I like their packability and versatility but aside from a few YouTube videos I don’t really know anyone with actual expierence. I am up for trying anything but I want to make as educated of a purchase as possible with the price tag these things carry. I just want something that 1) packs well (small) and is less that 5-8 pounds. (This would be bag and pad etc...) 2) will be multiple season, 10 degree to 70 degree, even if in colder weather I have to double up or supplement but again refer to 1. 3) Is comfortable to sleep in with room for me to not feel like I’m being constricted. Honestly a top quilt might fix that. I have been looking at hammocks after the war bonnet blackbird was recommended to me on a camp out. I don’t think I’m a hammock camper, I like being on the ground. I just need to upgrade my gear from car camping level to backpacking level.

 

I wasn’t sure about hammocks either and am still deciding. But that’s mostly because I haven’t found my sweet spot on the set up.
I do like being off the ground as the older I get the harder it is to get up off the ground.

Check out the Hammock Gear Econ Quilts. They are around $100 less than their other quilts. I just got an Econ under quilt from them. Looks really good to me so far. I haven’t gotten to use it, but the material doesn’t appear inferior & I love how small it packs down to for its size (20* & long version).

 

What appeals to me on hammocks is they pack smaller than a pad lol I will check out hammock gear. Mostly I’ve looked at warbonnett and Dutch gear but I just haven’t done much research into hammocks.

 

As far as top quilts go I have one from Feathered Friends that weighs 1 pound 7 ounces and packs down to the size of a rugby ball. 20 degree sleep system with lots of loft. Combine that with a simple foam thermarest sleeping pad (14 ounces) and maybe a SeatoSummit fleace liner (a pound) and you have a very warm night's rest. And aren't lugging around too much weight at all. Definitely enjoying the versatility of a camping quilt.

 

I will check that out also. Thank you

 

I’m thinking in a similar line now. I want to know the serape temperature rating as a sleeping bag. Then maybe line it with the woobie...

 

Gotcha, I guess we will wait to see if they chime in, thank you for the help

 

So I got on their forums and it seems much below 45 the serape isn’t good for stand alone. The doobie is rated at “20 degree” or so they say in the questions. The specs done actually say. So I’m thinking I’ll start with the doobie and a compression sack from kifaru and eventually get the serape. (It would be first if it doubled as a poncho) I think this combo with the right base layer would keep me warm in the weather I see around here. The two together with stuff sack would be just shy of 5 pounds so not much weight saving but much more compact. I can use them separately for higher temps and it’s not a mummy bag. So I think this is the gear I will acquire and test next. I need to figure out a better pad now. Thank you all.