TN/NC/VA – May-Oct – down or synthetic? Temp?

I use down and have never had a problem.

I have one bag and three quilts, but in reality two of the quilts overlap a bit.

I have a Mountain Hadwear Phantom 0 that is 44oz ekk!! It only see's use a few nights in the winter when I go out below the upper teens. I have used this down to 0*. (if it is colder than that, I don't want to be out in it)

I have a Javan Dempsey quilt that has 12oz of down in it that I use from the upper teens to about freezing. It weighs 20.25oz I think an alternitive today would be a 20* quilt from Katabatic, Nunatak, Enlighted Equipment or others.

I also have a Golite Ultra 20 that I use from about freezing to around 50*. I have used this quilt as low as 24* however. I really don't need this quilt with the Javan Dempsey quilt, but this was my first quilt and I can't seem to part with it. It is 18.95oz

Lastly, I have a summer quilt, a BPL Pro 90 Quilt made out of 90 g/m Polarguard Delta that is around 13oz. I use this for temps 50* or above. A replacement today might be the lightest synthetic quilts from EE and MLD. I chose synthetic here because it was the lightest thing I could find and that in a quilt this thin, even down distribution could be a problem.

Up until a couple years ago I never would have used a synthetic. I've hiked a lot in the GSMNP, Citco Creek and other areas in the southeast up until we moved to Washington thirteen years ago.

I always used down bags because synthetics sucked so bad, were heavy and didn't last. They would lose significant loft in one season of use.

I have to say I'm seriously liking my new Enlightened Equipment Prodigy quilt. It uses the latest and greatest synthetic and the advantages of down are much smaller than ever before and even with the new "water resistant" down I think the synthetic offers much more resistance to prolonged moisture levels.

Don't get me wrong… a down bag is still nice and will win the weight war. In your situation I'd get one of the new synthetics though. I did for my PNW hiking and I'm slow to change.

I live in Knoxville and hike the Smokies, Slickrock, Pisgah, etc. Always used down with no problems even with week long trips with rain peppered in. I currently use a MYOG 40F quilt at 12oz for spring/fall and a 15F Marmot sleeping bag for winter.

Ryan

Hey Kevin, I think you are buying one of my Montbell bags on the swap. I'm thinking of keeping my long one now (the regular was my girlfriends) and then just getting a prodigy quilt for 40 or 50 degree. It can stay toasty around here, but would probably be smart for me to keep the Montbell bag for higher elevations.

Which prodigy did you get? How does the temp rating stand up?

Ryan, do you supplement any clothing with the 40 degree quilt?

I got the 30 degree and as I've gotten older I sleep colder than I did as a young pup.

I also bought a down puffy with hood last year to compliment the quilt so it isn't a fair comparison as the quilt + clothing is a system approach. I like it because it gives more flexibility and an 9-ounce down top adds significant warmth to the quilt. I feel it is probably warmer than my 30 degree down bags I've used in the past (Marmot & Feathered Friends) and I wear the puffy around camp. The quilt is 27 ounces…. a little bit lighter than my Feathered Friends 30-degree bag which I've used for a grand total of somewhere around 20 years now.

You can certainly use down if you want to save a couple ounces and you cannot beat down for longevity. I personally find I prefer the Prodigy. You really cannot go too far wrong with either.

Ryan, do you supplement any clothing with the 40 degree quilt?

+1 for the Prodigy 40, Mine is reg/reg and weighs 17.7 oz, stuffs really small (no stuff sack!) in the bottom of my Arc Blast. Other gear and food squishes it down with no effort.

In keeping with UL concepts, I always plan on sleeping in all clothing at the low end of the temperature range. No doubt, with the right sleep pad and clothing I could be comfortable down to 25°F with this quilt.

I have a down Montbell 30F bag with legendary DWR, but around freezing with high humidity, I've noticed some loss of loft. That's also the case with my Marmot 0F down bag. On one trip, I was shocked that a bag which has kept me warm in drier conditions at 0-10F was just barely working at 25-30F with the same pad and nearly the same clothing. I'm planning to take my 30F synthetic quilt on trips in the 20-40F temperature range with high humidity or constant rain.

I've used the Montbell 30F bag on trips where it was covered in moisture due to sleeping near the opening of a tarp in blowing rain/snow. The down inside was dry, and I was warm. The air itself was drier than some trips, especially because I was under a tarp rather than in a condensation chamber, err I mean tent.

You really have to be careful with subjective impressions of warmth. The relative humidity at just above freezing temps tends to make it feel much colder. Not to mention all the other variables.

For me… I've fretted over my down bag for too many years in marginal conditions. The Prodigy gives me one less thing to worry about. It holds up extremely well in prolonged rain/moisture (five days of rain on the Wonderland) with minimal effect on it's efficacy.

Been using down in this same area for years, with no problems.

I have a 45-F quilt that I use in the summer that would probably maybe likely sorta be fine in May and September, but those months can get some chiily nights so if I could have only one it would be rated to 35 or so.