Sierra Sniveler: shivering and sniveling

[Alice Hengst]

Same problem, only mine is the supposedly warmer High Sierra Sniveller with 5 more ounces of down. So getting more down probably won't solve the problem. Plus, I sleep in a tent and I'm a quiet sleeper (don't move around). First time it was used I woke up very cold on my upper torso and the down felt like it had shifted to the edges. There was no condensation inside the tent that I could detect and the quilt felt dry.

I'll try the shaking thing but if that doesn't do it, the quilt will have to go back. And what's this about not tucking the quilt under you? Loosely draping it over you does not keep out drafts!

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When shaking the quilt, I am gathering the quilt up by the corners and the tie loops. This shakes the down to the middle of the quilt. I think if I held the quilt elsewhere and shook it hard I might damage a baffles – just a guess on my part. Jack said these quilts are tough, he recommends using tennis balls in the dryer when washing one.

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Stephen: Is your quilt also a Sierra Sniveler? I have been wondering if a narrower No Sniveler or one of the other quilts would keep more down over my torso and less laying beside me on the ground sheet.

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Jack actually said that getting extra down added wouldn't make a difference in whether or not the down is staying put.

Alice, I was quite interested to hear about your own experience with the High Sierra Sniveler, especially that you don't believe moisture had anything to do with the down sifting off to the edges.

Regarding drafts and tucking, shaking the down till it stays put in the middle has left a lot of loft-poor area along the edges of the quilt. I am concerned that when temps drop down toward the rating of the quilt, the thin, untucked portion of the quilt will let the cold in enough that any loft I have above me will be pointless.

Does anyone expect an ultralight down quilt to be as fussy in use as I have described?
Should I expect much less hassle from, for example, a Nunatak quilt or Western Mountaineering bag?

[Stephen P]

Eric,

I have a Hudson River. I had the foot box sewn in and use it as a top top quilt. I think it has the same specs as the sierra sniveler, but it isn't wearable.

I have used mine a few nights in a tarptent, and have experienced down shifting to the sides. I had the quilt pulled tight behind me using bungee cord and the provided loops. If I continue to keep using this quilt, I will definitely add more attachment loops for the bungee cord to thread through. That should create a better seal. I shook my quilt out several times over the course of a few hours, and still saw issues with the down. I think the top few baffles have some how lost down, or were not filled with the proper amount of down. However, since you (and others) have had problems with shifting down, it could be a design issue. JRB makes affordable and well built quilts. However, I am skeptical about their baffle spacing. Does anyone else know of a manufacturer that spaces baffles that far apart?

[Brad Groves]

There's really not a question. The down isn't staying put because there isn't enough in the baffles. An adequately stuffed down bag or quilt will never have a problem with down migration. One reason WM bags are so highly regarded.

As it is, the down migrates away from your body because the baffles have a bunch of empty space to flow into.If you added a few ounces of down to the quilt, the down wouldn't have any place TO migrate, because the baffles would actually be full.

If you have to violently thrash your quilt several times a night to try to get the down in place, I'd consider it a quilt I had to baby.

[John Vance]

I would say it's a combination of too large baffle spacing and not enough fill. You may think otherwise, but fixing one or the other, or both, would make all the difference.

[Alice Hengst]

My High Sierra Sniveller (HSS) is the same size as the regular Sierra Sniveller (SS), but with 5 oz more down. The HSS is rated 0-5 degrees. Gosh, how much more down would you want, or have to put in it to prevent shifting? The quilts are narrower at the bottom. If JRB is distributing the down evenly, perhaps the smaller width at the bottom is holding the down in place better, while the wider top allows it to shift.

I think there is plenty of down to keep me warm if it does not shift – they just need a better baffling system for the top of the quilt. Maybe they need to make the baffles at the top narrower than at the bottom, or put some vertical stitching in to make squares. Or maybe put more of the down at the top and less at the bottom. Or some combination of these things.

I'm going to try it again Sunday night. If I have the same problem despite shaking the h*ll out of it before I sleep, I'm either going to return it or request a modification. The bad thing is, I have nothing to replace it with for a Labor Day weekend trip above 10K, so I'll have to make do until then.

I totally agree that getting up at night to shake the quilt is not acceptable! I bought this thing along with an Exped Downmat so I could sleep through the night without getting cold. If it won't do that, it's going back!

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Stephen, I also believe that the upper baffles have noticeably less loft than the lower baffles. Alice, are you saying that you noticed the upper baffles having less loft also?

[Alice Hengst]

Eric, I've never paid attention to any difference in loft except when the down shifted during the night. Tonight when I get home I'll shake the quilt and let you know my best guess about the loft of the top vs the bottom. The bottom down has not shifted during the night as far as I know.

[Alice Hengst]

Last night I fluffed up my HSS and laid it out flat. Two things struck me. First, it is almost impossible to distribute the down evenly in the top baffles, which measure 52 inches by maybe 5 or 6 inches?? (The bottom baffle is 42 inches wide for comparison). I could get the down mostly towards the center, or towards the edges, or on one side, but I could never get it even across the whole baffle.

When I shook the quilt to get the top baffles puffed up in the center, the sides of the top baffles were empty. That empty space is bound to fill up once I am lying under the quilt, since the edges will then be lower than the center. Seems like a recipe for a cold chest by the end of the night :(

For my Sunday/Monday backpack, I am going to put clips on the top baffles to prevent down from moving to the edges. The down may still migrate away from the center and end up as low as it can go, but if I crimp off 4 or 5 inches in from each edge I think I'll have a better chance of staying warm. The predicted low temps for the night are in the high 20's or low 30's, which is at least 10 degrees colder than the first time I tried the quilt. Yikes, I better pack another layer just in case. (Not something you want to have to do when you buy a 5 degree quilt).

Maybe more down in the top baffles is the answer, but that will increase the cost and the weight.

[In Active]

"but I could never get it even across the whole baffle" — this has been my experience too. Using the drawstring at the top of the quilt reduces volume in the topmost baffle and then I end up with an evenly lofted baffle, but that doesn't help even out the next two baffles.

Jack said that containing the quilt on the sides ( like in a hammock ) would mitigate the down migration. Do you have access to a non-constrictive bivy that can be suspended above you, which might contain the quilt edges?

Good luck on your trip, I hope you stay warm!

[Alice Hengst]

Thanks for the "warm wishes", Eric! I'll definitely use the drawstring for the very top baffle and my clips for the second one (and maybe third).

I can't quite picture suspending something above me to contain the quilt sides. Does JRB want me to hang a hammock from the top of my tent? These quilts are advertised for ground sleepers! If they are not designed right, JRB needs to change the design.

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