Topic
Nunatak craftsmanship compared to other bag makers?
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › Nunatak craftsmanship compared to other bag makers?
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Jan 1, 2013 at 6:57 pm #1297574
For all you folks out there with Nunatak bags/quilts, how does the level of craftsmanship in terms of sewing, symmetry, etc compare to other bag makers such as Western Moutaineering, Feathered Friends, Zpacks, etc? And how would you describe your eye for detail?
Jan 1, 2013 at 7:08 pm #1940033Don't know what "eye for detail" means, but I have bought a few in my time. Not to slight the others, but Nunatak and WM are the gold standard for quality in my opinion. Currently my go-to 3 season items are made by enLIGHTENed (Tim Marshall) and zPacks (Joe Velasco). In snow my Nanatak/WM are first choice. Different tools for different conditions. I have never owned a FF.
Jan 1, 2013 at 7:56 pm #1940055Thanks, Nick. "Eye for detail", IMHO, would be the level one thought they could discern the differences in sewing, symmetry, etc…..or in other words, how anal they are. To some people, something may have excellent quality whereas to another, when they inspect carefully, the details are shoddy…like that of something I have sewn. :-)
EDIT. BTW. Hope no one slights any company. As long as the design is sound, crooked stitching and the like isn't that important….particularly if the product is priced accordingly…at least to me. But, if a poor sucker, like me, is to pay a premium price, they might be a bit more picky. ;-)
Feel free to PM me if you don't wanna post publicly.
Jan 1, 2013 at 8:37 pm #1940065My experience would put Feathered Friends at the top with MLD and Enlightened Equipment just below with Nunatak. Then WM. Marmot below that, etc. I have found WM UL fabrics to leak too many feathers for my taste.
Jan 1, 2013 at 8:43 pm #1940066I've found Valandre to be at the very least equivalent to Nunatak and Feathered Friends, with Western Mountaineering and MLD a mere notch below.
Jan 2, 2013 at 12:32 am #1940104The quality of workmanship and materials used in making Katabatic quilts is 2nd to none, just to put one more option out there.
Jan 2, 2013 at 7:07 am #1940134I own both a Katabatic Sawatch and a Nunatak Backcountry Blanket. Both are well made, but edge goes to the Katabatic. I have a good eye for detail FWIW :) I consider my Katabatic quilt to be the single most well-made item of my kit.
Jan 2, 2013 at 7:10 am #1940135Having owned, used, and praised Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, and Nunatak for many years, I wouldn't distinguish among them. Top quality workmanship from all. Because of its use of lighter weight fabrics, Nunatak quilts leak a bit more down and require a bit more attention when exposed to brush, the ground, etc. A reasonable tradeoff for the weight savings.
Jan 2, 2013 at 7:46 am #1940147Another Katabatic fan here. I have a Nunatak Specialist, and a Katabatic Sawatch.
The finishing on the Sawatch is flawless. I couldn't pick a single fault with it. The cotton storage sack that comes with it is also top quality.Jan 2, 2013 at 8:43 am #1940169I have owned many FF, WM, one Nunatak and 4 Katabatic bags, and would rate all very high in terms of workmanship with an almost tie between FF and Katabatic.
Overall I'd give the nod to Katabatic but it will be some time before I have more bag nights in anything other than a FF bag. I have spent well over a thousand nights in FF bags and only hope to have that many more the rest of my life.
Jan 2, 2013 at 8:55 am #1940174+3 on Katabatic. My Palasaides is an absolutely gorgeous piece of gear. I am amazed at the loft for a 30 degree bag and the design all around is stellar.
Jan 2, 2013 at 9:49 am #1940188I've had 3 from Feathered Friends, one each from Valandre and Nunatak, and 4 from Enlightened, among others. I'd put Valandre at the top and Feathered Friends is amazing to work with (all the bags have been custom). Tim at Enlightned is amazing too (all 4 of these have been beautiful custom kids bags. You know, these are all stellar.
Jan 6, 2013 at 2:56 pm #1941259By pure accident, I got to inspect a Nunatak quilt in person this wkd. I'm impressed. Good stuff!
Jan 6, 2013 at 3:05 pm #1941264Rusty
Indeed as i told you in the PM – quality in the nunatak bags is high…It might have to do in part to the years of experience and to the fact that Tom is a one man show doing custom premium stuff so he mostly (AFAIK) does the bags as they are ordered (as opposed to building to stock) so i guess that means he is able to put more time in each one..dunno
I havent seen stuff from all the others (only a couple) but his work is very good.
Mike -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Our Community Posts are Moderated
Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting.
Get the Newsletter
Gear Research & Discovery Tools
- Browse our curated Gear Shop
- See the latest Gear Deals and Sales
- Our Recommendations
- Search for Gear on Sale with the Gear Finder
- Used Gear Swap
- Member Gear Reviews and BPL Gear Review Articles
- Browse by Gear Type or Brand.