SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
The UGQ Outlaw Hybrid Quilt is a hoodless quilt-style sleeping bag that can be used as a quilt, complete with a pad attachment system, or as a sleeping bag with a full-length zipper. The latter is particularly useful if you sleep on the ground in cooler temperatures to prevent drafts from leaching heat from the sides of a quilt. High-quality quilts and sleeping bags are expensive, but they last a long time if taken care of properly.
My preference is to own gear that can be used in multiple ways from a cost as well as gear storage perspective. Quilts are good for warm weather sleeping since they’re so easy to vent while sleeping bags are better in cold weather where you want to retain all your body heat. The UGQ Outlaw is a nice option if you want the flexibility to use it differently in a hammock or on the ground, in warm, or cold weather.
Specs at a Glance
- Weight: 20.2 oz / 573 g
- Fill Power: 950
- Temperature Rating: 30 degrees
- Width: 60
- Length: 72
- Inner Shell Color: M10T Black
- Exterior Shell Color: M10T Royal Purple
- Draft Collar: Neck Line Only
- Foot Box: Full Zipper and Draw Cord (Ventable)
- Taper: Full Taper
The UGQ Outlaw is a custom quilt sleeping bag that you can spec out as you like. I’ve listed the configuration I chose above because it is easily adaptable for hammock or ground use in warm or cold weather.
UGQ Outlaw Features
The UGQ Outlaw includes a couple of features that I view as must-haves on both quilts and sleeping bags for three-season use. These are rank-ordered according to my preferences, which might be a little different than yours if you prefer to use the Outlaw as a quilt and not as a hoodless sleeping bag.
Quilt Draft Collar
This is a tube of insulation that can be tightened around your neck and upper shoulders to prevent cold air from escaping through the top of the Outlaw when you move around inside. Most regular high-quality sleeping bags come with one. There are three cordlocks that can be used to tighten it around your neck – two in back and one over your chest, in addition to a rear snap, which you’ll want to close before you put your head through the top.
Full-length zipper
The full-length zipper lets you open up the Outlaw as a blanket, as a quilt with a partially zipped foot box but open back, or as a full hoodless sleeping bag. There are snaps along the length of the zipper to take some of the pressure off the zipper so you can’t rip it out if you have a nightmare about fighting off a bear or mountain lion at night. It also gives you the option to use the Outlaw with the sides snapped together but not zipped. The zipper does not have a draft tube to prevent cold air from leaking in at night, so you need to lie on top of it (on your insulated sleeping pad) if leaks become a concern.
Zipper stiffener
The Outlaw Zipper is bordered with a fabric zipper that prevents it from snagging on the shell fabric and works wonderfully. This is the kind of feature you find on premium sleeping bags made by the likes of Featured Friends and Western Mountaineering sleeping bags.
Drawstring footbox
A drawstring footbox lets you vent your feet if they’re too warm while keeping your upper torso warm. The Outlaw’s drawstring footbox pulls very tight and includes a snap to prevent the drawstrings from loosening at night. This system works great the UGQ Bandit, as well.
Baffle orientation
One of UGQ’s original claims to fame was the orientation of its down baffles which are horizontal along the footbox and vertical over the torso and upper body. This keeps the down insulation where you want it, so it doesn’t shift around with use. It’s more complicated to sew, but is one of the benefits of buying a quilt that is made entirely by hand in the USA and not mass-produced or made piecemeal in China. It is less of a differentiator in a warmer weather bag but pays off as it gets colder, especially because you can opt to have the footbox or upper half of the bag overstuffed, depending on where you feel cold. As you can imagine this is a very popular option with people who have cold feet!
Pad attachment system
UGQ has built-in buckles just inside the zipper so you can attach the Outlaw to a sleeping pad in order to prevent drafts from entering the sides when you use it as a quilt. I ordered their “deluxe” pad strap system, which is very similar to the wafer-based system popularized by Enlightened Equipment. When buckling in, you want those wafer buckles on the sides or top of your pad, so they’re easily reachable at night. You can also opt to leave the pad attachment points off altogether if you only want to use the Outlaw as a hoodless sleeping bag.
I view the Outlaw’s deluxe pad attachment system as a nice-to-have because I think it’s kind of redundant with a zipper. When I’m worried about drafts I just zip up the bag and use it like a hoodless sleeping bag. If you prefer using the Outlaw as a quilt, but only zip it up like a hoodless sleeping bag when it’s very cold or in dire need, then it makes sense to have the added pad attachment system. The added weight of a couple of wafer clips is minimal anyway.
Other customization options
UGQ offers a whole host of other optional customizations which is one of the reasons why you might want to buy a quilt from them as opposed to other quilt vendors or companies that sell hoodless sleeping bags. They have a huge color selection, different types of fabrics, a variety of down fill weights, tapers, widths, lengths. Their customer service is excellent and they’re easy to contact if you have questions.
Comparable hoodless quilt-style sleeping bags
| Make / Model | Temp Rating | Zipper |
|---|---|---|
| Enlightened Equipment Convert Sleeping Bag | Multiple | Full |
| Feathered Friends Flicker UL Quilt Sleeping Bag | Multiple | Full |
| Feathered Friends Flicker YF Quilt Sleeping Bag | Multiple | Full |
| Feathered Friends Tanager 20 CFL Sleeping Bag | 20F | None |
| Therm-a-Rest Ohm 20 | 20F | Full |
| Therm-a-Rest Ohm 32 | 32F | Full |
| Zpacks Classic Sleeping Bag | Multiple | Full |
| Western Mountaineering EverLite | 45 | Full |
| Western Mountaineering MityLite | 40 | Full |
| UGQ Outlaw Hybrid Quilt | Multiple | Full |
Recommendation
The UGQ Outlaw Hybrid Quilt is essentially a hoodless sleeping bag with some added features so you can use it like a quilt, without any compromises, in a hammock or on the ground. It’s also ideal if you’re a switch-hitter when it comes to sleeping in a hammock or on the ground, letting you can bring the shelter on your trips that makes the most sense for different terrain and climate needs.
Disclosure: The author received this product in exchange for an honest review.
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Great review, I have a concern on the width, I want to order the wide version 60 but I am concerned it might be to restrictive with my medium build weighing 175lb, what weight are you and build if you don’t mind me asking and how do you find the width when fully zipped in it, do you side sleep
I’m 180. The width is fine for me. I sleep on all my sides…
You have reviewed and highly rated both Bandit and Outlaw models. Any thoughts how you would choose if you could afford only one?
The outlaw. less fussing around with staps. No drafts ever.
Hi Philip!
Would you choose the Feathered Friends Flicker or the UGQ Outlaw Hybird for a mix of ground and hammocking sleeping?
I’d go with the flicker, but it’s really hard to choose between them. I’d go with the UGQ Outlaw if I needed a dimension that the Flicker doesn’t provide, but I like the draft color control position better on the flicker. It’s a little thing. I guess there might be a weight difference, but it’s probably small enough not to matter.
Do you find the lack of zipper draft tubes a problem? Seems like insulating the zipper, or doing what FF does with the offset zipper, adds a lot of flexibility. Thanks for the reviews. I’m also trying to decide between the Flicker, this bag, or Nunatak 3D.