Which Quilt?

[Dustin Snyder]

I am looking at getting a 30* down quilt and need some opinions on which quilt would be best. I am looking for a quilt that I will be able to use for 3-season backpacking in the southeast in temps from 75*-25*. And that weighs less than 20oz.I realy like the idea of a vapar barrier quilt but am not sure that a 30* would be very comfortable at 75*,( but I might be complety worng). The three quilts I have chosen are
1) Katabatic gear-Palisade 30°F long
2) Nunatak-Catabatic 30* long
3)enLIGHTened equipment-Epiphany-K long
If there are any more quilts you think I should consider please let me konw. Any help would be greatly apritated.
Dustin

[Mark Hudson]

Katabatic= great quality, good fill weights. sewn in foot box which some dont like, and at least on the more expensive side of quilts. I think an all around great quilt.

Nunatek= too pricey for what you get in my opinion

enlightened equipment= best (again in my opinion) value for the feature set and the money, although I went with the nylon models vs the cuben models ( and I put my money where my mouth is by ordering 3)

another option to at least consider is ti goats JRB model of the sierra sniveler. Its lighter than the standard jrb model, is I believe exactly 20 oz and is rated to 25 degrees (I think). I also happen to have one of those and the only reason I am replacing it with tims quilt is tims is wider.

If cost is your main motivator, and getting it quick is as well, then JRB quilts are off the shelf ship tomorrow and are pretty light in the scheme of things. You can even get them overstuffed by two ounces with only maybe day or two shipping penalty.

[Dustin Snyder]

I have not looked at the ti goat jrb quilt but it sounds prety nice. Thanks for the help.

[Mark Hudson]

well if you are a tall, then I have one I will sell you when my new one gets here :)

[Dustin Snyder]

What is it you quilt would you be willing to sell?

[Nick Gatel]

I have a Nunatak and an enLIGHTened cuben. Both are great pieces of gear. Nunatak is a little more "feature rich" which makes it a little heavier than enLIGHTened, and they do not make cuben. In warm weather you can vent any quilt. Also, enLIGHTened 'standard' quilts are a little smaller in girth, but Tim will make them in any size. My Nunatak is 1.5" loft, enLIGHTened is 2" loft. In really cold weather I bring both. The smaller girth enLIGHTened fits nicely inside the Nunatak.

[Mark Hudson]

its the ti goat jrb sierra sniveler in tall

but I wont get my new quilts from tim till the end of this month so was kinda kidding but if you wanted to wait a month I guess I am kinda not kidding :)

[Dustin Snyder]

@ Mark-I sent you a PM about your quilt.

[Dustin Snyder]

There have got to be more peolpe with opinions about quilts!
Dustin

[John Vance]

I can only base this on my personal experience with the quilts you have mentioned.

Katabatic – Very well made and thought out quilt that literally wraps around you. For me I have found the temp rating to be conservative but as always YMMV. I currently own a Sawatch and will be getting a Palisade when the 6' is back in stock.

Nunatak – Nicely made and can be custom built with different fabrics, colors, size, and fill, but didn't work as well for me. I had a brief fling with the Arc Alpinist. I think one could be made that I would really like, but to incorporate all the things I like about the Katabatic would be VERY expensive.

[Dustin Snyder]

It looks to me that the Katabatic gear quilts have a strong following. Thanks every one for the help.
Dustin

[Rakesh Malik]

The Katabatic quilts are definitely well-made. I was very comfortable with my Blackwelder on Kilimanjaro not long ago. They shipped it quickly also.

For my 3-season use I have an MLD Spirit 30 degree quilt, which I love. If you can handle the lead time, it's a good option, and one of the better priced options to boot.

[Richard Lyon]

I really like my Ghost for down to freezing, and I sleep very cold. As I bought it used (on BPL Gear Swap) I didn't pay Nunatak's list price, but I have for other gear from that fine company and always thought I got my money's worth. That's particularly true if you want something SLIGHTLY out of the ordinary (a couple extra inches in length or across the shoulders, perhaps). Tom's custom charge is only about $20 until you start adding many custom features.

[Dustin Snyder]

I have looked at the MLD sprit 30 quilt but I really need a 6'6" quilt, and I would like to keeping the weight under 20oz.I have a golite 3-season quilt and it loses a ton of down. This is my first down quilt so I don't know if it is normal. Does any one have an anwser? And if it is normal how much down does a Katabatic gear quilt lose?
@ Rakesh-How compact is the Sprit 30?
Dustin

[Erik Hagen]

After buying my GF a Katabatic Sawatch last I sold my Nunatak Ghost and Arc Alpinist and replaced them with a Katabatic Palisade and Sawatch. Better fit (for me), better loft, awesome pad connecting system, lower cost, and quicker delivery. Both Nunatak and Katabatic have the option of adding down. You may want to consider that to extend the temp range. If any other cusomization is needed then I would recommend Nunatak.

[Michael Fogarty]

Don't forget that many of the Nunatak quilts are a solid 55" wide at the shoulders. Makes a big difference for the larger folks. Backcountry blanket is big too.

[Rakesh Malik]

> @ Rakesh-How compact is the Sprit 30?

It packs down to around the size of one of the hard-sided Nalgene bottles pretty easily. the stuff sack it comes with isn't particularly large… I can try to snap some pictures of it later this week to show you.

[Dustin Snyder]

Wow! I don't think that a synthetic quilt would pack down so small.

[Hendrik Morkel]

Dustin, my Quilt 101 post might help you further as well, and showing some more options.

[Dustin Snyder]

So if I understand right the Katabatic Gear quilts are the way to go for best quality for the price. Thanks everybody for the help.
Dustin

[Rakesh Malik]

> Wow! I don't think that a synthetic quilt would pack down so small.

My reaction was similar — I was amazed that a quilt that could pack down so small could still be warm, but there you go. I guess the new synthetic fill (Climashield Apex?) that Ron Bell has been using is quite an improvement over its predecessors!

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

The 19oz GoLite Ultra 20 was rated to 20F but the consensus on here is that it's more of a 30F quilt with it's 9.5oz of down. This would be a nice affordable option if you can find one. They appear moderately often in the gear swap. The MSRP was only about $240 and they were often on sale, so used ones usually go for a pretty sweet price. This quilt is also nice and wide. Width seems to be one of the common criticisms of the Katabatic quilts. If you are a bigger guy or a restless sleeper, you might find the katabatics too narrow.

[Hendrik Morkel]

I have been using a GoLite Ultra 20°, a Katabatic Sawatch and a BPL Cocoon quilt. All three are excellent quilts, but lately I tend to take the Sawatch as it is the most comfortable and warm. I am lean, 175 cm and about 66 kg and there's plenty of space for me under all those quilts.

You might want to check the new Katabatic quilts (the 22° one, iirc) which also looks like a great quilt. You can't really go wrong with any of them ;)

[Serge Giachetti]

I have the Sawatch and am amazed by its warmth. I've taken it way below its temp rating and been fine. I'd compare the quality to a western mountaineering bag (which I couldn't really imagine improving upon) and in size large weighs about what a lot of 30 degree sleeping bags weigh. If I could only have one bag/quilt for all seasons, it would be the sawatch, however, I'm thinking about getting the palisade or a 40 degree quilt thats supposed to be out in spring.

[Mark Hudson]

Dan,

I thought these were 48" quilts?

As far as width vs comfort, here is what I have found. i wear an xl tall jacket and mot all xl are fine as far as fit (with the exception of being a bit short on me if I dont find a xl tall).

I sleep on one side or the other most of the night.

a 48" quilt wont work at all for me, if I am on my side I can count on an air gap on one side or the other.

a 52" quilt is just wide enough when I lay on my side to touch the ground on both sides of me. If I make some sort of attachment to the pad then its OK but I feel constricted as in a sleeping bag. So it works but I have to re-position it every time I roll over.

I have gone to a 58" and hope that lets me sleep with no adjustments most often or even if I do attach it somehow, it provides me more wiggle room. I know the weight of the 58 is creeping up but its still lighter than a sleeping bag and I went with both a 20 and 40 degree which I think with my other clothes I can use the 40 degree most of the year and save weight that way.

Just throwing out some size references for comparison.

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