How thin can a baffled down quilt be?

[Michael Davis]

I'm considering the idea of making a lightweight summer quilt using baffled, down construction. The question is, how thin can I make the baffles and still be practical?

I'm considering 1" tall baffles and fill them to an average thickness of 1.5" Also, my theory is that the baffle spacing is a relationship to the baffle height. In other words, the taller the baffles – the further apart they should be. The short 1" baffles would then require a spacing of about 3"-4" apart.

I know that I could do the sewn-thru method but, the idea of non-uniform insulation just doesn't sit well with me.

Does anyone have experience with making a very thin, baffled down garment?

[t.darrah]

Tom, of nunatak, uses a .75" baffle for for his 40* summer quilt.

[Michael Davis]

Yikes! That's thin. Do you know what the spacing is?

I looked at the NunatakUSA site and all the Arc quilts look like they have the same number of baffles no matter what the thickness or temp. rating is. So, maybe my theory that baffle height and spacing are related is "hog wash."

:-)

[Roger Caffin]

> maybe my theory that baffle height and spacing are related is "hog wash."

Nope! You were right the first time.

Cheers

[Thomas Conly]

I just finished making a quilt with 1" baffles and 1.5" loft. I put the baffles 5" apart and I don't think any closer would have made a difference. In fact if you make the baffles too small I could see clumps forming which would be hard to shake loose in such a confined space. I don't think you'll be disappointed with 5" baffles. I figured when I made mine that if the down shifted too much I'd sew one or two vertical baffles afterward a la western mountaineering.

[Michael Davis]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[Author]

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