Gear Advice – EE Revelation for Women

My wife and I have 20 deg. EE enigmas (little difference) and are cold sleepers. Call EE for sizing but Im pretty sure they will tell you the regular width and length will be fine. As far as temps go, once weather is predicted to be around freezing we are switching out to our WM versalites to provide a buffer in case the weather turns much colder.

As far as summer time temps for us its no problem we just kick our feet out and turn down the top. We are usually back in the bags for the coolest part of the night. When we asked about overstuffing a 20 deg quilt Tim said they tend to just recommend the next warmest quilt. Cold sleepers as the wife and I are, we would need to go to a warmer quilt for temps around and below freezing. Our 20s make a nice late spring, summer and early fall quilt for around here but we need the extra insulation for colder temps. I find it hard to only have one bag that does everything without a weight penalty.

Hope this helps, jimmyb

Thanks for the quick reply jimmy.

Do you guys normally sleep in base layers or do you add additional down jacket, etc for extra warmth?

Glen Van Peski (GossamerGear) posits that if you aren't wearing all of your clothes at night you have brought too many clothes, and that doing so means you can bring a lighter bag/quilt. Granted this takes a notion to it's logical end point, but when we consider the quilt as simply another item of warm clothing worn during periods of low activity, Glen's view makes a lot of sense.

We all carry base layers, fleeces, down insulation layers and don/doff them as conditions dictate…why is sleeping any different? The quilt then can be seen simply as the last layer you don during your most inactive period of the day, sleeping.

I am a big proponent of combining your quilt and clothing to create a sleep system that works down to your lowest expected temperature. Using this method, I have taken bags rated at 30* well into the single digits. And yes, I was warm and comfortable while wearing all my clothes around camp. At bedtime I just tucked into the "final layer".

This is probably because I am a female but I don't like to sleep in dirty clothes. I would rather not have the quilt in contact with a jacket or pants that I have hiked and sweat in for a few hours.

I have a 20 degree Revelation. I've only had it down to freezing one night and was fine with my puffy jacket on. If I were going to do that more often, maybe I'd get the 10 degree, but for "occasional" freezing temps, I'd bet the 20+puffy would be fine.

what brand of bag did you have that experience with? Wondering if it was a less-than-trustworth rating.

I have a regular width and I find it too wide. Forget if I can get it all the way around me. With the pad straps I can get it as snug as I've ever wanted it. And I'm almost exactly your weight/height.

Viki,

This past winter I tested my new quilt with a med. synth. base layer and a Montbell alpine light. Still had trouble keeping warm around freezing and lower. Testing was done on my enclosed porch with non insulated cement floor on an Xtherm. Just for reference when testing my 10 deg. bag I had it down to 23 deg. on an xlite in my shelter in the back yard on non frozen ground with the same base layer and was fine. I think that the enclosed bag helps to better trap fully my body heat. I have a wicked fast metabolism coupled with a sub 130lb skinny *ss body so my results may be somewhat on the extreme end of sleeping cold. My wife ends up needing almost exactly the same insulation.

I fully agree with the above supplemental clothing system and would of course add the puffy or other in with the versalite as well if needed. I do however believe in keeping my base layer completely dry and so for sleeping only when the temps begin to tank. As for my kit its about the same weight with my quilt blalaclava and puffy as it is to carry the heavier bag. By the time I need the heavier bag the days are short around here and I eat filter my water and jump in bed til sleep comes. I rather be toasty than quibble on a few oz.'s of insulation.

All said, we are loving our quilts for the temps they are effective for us in. Lighter, easier to sleep in for stomach and side sleeping and nicely put together

Your mileage may very so good luck to you, jimmyb

Bottom line, it sucks to be a cold sleeper.

It was an REI flash which is rated to 32 for women. It was actually so cold that I tried trading bags with my friend (not sure what bag he had) but I was still shivering. He said he was hot in both bags but he is definitely a warm sleeper.

So from what I've read on the forum it seems like most women are okay with the 20 degree EE quilt for temperatures around freezing. I was thinking women sleep colder so that's why I was leaning towards a 10 degree since it would be the equivalent of a 20 degree for a woman.

Hi Viki. Disclaimer: I work for EE.

On the sizing just based on what you said about your size we'd say Regular width, and for length you could actually do a Short if you use something to keep your head warm (whether that's our Hoodlum, some other balaclava, etc.). You could go with a Regular length to cover your head, though personally I don't really like using it that way. My guess is the Reg width would go all the way around you, though to test you can just put some clothes pins on a sheet to mark out the width (54" on a Regular) and see if that goes around you. It's designed to be used partially open-backed, but either way that would ensure you have enough material to tuck it in well to prevent drafts.

On the rating, normally for 40-50° we'd recommend a 30° or 20° rating for you depending on how you sleep. Since it sounds like you don't prefer to add layers when sleeping, that would suggest a 20° rating would be our normal recommendation. That said if you tend to sleep cold I don't think you'll normally find a 10° quilt way too warm in those temps. Maybe a bit, but venting either from the top or the footbox is simple.

I don't think you mentioned what pad you're using, but if that's not especially well insulated you could potentially upgrade/supplement that and get by with a warmer-weather rating on the quilt.

I have a men's prolite plus but I wouldn't mind upgrading if need be. Another representative at EE actually recommend the 10 degree quilt for my intended uses. However, I feel like the 20 degree quilt would be more versatile for 3 season mountain use.

I'm planning trips to yosemite, the sierras, utah, and the rockies in the next year or so.