After modding that sleeping pad, I was feeling inspired to do more make your own gear projects. I had been looking into an ultralight summer-weight sleep system for a while already and it was obvious what to make; a sleeping bag. Out of the gate I set my values of weight, warmth, and efficiency. From these three principles I set about designing the lightest summer-weight bag possible. During my research I came across the Feathered Friends Vireo UL, and thats where I took a lot of my inspiration.
To save weight on my bag, I removed the zipper and taking inspiration from the patagonia hybrid half-bag, I designed the bottom to be warmer so that the top could be used with a jacket. This intentional layering inside the bag meant I also gave it a slightly wide shoulder. Since my jackets have hoods, I also used this as an opportunity to remove the hood of the bag, especially since the bag is only designed for relatively mild temperatures. There are a lot of features one can add to a bag but I forgo most. After I use the bag for a few nights, I’ll decide if I want to add a draft collar.
As far as materials, I used a 7 denier calendered nylon inner fabric and a 10 denier outer. I used 850 fill power water resistant down and 0.5oz/yard noseeum mesh for my baffles. I think I sewed the fabrics inside out but given that I’ll be wearing layers inside the bag, I’m not too worried.
The most radical feature of the bag is the false bottom. Since compressed down doesn’t insulate, I opted to just place a piece of fabric to trap warm air instead of the weight of baffles. This also solves the issue of temperature control without a zipper. Instead of unzipping, I can just rotate the false bottom to face the air. People worry about the bottom being cold, but there is also my sleeping pad to insulate me. So far, I’m still very happy with my decision.
After hours of design, I finally got to sewing, cutting out the fabric went smoothly until the noseeum. Given it’s stretch, its really hard to mark or cut. Eventually, I figured out that I could just tape a straight line while it was slack. In the future, I highly highly recommend just purchasing the pre-cut mesh. It will make your life a lot easier.
After cutting everything out, I sewed the baffles on. This is where I started to notice the failures of my noseeum cutting, with lots of variation in the baffle. However, I just kept rolling with it. Next I hemmed all the edges with heat. I might have failed somehow though since my edges are still fraying in sections.
After that, I sewed on the other side and filled it with down. It’s a tedious process but it’s fun to finally be giving the bag it’s form. I made the footbox too small and suffered the consequences but it didn’t end up too bad. In the end, while the build quality was definitely objectionable, I’m still happy with the bag. It contains 8.5oz of 850FP down and comes in at a weight of only 12.9oz. I had a great time building it and highly recommend others do so too.
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