Underquilt vs Top Quilt
They are not alternatives. One goes under the hammock and one goes over you, and the order you buy them in is not a matter of preference.
By Mike M. · Last updated
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Buy the underquilt first. It hangs outside the hammock and addresses the 65 to 70 percent of heat loss that Hammock Gear puts through the fabric beneath you. A top quilt replaces your sleeping bag over the top and saves weight, which is a refinement rather than a fix.
Part of our comparisons hub. This question gets asked as though the two were competing, and they are not — a complete hammock sleep system usually ends up with both. What is genuinely a decision is which one you spend on first, and there the answer is not close.
What each one does
| Underquilt | Top quilt | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it goes | Outside, hanging beneath the hammock | Inside, over you, like a duvet |
| Share of heat loss it covers | The 65 to 70 percent through your back | The remaining 30 to 35 percent |
| Compression | Nothing presses on it | Nothing presses on it either — it is above you |
| Replaces | Nothing; there is no alternative that works as well | Your sleeping bag |
| Example ratings | Incubator 40F to 0F, 850 fill | Burrow 40F to 0F; StormLoft 40F to 0F |
| Example weight | Not published per rating by Hammock Gear | StormLoft 1 lb 1.4 oz at 40F; 1 lb 11.9 oz at 0F |
| Buy it first? | Yes | Second |
Quick picks
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. Prices are not shown anywhere on this site — we link straight to Amazon so you see the live figure.
| # | Product | Best for | Headline spec | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hammock Gear Incubator Underquilt850-fill down in five temperature ratings and three lengths, which is the closest this category gets to a quilt cut for your body and your season. | Best backpacking underquilt | Temperature ratings 40F, 30F, 20F, 10F and 0F | |
| 2 |  Hammock Gear Burrow Top QuiltThe Incubator's other half: the same 850-fill down and the same five ratings, cut to go over you instead of under. | Best top quilt overall | Temperature ratings 40F, 30F, 20F, 10F and 0F | |
| 3 | Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuiltThe top quilt that publishes a weight for every rating and length, from 1 lb 1.4 oz at 40F to 1 lb 11.9 oz at 0F. | Published weights per rating | Temperature ratings 0F, 15F, 30F and 40F | |
| 4 | Onewind Hammock Topquilt PonchoA top quilt with a head opening, so the thing keeping you warm at 3am is the thing you wore round camp at dusk. | A quilt that wears | Top quilt with a poncho head opening |
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Why the underquilt comes first
Because of where the heat goes. Hammock Gear states that about 65 to 70 percent of your body heat escapes from your backside through the thin layers of the hammock's fabric, and it recommends an underquilt as the first purchase for exactly that reason. The order it sets out — underquilt, then top quilt, then tarp — is the one we would give too, with the caveat that anyone camping in real rain should move the tarp up the list.
The practical version: you probably already own something that works over the top. A sleeping bag draped open, a blanket, a jacket. You almost certainly own nothing that works underneath, because nothing you own is designed to hang outside a hammock.
What a top quilt is actually for
- Weight. No hood, no zip and no underside. The StormLoft publishes 1 lb 1.4 oz at 40F and 1 lb 8.3 oz at 15F for a regular length.
- Freedom of movement. You are not zipped into a tube in a hammock you already have to get into and out of at an angle.
- Width choice. Hammock Gear offers the Burrow at Slim 50 in, Standard 55 in and Wide 60 in — and width is what decides whether drafts get in at your shoulders.
- Matching the pair. Buying a Burrow and an Incubator in the same rating gives you a system with one consistent temperature, which mixing a quilt and an old bag does not.
What a top quilt gives up against a sleeping bag
A hood, mainly. A bag wraps your head; a quilt does not, so a cold night means a hat. A quilt can also let drafts in along the edges if it is too narrow for you, which is why the width options matter more than they look. And a quilt is worse than a bag on the ground, where you do not have a hammock's fabric holding it against you.
Buying them as a pair
If you are buying both, match the ratings. A 20F underquilt with a 40F top quilt is a 40F system with expensive insulation underneath it, and the reverse is worse — a cold back is what wakes you, not cold shoulders. Hammock Gear's Incubator and Burrow share the same five ratings and the same 850-fill down precisely so they can be ordered as a matched set.
The verdict
Underquilt first, every time. It is the piece with no substitute: nothing else stops the heat leaving through the underside of the hammock, and no sleeping bag can do it because your weight crushes the fill flat. Buy the top quilt second, when you want the weight saving and the freedom of movement, and match its rating to the quilt you already own. If you are still weighing up whether a bag will do the job, underquilt vs sleeping bag answers that one directly.
Common questions
Should I buy an underquilt or a top quilt first?
An underquilt. Hammock Gear puts 65 to 70 percent of heat loss through the hammock fabric beneath you and recommends the underquilt as the first purchase. You can cover the top with a sleeping bag you already own; you cannot cover the bottom with anything you already own.
What is the difference between an underquilt and a top quilt?
An underquilt hangs on the outside of the hammock, beneath you, so nothing compresses it. A top quilt goes inside the hammock over you, like a duvet with no hood and no zip, and it replaces a sleeping bag rather than a pad.
Do you need both an underquilt and a top quilt?
For cold-weather hammock camping, effectively yes — you need insulation below and above. Plenty of people run an underquilt with an ordinary sleeping bag on top and never buy a dedicated top quilt, which works fine and weighs more.
Is a top quilt warmer than a sleeping bag?
Not at the same rating and fill. A top quilt is lighter for the same warmth over you, because it carries no hood, no zip and no underside. What it gives up is the hood, and edge drafts if you buy one too narrow.
What temperature rating should my quilts be?
Match them to each other and to your coldest realistic night. A 20F underquilt under a 40F top quilt is a 40F system. Hammock Gear offers the Incubator and Burrow in the same five ratings from 40F to 0F for exactly this reason.
Sources
Every specification on this page traces to one of these. Where a recommendation rests on another publication's hands-on testing, we name it — we do not run a test lab.
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