3 season quilt

The JRB Shenendoah will work for you, and can take the compression with flying colors.

JRB Stealth owner here. It has been great for my 3 season wet/dry backpacking. http://www.jacksrbetter.com/Wearable%20Quilts.htm
In cooler weather (<40F) I start using my WM POD30.

-Barry

You might want to take a look at the Nunatak quilts.

I just started researching quilts and I am leaning heavily in this direction.

Nice thing is that you can have the quilt customized almost anyway you want.

http://www.nunatakusa.com/site07/main_pages/product_sleep_systems.htm

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

-Tony

Well, after reading the reader reviews of the Pro 90 I can say I'm no longer interested in it. The pictures showed that it had no loft at all. I guess you can't protect the loft if it's not there in the first place.

I don't think the POD30 is made anymore.

I like the JRB quilts. I like the shenendoa better than the stealth. It looks like it has more fill even though they're rated for the same temp range. The problem is they really don't offer me much weight savings. Why get a 40-45* quilt that weighs 15oz when I can get a WM Highlight that is a full bag with a hood if needed for 16oz. I wouldn't feel comfortable with a quilt if I didn't take a beanie and once I do I'm heavier than the highlight.

When I look at it that way I guess the only advantage I see is that my pad won't slide around underneath me with a quilt. That could be easily remedied though by cutting the knee section of my pad to shape and putting it in the bag with me.

I guess I just thought there would be a better weight savings. Any other suggestions?

I like the Arc Ghost. Seems to have a good amount of fill and with the .8oz Quantum, comes in at 14oz for my size. Did any of you that switched to a quilt from a bag regret not having a full hood.

The reason I'm trying to make this decision is I like the versatility of a quilt for when the weather is warmer. I think this makes a 3 season quilt an advantage when I can just use it like a blanket if I'm too hot.

Jason,

Like Tony Wong I'm also researching quilts. I have a BPL Pro 90 Balaclava that I think will be more than enough if I think I need a hood. It is EXTREMELY light weight and very, very warm.

Most everyone here has more experience than I do, so it's just a suggestion. This was the no-hood solution I was considering. In fact, if I remember correctly, I think Nunatak recommends this on their website. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in.

Jason-
You might have figured this out by now, but the reason that you'd have to worry about loft loss is because of the synthetic insulation. Synthetics don't last long. All of the other options we're talking about are down and you won't have to worry about losing loft (as long as you wash your body oils off the down periodically). As far as wetness, just use common sense to avoid getting your bag wet.

When talking about quilts v. bags in these forums it's easy to start a bit of a flame war… I offer my opinion on the matter in peace. People talk about the lighter weight of quilts, but as you mention several bags are very similar in weight–maybe even lighter! I prefer the versatility of a sleeping bag. I can totally zip myself in for warmth if I want, or I can unzip it all the way and drape it over myself exactly as a quilt user would do. There is zero functional difference when used that way. Ultimately, some people prefer the openness of quilts while others prefer bags. I would recommend looking at the WM Summerlite, 32*F rating, 19 ounces for a 6 foot length with a full-length #5 YKK zipper and a hood. If it's hot, unzip fully and use as a quilt. Or just use as a bag but shift most of the down underneath you before bed. The WM LineLite might be an option, too, at 45*F and 14 ounces. Have fun making the decision!

“Why get a 40-45* quilt that weighs 15oz when I can get a WM Highlight that is a full bag with a hood if needed for 16oz.”

Man, that is an excellent question. WM has a superior material and superior down. Thus WM will be lighter. I sooo wish WM made a decent backpacking quilt.

The stealth is more versatile as you can wear it as a warm poncho jacket (which I do in the mornings). Also, when it’s warmer, a quilt will breath/air better than the 1/3zip sleeping bag. And you save about $70.

Tough decisions :)

About losing the hood— I slept fine in a silk balaclava which is part of cool-weather repertoire anyway.

-Barry

The synthetic insulation loft debate has been going on for a while. Here is what I have gathered: Synthetics provide more warmth per inch of loft than down. When synthetic loft degrades, the effectiveness of the insulation does too, but at a much slower rate than the loft.

On the other hand, down is still warmer per ounce by a significant margin, more durable, and packs smaller. Then there is the wetness issue.

If you are concerned that your quilt will get wet and you dont take extra steps to make sure this doesn't happen, you may be happier with a synthetic quilt. Consider Mountain Laurel Designs as well if this is you. You can also get eVent on his quilts. For warmth conversion purposes, the BPL pro 90 has about 2.9oz/yd of polarguard delta, which is about the same warmth as 2.5oz/yd climashield xp in rons quilts.

Good luck

Jason,
Had the opportunity to use both a WM Summerlite and BPL 90 quilt over the past few seasons when I lived in the NE.

Quilt works great as part of an overall sleep system down into the 40's when combining with BPl Hoody and used in a bivy, worked out better then I thought, did not use my Summerlight last summer. Nightime low temps were hovering in 40's/50's for times I was out. If was using BPL 90 as a stand alone quilt guessing it might be ok into the fifties in a tarp tent, would most likely be chilled in the 40's all depends how much you want to combine set ups to minimize weight savings.

Simple approach would be get a bag/quilt with appropriate rating for time you will be out, but then there's additional clothing not being used at night when it could be doing double duty at keeping you warm as you sleep. It depends on what you want to put into your set up.

Good luck
Jim

Hey florigen,

How low do you think you could push the temp range of the BPL 90 quilt if you combined it with a BPL Pro 60 parka and the Pro 60 side zip pants? Also, I may or may not use a bivy at times.

Thanks,

socalpacker

Hey Socal,
Thinking with the combined mentioned + real warm socks you probably be good into the mid 30's, at least on this end.

Usually sleep a little on the cold side. Also depends on pad was using a Torsolite and GG thinlight combo, probably beefing up foam will buy you a few more degrees.

Well, I think I'm going to go with the WM Summerlite. At 19oz/32*F it's lighter and warmer than the bag I have now. And from what I understand their conservatively rated. I'll have plenty of warmth with the full baffle construction and 4" of loft. And plenty of versatility with the full zip. It just feels very practical to me for a 3 season bag; gives me the same feel of practicality as my tarptent. I think I'm going to try to cut my weight a little bit by switching to a 3/8" thinlight pad from my short ridgerest pad. Even if I don't do that I'm still at less that 7.5# base weight. Aside from that I'm going back to anesthesia school later this year and don't want to spend my money on a quilt that I may not be happy with and could be a waste of money to me.

Thanks for the help.

hi jason –

I have a 6 foot summerlite and love it. Just as you are describing, I use it as a quilt when it is warm enough, and if i get cold at night i just zip it up a bit. However, just know that a lot of western mountaineering products actually weigh a bit more than their specified weights. For example, my 6 foot summerlite (purchased new in 2008) weighs about (EDIT: 20.25 ounces). Sure, not much above spec and not noticeable in a physical sense, but I appreciate it when the weight you expect on high end (and expensive) ultralight gear is the weight you get, especially if you are trying to make a decision based on ounces.

matt

Jason, you will never regrat a WM bag, remember if you want you can get 2ounce overfill of down. That equates to one sip of water. I have been torture testing my WM bags for years and they still look alot better than they smell. Ali

How much of a temperature increase could one expect from a 2oz overfill?

I really dont now but for the weight penalty it cant hurt. My bag is the one place I wont skimp. Ali

give or take a smidge, 10 degrees has been reported. I can verify that to be true. there's a lot to be said about down density, but in a nutshell – its worth it.

I used a 20 degree GoLite quilt on the PCT last year from Three Points (in the San Gabriels) to Mt. Shasta, from end of May after a snow storm to end of July in oppressive heat. I loved it.

Once in a while I woke up a little cold real early in the morning. I put on my down sweater and warmed right up.

I did not mind not having a hood. I tend to sleep on my side or stomach so hoods don't work that well for me. I wore a hat to bed that had a chin strap so that it would stay on.

I could pull the top of the quilt over my head, snap a little snap around in front and pull the drawstring a bit to cinch it around my head. I would sleep all the way inside with my head covered with no problem from my breath.

It was toasty warm down. I have never been so warm with so little down. I fluffed it up each night before I laid it out. And when I cowboy-camped in a breeze, it fluffed itself up and was even warmer.

I don't know what the temperatures were each night I was out there. I can imagine the quilt would be warm for this easily-chilled lady into the upper 20s.

I found sleeping right against the foam pad to be warmer than I expected, almost too warm. Sometimes it was sweaty and uncomfortable. And when the nights were hot, it didn't really work like a blanket where you can toss part of it aside and stick your feet out. Being attached to the pad and having a foot box kind of limits the configurations. Any sleeping bag without a full zipper would be worse.

I really like the quilt and will use it any time the temperatures are within its range.

Hey, Jason-
FWIW, I've found that the overfill in my Summerlite takes me well into the 20s, typically a cold sleeper. I've also found that all three of my WM bags came in on spec for weight (w/the Summerlite, adding 2 ounces for the 2oz overfill). Enjoy!

If only they made the Summerlite 2 inches wider in the long.

If you don't mind another two inches, it's the Megalite–64" instead of 60"…