2 person sleep system- feedback wanted on options I’m considering

My wife and I have SD mummy bags that mate (one is right-zip and the other is left-zip and that works really well for us when it’s down into the 20’s or teens.  We each have our own hood and have never been cold – but your Renauld’s isn’t something to take lightly.

For an insulated sleeping pad, look at the Klymit Insulated Double pad that’s now available on Drop.com for $105.  I have two of them and they’re really comfortable.  At 35 ounces it’s on the heavy side, but the R-rating is 4.4 and, IME, that probably runs pretty true.

I don’t think you’ll want the Big Agnes bedroll because it’s only rated to 45 degrees. Another more budget option would be the thermarest vela 20 degree double quilt for $277. I have the 32 degree one and took it down to 30 (that’s $224). We’re very happy with it, but I have no comparisons though to the more expensive quilts. My husband and I are new at this and still trying to perfect sleeping in the cold, so it wasn’t perfect but I think it’s because I have the opposite problem as you where I overheat, then sweat, then get cold from sweating. I’m actually reducing my layers to stay warmer. Thermarest has the whole system. You can get a ground sheet for $45 or a down ground sheet for $85. I made my own sheet so I can’t comment on those options. (All prices from amazon)

We gave up trying couple our pads. We tried coupler straps plus a DIY sheet. Then added Velcro squares to the side. Then added Velcro to the bottom. All left a cold spot in the middle through the night. We just bought the Klymit Insulated pad Kevin recommended and we’re trying it out this weekend. It’s smaller than our two regular Klymit pads coupled. Klymit has another Insulated double pad that is bigger, but much heavier and more expensive. Our solo pads are the Klymit Static v ultralight Insulated, and other than not being able to make them work together, we really liked them. So I have high hopes for the drop double version.

There is another way to make a wide and long mattress which I have used in the past.
You use a number of 3/4 mats joined and laid across the tent, it lessens the separation issue.
Apart from that Rogers idea of single LW down bags plus a large couples over bag or overquilt seems to me the better option if you ave different insulation needs when sleeping

We use an Exped syn mat duo and a Zpacks double quilt. The pad is r3.3 and the quilt is a 30. There is an r5 syn mat duo and obviously you can get a warmer quilt.
we love the syn mat. I wish we had the warmer one but we sleep down to 30 easily even with the 3.3. We never fight over the covers like we thought we would as the quilt is sized well for us.

We attached two pad forever, and two bags for that matter but since getting this system we have never looked back.
Its not the cheapest option, but very small and light, especially considering the comfort we get from it.

For a cold face try a buff, or my wife uses a pata neck gaiter that she loves.

These are great suggestions!  I keep looking for the couples solutions from others who are experienced but also a bit older because in our 40s comfort reigns supreme, while still being light. Plus as couples we have more or less figured out what works and doesn’t work for sleeping together.  I’m looking into all these solutions- probably worth the investment in the double mat and keep our singles for kids to use or when going separately.  One other quilt/comforter setup I stumbled on (reading up on the first suggestion, which I love!) was the SD backcountry bed down- rated to 20, but like I said, I always have an extra layer with me for warmth and do silk or wool thermals when needed to sleep in.  With a good insulated pad, this option seems good too.  Anyone tried it?
The Therm-a-Rest system has a lot of good qualities I think but reviews make me think it’s not quite warm enough.  So now I’m leaning towards the klymit double insulated mat, And the SD backcountry bed.  Thanks for everyone help me walk through way overthinking things just because I am thrifty and really enjoy camping more when I’m comfy and warm.

Oh cool- I’m going to look into that double pad too- since I’d have to get a new one anyway, I could get the warmer one- the Therm-a-Rest has a lot of the qualities I’m looking for, as does the SD (which happens to be having a 25% off the whole site sale right now)

I just went through this recently, my new-to-backpacking girlfriend didn’t like us being in separate quilts, didn’t like the feel of the pad material on her skin, and wanted more room that  40″ wide “double” offers. Without your special temperature considerations here’s what I came up with:

• Exped SynMat HL Duo L/W – has 52″ width at the head
• matching Exped sheet
• EE Accomplice (note: comes with a strap system to hold two single pads together)
• Then of course needed a new shelter to fit it in, went with the BA UL3 Tiger Wall. A lot of width at the head, great height, dual doors and vestibules, and easy for my newbie partner to help set up.

Hope this helps.

We used to use the Exped Mat Sheet… I guess we still use it in the summer with more skin on the pad.  Its sorta fiddly, but comfy.  Hmmm I wonder where we put it… haven’t noticed it in the gear??  sorta forgot about it

RE: Raynaud’s syndrome
You probably do not want to risk the fourth season unless you can check your feet every two hours.

For cold nights during the other seasons, you can turn most any hard sided or soft sided water bottle into a hot water bottle, and once tightly sealed, place in the foot of your sleeping bag or quilt. I get very cold feet at night and when winter snow camping, a one liter bottle keeps my feet toasty. SInce it is sometimg hard to judge how hot the water is, you can put an extra sock over the bottle to avoid the risk of burning yourself.

You can do a lot of research and still eventually come to the same conclusion that the rest of us have:

A) The best quilt for a couple is the Enlightened Equipment Accomplice

B) The best pad for a couple is the Exped SynMat HL Duo (choose your warmth and size to suit your needs)

My wife and I are currently using this combo on the CDT, in fact. We love it and this is our second Accomplice quilt and first SynMat HL Duo.

There is no need to use any straps with this combo. We used to use the straps that came with the Accomplice when we had two separate pads. The SynMat HL Duo is now a huge upgrade in comfort and functionality and it doesn’t really need the straps.

Instead of trying to get some fitted sheet to separate you from your pad fabric, invest in a good pair of long underwear and use that for your sleeping clothes. More comfortable, more multifunctional, much easier to wash, and typically lighter to boot.

Good luck!

I’m really curious if anyone whose using the accomplice + exped had tried other double systems before? When I was doing my research I came across the accomplice + exped as the best listed option several times…but without much details on why or how much better it is than other options. There doesn’t seem to be the same detailed comparisons for double systems as singles. Or a lot of people seem to go from trying to combine two single bags/quilts and pads straight to the accomplice + exped. So it’s not clear if the benefits are from the accomplice + exped specifically or from a double quilt + double pad generally.

Maybe because I’m frugal and very new to this, I would have arrived at the same cheaper result regardless. I.e. accomplice + exped is twice as much as a thermarest Vela double quilt + drop Klymit double pad, nearly a $400 difference. But the lack of the answer to why is it the best and how much better is it, strongly pushed me towards the cheaper option. I’d love to hear people’s options to those two questions. Maybe then I can justify an upgrade in a few years. :)

Exped Synmat HL Duo M———-72 x 41 x 2.8 in…..29 oz… R 2.9

Exped Synmat HL Duo W M——-72 x 41 x 2.8 in…. 37 oz… R 5.2

Klymit Double V———————74 x 47 x 3 in……..40 oz… R 1.6

Klymit double V Ins.—————-74 x 47 x 3 in……..53 oz… R 4.4

Exped Synmat HL Duo LW———77.6 x 51 x 2.8 in…40.7… R 2.9

Exped Synmat HL Duo W LW—–77.6 x 51 x 2.8 in…48 oz… R 5.2

So it depends on what you goal is. Small weight?  Warmest pad? Biggest pad?

Exped has the lightest setup, the warmest setup, and the biggest setup.

Klymits light pad is equal in weight to the Duo LW, but the LW is bigger and warmer.

Klymits heavy pad is heavier than the Winter LW and the Winter LW is bigger and warmer.

For what its worth I’m 5’10” (and not skinny) and my wife is 5’1″ and we sleep just fine on the M sized pads.  The LWs must be amazing.

I don’t know of anyone who has used the Vela, and somebody else can chart it out for you but lots people have used the Accomplice and love it.  I use Zpacks quilt and love it.  Maybe the Vela is great, but Thermarest is known for their pads, not their quilts and bags… a quilt is a whole different animal, and that all that Enlightened Eq. makes and their business is booming.  I used to work at a store that sold the Vela and it was enormous in its stuff sack.  That was a couple years ago so maybe they’ve trimmed it down, but I’d take the Pepsi challenge with my Zpacks quilt any day… and I’d guess that the accomplice prolly better than that.  Tim makes solid stuff, Joe seems to go for weight above all.

If you buy the cheaper options (that are apparently relatively untested) and they don’t work and you end up buying the better stuff then you are out more than the $400 you saved by purchasing the cheaper stuff.

Thanks for your response Jeff. We were talking about the Drop Klymit pads, so those are much more comparable to the exped stats, but 1/3 the price.

Exped Synmat HL Duo M———-72 x 41 x 2.8 in…..29 oz… R 2.9

Exped Synmat HL Duo W M——-72 x 41 x 2.8 in…. 37 oz… R 5.2

Drop Klymit                                       72 x 40 x 3.2 in….25 oz…R 1.3

Drop Klymit Insulated                     72 x 40 x 3.2 in …35 oz …R 4.4

I’ve seen the specs for the quilts too. The accomplice is slightly shorter and slightly wider, has a better fill, and is 5 oz lighter than the vela…comparing 20 to 20 degree which I understand isn’t always actually apples to apples, so maybe that’s the major difference. (No clue about the stuff sizing on what would be consider huge, since I don’t have any comparisons. I have the 32 vela double, I think it’s about the same as my one person synthetic bag was, maybe smaller…it’s a much better shape compressed if that makes sense. So it felt like a huge upgrade for us, cutting our space in half.) I’ve heard about the quality of EE, and it’s really cool that it’s a small business. The exped mystifies me a bit more because it’s not a small company and the price difference is much more significant. Is it that much more comfortable? Does it last that much longer? Is there something else I’m not considering?

I understand your point of what if the cheaper option doesn’t work out and you’re buying twice. I’m also concerned about finding out I need/want something different regardless, due to preferences versus quality, and then trying to resell a higher priced item that I can less afford a loss on. I think I would have cried if I had bought two western mountaineering sleeping bags off the bat, only to learn I don’t like sleeping bags. I’m okay taking a loss on the two $40 synthetic ones we initially bought.

I’ve found a lot of the info online comparing other various items, not just stats, but how they felt or worked in real life and to what extent various bumps up in features or quality made a difference in quality of life (for lack of a better descriptor). Those have been really useful to me and was what I was hoping to hear more about. And not just these specific comparisons, it would be great hear about other options too.

Didn’t know drop did stuff like that. I’m dubious of the way Klymit pads work with all of the “loft pockets’ and theory of how they work, but Danny knows a lot so I guess there’s something to it if he was willing to work with them on it.

For the double quilt, the Accomplice was an easy choice for me — I have owned several EE quilts for a number of years and have always been pleased with the quality, weight, and value compared to the competition. Perhaps there are others out there just as good, but I know what I’m getting with EE and that was an easy go-to for me.

For the pad, the “wide” width (50″+) was important, which narrowed the choices to the Exped and the Big Agnes. Just based on design of the top the BA looks like it might be a little more comfortable (haven’t lied on one so don’t actually know), but I went with the Exped because it was a little lighter, it was a little less money, and I knew I wanted the outer sheet that Exped makes and while it probably would fit the BA I knew it would fit the Exped.

I looked a bit on EE’s website and didn’t see it mentioned, but I’d inquire if they can overstuff her side of an Accomplice while leaving his side stock.  I can only be under the same quilt as my wife for 10 minutes (which helps warm her up) before I’m feeling too hot and am tossing it off.

Likewise, you could have two different pads – a warmer one for you and a lighter one for him (which also gives you more versatility on solo trips).

The Accomplice baffles are not divided into left/right or his/her sides. Around the body are U shaped baffles, across the footbox are horizontal. EE cut back on customization a few years ago, I doubt they would split the baffles into two different sides but you could ask.