Let me take a moment to explain the reasons and route I took to get to quilts for backpacking. I am a toss-and-turn side-sleeper. It is almost impossible for me to sleep on my back, as it is very uncomfortable and causes me to snore (which then wakes me up). Way back (early 80s), my favorite three-season bag was a Sierra Designs semi-rectangular bag that I used above 40 F / 4 C. I used a TNF Cat's Meow bag down to 30 F / -1 C, and at the time I did not backpack in temps lower than that.
After my travel on the hilly Road of Life, I found myself in a great job situation and a state of lessened family responsibilities. So I jumped hard back into backpacking, extending it to winter and eventually mountaineering too. I made the move to 100% down for my sleeping bags and started discovering how to cut weight and volume with better gear (much to the delight of REI and its ilk). My only problem came in the sleeping department.
The warmest bags were (and still are) mummy bags, which are made to be slept in on one's back. But many of the best and lightest bags (750 fill being top-end at the time) used variable fill schemes with less down on the back/bottom, as the pad provides much of the insulation there anyway. For side sleeping I could roll the bag with me and have a cold back, or turn inside the bag and suffocate in the hood.
I went through a period of using Big Agnes integrated bags, as their larger cuts were very comfortable, and I really liked the idea of just doing away with the bottom fill of the bag to save weight. The hood was still pretty much useless for me, and much of a bag's rating comes from being able to seal the bag. Plus as I kept working towards the Light(weight Holy Grail, that is) the bigger styles were too heavy, and their higher quality fill bags were too tight for side sleeping, as they pulled tight against the shoulders and hip since they were locked to the pad.
Back in 2003 I had purchased Mukluks for winter backpacking from Nunatak USA and saw Tom's line of Arc quilts. While they intrigued me, I just could not justify the price for something I may not even have liked, so they just stayed in the back of my mind. Then GoLite came out with the Ultra 20, which I found on sale, so I gave it a try. While the Ultra 20 did not perform up to its rating for me, the comfort of a true quilt blew me away. Eureka! (I must say that the latest quilts from GoLite are much better than the first generation. I bought both my children UltraLite 3s, as they like quilts too.)
I bought my first custom quilt soon after, a mostly stock Arc Alpinist with an Epic footbox to prevent a wet foot. That worked so well, with such low weight and and low volume for the amount of warmth and comfort, that I took the plunge, selling every sleeping bag I owned (I lived in two states and had bags in both) with a rating warmer than 0 F / -18 C (sold one of them, too) to finance the purchase of two more quilts with a bit more customization. Once I got them, I haven't used a sleeping bag again outside of deep winter or testing commitments. You could say that I am hooked.
I have now spent many nights below freezing with my quilts - even down to 0 F / -18 C, and I may get lower this winter. Once I get below freezing, I do like to use straps to keep the quilt wrapped around my body and to keep openings from bleeding off my precious heat. A high R-value pad is imperative, and I find a wider one helps a lot to keep the quilt in place with my bent-leg style. I also use a down balaclava with my cold weather quilts to keep my head as warm as the rest of me.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Why a Quilt?
- Retail vs. Custom
- Specifications
- Product Description
- Field Testing
- Observations
- Dare to Compare
- Conclusion
# WORDS: 2730
# PHOTOS: 5
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Companion forum thread to:
Crazy for Quilts – How Quilts Became My Sleep System of Choice, PLUS A Review of My Favorite, the Stateless Society Custom Quilt
Ray, nice writeup. I've started down that rabbit hole as well.
Just to note, The Stateless Society is no longer making quilts according to their Facebook page.
"We're officially out of the quilt business! Sorry, but I've made enough to become sick of them. Focusing on new things; custom and production knives, titanium things, u.l. siphon filter coffee brewing attachment, etc. I'll try to post more often."
Yeah quilts are awesome.
Just a FYI, BPL member BillyGoat/VirgaOutdoors is making quilts last I checked. He made me an awesome M55/900FP quilt.
Javan was making me an all 7d, SUL, side sleeper wonder quilt, but it didn't work out and, as Travis said, he told me he is out of the quilt business. I was disappointed at the time, but figured it's only a quilt. In the end I ordered two quilts from Tim for the same price. One for me and one for my wife.
To take up some of the slack of TSS, I am also making custom specialty quilts. 7d/cuben mixes, etc.
Nice review. Luckily I had Javan make me a custom quilt before he stopped making them. Mine is much beefier, rated at 10 Farenheit, with extra down in the torso area. I have used it both on the ground and for very cold hammocking. Extremely well made with attention to detail, fits me perfectly and well worth the money. Too bad Javan became bored with quilts, but good on him for moving on to making things that still inspire him.
why reviewing a quilt thats not produced anymore? It's like "Hey guys, look what cool stuff I got here, that you will never get, hahahaha!".
Making a review about a product which is not available anymore? Sorry, but I don't really get that. This is a part review, part "why do I use quilts" experience report, part partial quilt market comparison. Sorry, but I don't get that. What's next? Reviewing a Saunders Spacepacker tent from the 80's?
The review was written while Javan was still making quilts. Unfortunately, it kept getting bumped for other reviews (my understanding anyway).
I don't see it as so bad, since others can still make similar things (in terms of quality, weight, and rating). Think of it as a review for minimalist custom quilts in general. If you can't get them from Stateless Society anymore, try GooseFeet or Virga or Nunatak.
Also, the title of the review is "How Quilts Became My Sleep System of Choice" with an extra review of "My Favorite, the Stateless Society Custom Quilt." Actually, Ray, I fell for quilts exactly the same way. Side sleeper, can't sleep on my back at all. Always used mummy bags and rolled imperfectly. Found a GoLite ultra on sale, got hooked, then moved on to a Stateless Society quilt… the rest is history. When I first got that GoLite, the only other option for quilts was Nunatak (as far as I could tell), so it's especially nice to see so many options out there now.
I had Javen make me a bag for last years PCT. WOW… what a bag! It's not a quilt. I personally can't sleep in a quilt. I don't like the draft feeling when I roll around. I asked Javen to make me a bag with 3-inch 850 fill on top and a sweet foot box that goes from my calves down. The rest of the bottom is a sheet of intrepid. That way I keep the drafts out. He put in a short zipper to make getting in and out easier. It's the same width and length as my favorite semi-rectangular bag sold by Feather Friends that way I can roll around and even stick my knee out to it's side with comfort. GREAT BAG and a great guy!
Hey guys, sorry for the tease, but that definitely wasn't anyone's intent. As Chris mentioned, the article was written back when I was still making quilts, and nobody knew how badly burned out I was going to end up, especially me.
Ultimately I am a designer, not a volume producer, and likely never will be. I've got a lot of opinions, and insight about quilts having made many over the course of a couple of years, that I'm happy to share with the community which has been so supportive, but I've got new ideas, equipment, and skills, and I'm ready to move on to designing new things for that same community.
So all that being said, thank you all for the support, and apologies for no longer being able to offer quilts, but in the end it became too tedious for me to continue making them for a fair price, and still have time to explore other concepts. There are a lot more quilt makers around now than there were when I started, and hopefully they'll continue along the path of refining this essential tool of our adventures.
Thanks for a good article on quilts in general, including the design decisions that went into yours. I didn't find the fact that one particular quilt wasn't available to detract from the article at all. I'm going to pass this URL on to people who ask me why the heck I use a quilt. As a stomach/side sleeper, it makes a whole lot of sense. And as a four-season hammock hanger, quilts are almost a requirement. (I once flipped myself upside-down in my Hennessy trying to get in a 10*F mummy bag, and found myself staring through the mesh at several pointy broken-off limbs on a downed tree.)
The thing I like most is sticking my knees out from beneath the quilt, then bringing them back under after letting them chill for a few hours–a hassle-free way to ice them while I sleep.
I appreciate Ray's effort (and his enthusiasm for TSS products) but I too see this article as a product of bad editing: If the featured product is no longer available, the article should have been re-written or omitted.
I believe that Enlightened equipment are also planning to offer some more exotic material options some time in the future.
I'm glad to have his personal insights and details of his quilt and quilt experiences. Maybe somebody will read his article and step up and make something similar if needed/wanted. I'm content it wasn't cut or scrapped. Good stuff.
Consider this another unanswered example from Dr. Jordan as to how BPL, vs. the cottage industry, isn't stagnant. (Still awaiting that response). Pot, or Kettle? Perhaps we can get a review of the BPL Vapr Quantum Bivy next. Too soon?
That's a lot of cool looking tents, and good places. I have used my down bag for years as a quilt unzipped. Now i'm making my own quilt.
I Would love to use it in beautiful places, and cool looking tents.
I liked the article personally. Regardless of whether the quilt is available anymore, where else besides BPL am I going to see an article about a 14oz quilt? Haters gonna hate I guess.
Ryan
I just received a zpacks sleeping bag.
You can have the best of both a quilt and a sleeping bag. It lofts, balloons up nicely.
Description: 20 Degree Regular Width Sleeping Bag, Item#: ,
Length: Medium – 5 feet 10 inches (16.8 oz) with 3 ounces of overfill
(19.4 oz on my scale) Black 7D inner and outer.
Anthony, with a tape measure, measure the exterior length of the bag.
–B.G.–
Bob, the exterior circumference is approxiamtely 56 inchs at the shoulder/neck and the bag is about 69 inches long. It has a narrow cut footbox, narrow bag which is great for me because I'm a cold sleeper and I can always unzip it and use it as a quilt when it's warm. The zipper is a thin ultralight zipper and I could not feel it under me.
5'9" long on the exterior, and that is a Medium.
Interesting.
I just had my hands on a Medium that was shorter than that.
–B.G.–
Yikes, that is a tiny medium.
Ryan
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