Top 10 Best Recommendations for an Ultralight Sleeping Bag or Quilt
Looking for the best ultralight sleeping bag or quilt but not sure where to start? Maybe there are a few brands out there you’ve yet to discover, or maybe you just want to know what the best values are.
I can help you with that as I’ve researched various brands and have come up with a list of my top 10 best recommendations for your next ultralight sleeping bag or quilt. These recommendations are based primarily on price and weight, but other factors are considered such as temperature ranges and customization options.
So, let’s get this show started.
If you are unsure about the differences between sleeping bags and quilts, check out my post Sleeping Bags and Quilts: What’s the difference?
1. UGQ Bandit Quilt – Best overall ultralight quilt or sleeping bag
The Underground Quilt Bandit is my top recommendation if you are looking for an ultralight quilt. Not only do they offer an ultralight product with loads of customizable features, they also do it at a price that is better than their competitors.
At the time of this writing, a 30-degree quilt with 800 fill power weighs in at 19.06 ounces and costs under $210. There are a range of customizable options such as fill power, inner and outer shell fabrics and colors, length and width, footbox configurations, and more.
If you decide on ordering a customized quilt from UGQ, know that there is a lead time of several weeks, but they do offer a “fast track” selection where you can buy an already made quilt, but options are limited.
2. Enlightened Equipment Revelation / Enigma Quilt
Enlightened Equipment (EE) is much like UGQ, but overall is a bigger, more well-known brand. They may even be the most popular company when it comes to ultralight quilts.
Enlightened Equipment offers the Revelation quilt, which you can customize by selecting fill power and inner and outer shell colors, amongst other things. However, they are more expensive than a UGQ bandit, with a 30-degree 850 fill power Revelation quilt starting at $280.
If you want a quilt with a closed footbox, check out the EE Enigma, essentially the same as the Revelation but weighs a little less.
3. Hammock Gear Burrow Quilt (Premium)
By this time, you must realize I have a preference for quilts, and this leads me to the next option on my list, the Hammock Gear Burrow, which offers an affordable price, low weight, and a few customization options. You can choose the inner and outer shell colors, length and width, footbox style, plus a few other options.
To compare with the previously mentioned quilts, a standard length, 55” wide, 850 fill power, 30-degree quilt weighs around 16.68 ounces, our lightest yet, and costs around $270. Obviously, as with the UGQ and EE models, the options you choose affect the weight and price.
Looking to be a little nicer on your wallet? Check out the Economy Burrow Quilt, starting at under $150! If you are willing to sacrifice a few ounces for a budget-friendly option, the Economy Burrow is hard to beat!
4. Zpacks Classic Sleeping Bag / Solo Quilt – Best ultralight quilt/sleeping bag for weight
Zpacks is extremely well known for their ultralight tents and backpacks, but they also carry quilts and sleeping bags. I have a hard time separating their quilts from their bags since they are so similar in weight, so I decided to include them both as one on my list.
The mere difference in weight between Zpacks’ Classic Sleeping Bag and their Solo Quilt is .1 ounces, but the sleeping bag costs a little more than the quilt with a 30-degree bag priced at $319 compared to $299 for a 30-degree quilt.
Topping the Hammock Gear Burrow for the new lightest on my list, the bag and quilt weigh 12.7 and 12.6 ounces, respectively. Zpacks just shattered the competition for weight, but that is just what Zpacks does.
The only minor downside to the Classic Sleeping Bag and the Solo Quilt is the lack of customizable features. Aside from sizing and outer shell color, there are no other options to tailor your bag or quilt to your preference, but for such an incredibly light weight, the Classic Sleeping Bag (or Solo Quilt) is well worth the investment.
5. Loco Libre Ghost Pepper
Loco Libre isn’t very well known, but don’t let that deter you from what is an excellent quilt in the Ghost Pepper!
You get a lot of customization options with Loco Libre that includes the inner and outer shell colors, fill power, length and width, taper size, and more. You can even choose a different color stitching for the shells which may give your bag a nice accent if you choose to not match it to the shell color.
You’ll likely have to wait several weeks before your bag arrives, but for great quality with an array of options to customize your quilt, and for less than $300 for a 30-degree bag … well, it’s hard to go wrong with the Ghost Pepper.
6. Feathered Friends Flicker UL Quilt – Best Versatility for ultralight quilt or sleeping bag
The Feathered Friends Flicker UL Quilt is able to serve double duty as an ultralight quilt or mummy sleeping bag. While they aren’t the lightest options on the market, they are still very respectable at 23 ounces for a 30-degree bag. However, price wise these are the most expensive option thus far on my list. But with such versatility, the Flicker is well worth it.
The Flicker is offered in regular and wide models, both with a longer length available, but the temperature ratings only go down to 20-degrees which may not be warm enough depending on when and where you plan to hike. It also only has three color options to choose from.
7. Western Mountaineering Extremelite Sleeping Bag – Best quality for a sleeping bag or quilt
Western Mountaineering’s sleeping bags are a little harder to separate from one another because they seem to have a different model for every extra 5-degrees of warmth. Since I’ve mostly been highlighting 30-degree bags, I’ll use their Megalite bag for this list. Just remember that a bag of a different temperature rating will be called something different.
Western Mountaineering’s sleeping bags are not customizable beyond size and color and they are now the most expensive bags on my list, with the Megalite priced around $500. They are also not the lightest option, weighing 24 ounces (again, for the Megalite).
But Western Mountaineering offers an unbreakable reputation of being among the best made sleeping bags you can buy. If you can look past the price, you’ll find that Western Mountaineering sleeping bags boast top notch reviews on Amazon and Backcountry.com, rarely receiving any rating below a perfect score.
8. REI Magma Sleeping Bag
The Magma sleeping bag can be bought exclusively at REI, offering 30-degree and 15-degree models. The Magma 30 weighs a competitive 19.3 ounces while the Magma 15 weighs 28.2 ounces.
You can choose between regular and long sizes, but there are no color or fill power options. The price for a Magma 30 starts at $319 while a Magma 15 goes for $369.
If you are interested in a quilt, REI does offer the Magma Trail Quilt 30, but there are no additional temperature ratings.
Note that there are men and women sizes for the Magma. A woman’s regular size Magma 30 weighs 22.5 ounces, and the Magma 15 weighs 36 ounces. Prices remain the same.
9. Outdoor Vitals Stormloft Quilt
The Stormloft is Outdoor Vitals’ ultralight quilt, weighing in at only 18 ounces for a 30-degree, regular sized quilt, and costs around $190! However, you don’t have any customizable options except for bag size and the temperature rating, which determines the color of the inner shell. You can choose between a 30, 15, or 0-degree bag, all with black outer shells.
But for the one of the most budget friendly quilts on my top recommendation list, the Stormloft from Outdoor Vitals becomes a major contender.
10. Marmot Phase Sleeping Bag
The Marmot Phase is a real sleeper when it comes to sleeping bags (pun intended). The Phase is offered in 30-degree and 20-degree versions, each with regular and long lengths available, but color options are nil except for the color of whichever temperature rating you choose. The Marmot Phase also has a hefty price of $399 for the 30-degree model.
With that said, the Phase 30 weighs in at a very competitive 17.6 ounces making it among the lightest 30-degree bags you can get.
Honorable Mention – Aegismax G1 Sleeping Bag – Most budget-friendly sleeping bag
Though not in my top 10, I feel the Aegismax G1 deserves at least an honorable mention as this bag is a gem of a find on Amazon. While there are a few different models available, the G1 offers a temperature rating more in line with everything previously mentioned.
The G1 advertises a 39-degree comfort zone, but says the lower limit is 30-degrees. The regular size bag weighs approximately 25.5 ounces which is nothing to brag about compared to the much lighter options listed above, but this sleeping bag only costs around $120, making it the cheapest bag on my list! It will be a challenge to find a bag this light for this price that offers the same temperature rating.
You can choose a black or blue model, but there are no other options for customization, but would you really expect this for a sleeping bag this cheap?
Conclusion
And there you have it, my top 10 best recommendations for an ultralight sleeping bag or quilt. I hope this list has benefited you in some way and has shined some light on some options you may not have been aware of.
Please know that this isn’t intended to be considered a top 10 “best” list. However, this is a list compiled from my research and ranks how I would currently choose a sleeping bag or quilt to buy. Regardless, I hope you have found this list useful or at the very least interesting.
If you are not in the market for a sleeping bag but found this list of value, please share this post if you know someone who might be. Thanks for reading!
Note: What qualifies a sleeping bag or quilt as ultralight is not officially defined. For the purpose of this list, ultralight is considered at 2lbs or less.
