Katabatic Quilts

[Ultralite Hiker]

To those of you that have Katabatic quilts, do you recommend taking the weight hit for a wide? I am 5'11 175 and cannot decide between Regular and Wide. I sleep pretty much every way. Stomach, side, back, whatever gets me through the night. I usually wake up a few times so I tend to toss and turn.

[Michael Fogarty]

I'm 5'11" and 185lbs get the wide, I had the original Sawatch regular width, sold it and got the Alsek wide, just used it for 6 days in the Tetons, and I loved it. Coverage is excellent at the shoulders/sides.

[Diana Vann]

Yes, absolutely. Get the wide. I ordered an Alsek, Regular length, Wide. I think the coverage of the regular width might be inadequate for the sleeping style you described. I also ordered 2 oz of overfill in the shoulder area. I've taken it on three trips, now and I love it.

[Diana Vann]

Deleted. Accidental double post

[Diplomatic Mike]

I had the original Sawatch, but swapped it for the wide version. I also use an Arc Specialist in milder temps.
My main reason for moving to quilts was comfort. I'm a restless side/stomach sleeper, amd always hated mummy bags. Any weight i save by using a quilt is a bonus.
My advice would be to go for comfort (wide) if you don't sleep all night on your back. A good nights sleep is worth its weight in gold.

5'10", 42" chest, 34" waist and around 175/180 pounds.

[Jim MacDiarmid]

Mike, that's interesting. I was just composing a post to ask if anyone had experience with a Nunatak 55" quilt vs the 52" Katabatic's. I'm almost exactly the same size as you(5'10, 175lbs, 41” chest 32” waist. I'm also of Scottish descent on my Dad's side.) I have a Specialist, and have found the 55” width more than adequate to the point where I felt I could lose 3” if it saved weight. I also at one time owned a rectangular JRB Hudson River that was 48” wide, and found it fine for it’s temp rating (40F) but would have wanted something a bit wider for anything colder.

Based on those two quilts, I really though 50-52" width would be the ideal compromise, weight and coverage wise. But I keep reading people criticizing the coverage of the 52" Katabatic quilts. I do tend to flip from one side to the other a few times per night but have been training myself to back-sleep when out in the wilderness. Bringing a Ridgerest vs my NeoAir is helping reinforce that habit.

I was planning on getting an Alesck in regular when they came back in stock as I could really use a 20F quilt and it's competitive with the Nunatak Alpinist in weight, temp rating, but w/o the 6-8 week wait, and $90 cheaper.

Is quilt useable shoulder girth measure in a standard way? I’ll go home tonight and pin a sheet at 52” to see if it fits. I’d just been assumed all along that based on my experience with the Specialist, losing 3” width would be fine.

[John Vance]

I have two Katabatic quilts in regular width and am 5' 9" 170lbs with a 42" chest and 31" waist. I am also a tossing and turning side sleeper and find the width adequate. I just returned from a 12 day trip in the Winds using a Chisos with 2oz overfill and the lighter Katabatic hood. This was atop an Exped UL7 augmented with a 1/4" ccf pad.

I typically use a 24" wide pad but wanted to try the new pad. I noticed a marked difference with the narrow pad in terms of drafts when on my side and my rear hanging off the pad. This is not nearly as noticeable with the wider pad. I was able to adjust my habits quickly to accomodate this but will not use a pad less than 24" wide unless it is going to be no colder than the 40's at night. We had frozen waterbottles almost everynight and the Chisos with hood was brilliant.

A wider quilt would no doubt be more comfy, but I have found the regular width to be fine, particularly with a wider pad.

[Kier Selinsky]

A week or two ago I was looking at these quilts and also wondering about the measurements and how they would play out in the real wilderness. I've never had a quilt, so that was part of the reason for my questions. I asked Katabatic's support rep (Aaron) how the width would compare to a sleeping bag's shoulder girth measurement. He gave me the following equivalents:
-Normal 52" wide (cinched down for cold weather) = 60-60" shoulder girth mummy bag
-Wide 58" wide (cinched down for cold weather) = 67-68" shoulder girth mummy bag

I have a 52" shoulder girth and usually find even a 68" girth mummy bag a bit constricting, so I'm still on the fence as to whether or not even a 58" wide quilt will do it for me.

[Mike M]

I think you might be fine w/ either- I'm 5'11", 190#, 43" chest and went w/ the regular length and width (Palisade)- I'm not a "restless" sleeper, but do alternate sleeping from back to side- when going to my side I sometimes have to give a little tug to insure their is full coverage

[Andrew F]

I'm also 5'11 and 175 lbs and have an Alsek in the regular width. I toss and turn all night and never have any problems – the pad attachment system always keeps it sealed up. In fact it's still quite roomy with the quilt cinched almost all the way closed (maybe a 6" gap) behind me. I would get the regular.

Andrew

[Jim MacDiarmid]

-Normal 52" wide (cinched down for cold weather) = 60-60" shoulder girth mummy bag
-Wide 58" wide (cinched down for cold weather) = 67-68" shoulder girth mummy bag

This helps alot. I had a summerlite prior to the Specialist, and I fit fine in that, but I got the Specialist to save weight and have a bit more room.

So I'll have to decide if the extra 6" are worth the extra 3.6oz, or an extra $60 and the wait for an Alpinist. I'd be swimming in a 58" width quilt, but that might be preferable to having control my tossing and turning.

As far as warmth with different sized pads, according to Nunatak's website, strapping on of their quilts to the pad is less warm than securing it around yourself, you just lose some of the toss-and-turn ability.

[Diplomatic Mike]

@ Jim.
I found the 55" of the Specialist perfect for my sleeping style. I could lose a couple of inches off the wide Sawatch and it would be perfect for most conditions. That extra couple of inches is nice for overlayering in colder temps though.
I think the debate on width just shows how individual we all are, especially if you can train yourself to sleep on your back. I can't.

Check out a Scottish poet called Hugh with your surname. Quality.

[Ultralite Hiker]

I ordered a Wide Chisos, but still plan to order an Alsek as well. After I see the Chisos, I will make my decision on the other quilt.

[Jim MacDiarmid]

That extra couple of inches is nice for overlayering in colder temps though.

The point about overlayering is an excellent one that I hadn't considered. I'd be expecting to be able to push a 20F quilt down to 15F or even 10F with the other clothing I would already be bringing for those conditions. The whole point of a 20F quilt would be to fill the gap between my 32F Specialist and my 5F WM Antelope. Who wants to be carrying a 39oz 5F bag when the forecast is for 18F?

I know that I can layer comfortably under the 55" wide Specialist but it sounds like while I would have enough width to fit comfortably into the regular Alseck, it might be too tight to fit something like my New Balance Fugu and BPL Cocoon pants for the purposes of getting it to between 10F-15F without compromising the loft of that insulation.

[Mike M]

I think that's a very valid point, as you get into warmer quilts (and more importantly warmer insulating layers)- the extra width becomes more critical

I'll note that on my regular Palisade I can layer my MB ex-light readily, a thicker layer might be tougher????

[Jeremy Platt]

-deleted posting-

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