20* or 30* quilt

Get the 20…you can make it less warm by opening it up.

20F. You will be comfy at 30F without really trying and not bad at 40F.

You mention 3 seasons but where? What are your expected low temps? What kind of shelter? Do you set up camp in the trees or above treeline?

What kind of pad?

Liners add 10° of warmth? I honestly don’t know, I’ve never tried one. How much does a 10° liner weigh? Maybe it makes more sense to have 10° of quilt (I suspect it would weigh less and it would certainly be simpler to set up).

You probably do want a 20° quilt not a 30°.

Suggest you get the 20F, then you should not need the liner.  If you expect 30F, then it would be prudent to have some margin (10degrees) to those temperatures you are planning to encounter just in case things turn colder.

And remember that EE publish comfort limit ratings, so if you sleep cold then get the warmer bag.

I will camp in all sorts of areas. Will use a freestanding tent or a duplex with a Xlite pad.

I have a cocoon mummy liner silk/cotton weighing in at 6.4 oz. It said on the package it adds 10*. I want to use it so I can wash my quilt less frequent.

In my experience a liner adds very little warmth…main value is keeping your filthy body off the quilt.  But…it’s easier and warmer to have a dedicated sleep layer…multi purpose too.

I started with a 30 deg revelation and quickly moved to a 10 deg enigma…almost never use the rev.  Quilts offer so many temp regulation opportunities.

I have Hammock Gear quilts, both top quilts and under quilts (for a hammock).

Hammock gear is comfort rated. I’ve taken my 30 degree under quilt to freezing with no cold spots and my 20 degree top quilt into the Mid 20s and been toasty warm. Over 40ish the 20 quilt gets pretty warm and then I go to my Warbonnett 40 degree which is a tad cold at 40.

Basically I’m saying brands vary about 10* in their comfort vs low limit ratings. I can attest HG, Loco Libre, and Katabatic are comfort rated. I don’t have any EE but others have called their rating lower limit. If true, definitely get the 20. If you expect a lot of wind get the 20. If your shelter is drafty get the 20. If you sleep cold get the 20.

If none of those things apply you can probably get the 30.

And I agree the 6oz liner would likely be better invested in dedicated sleep clothes

OK, thanks for all the help. Appreciate it. 20 it is!

I don’t know where 20F is recommended to start. It depends on the conditions you will face and the versatility you want, and there’s no one temp rating that is “right” for all those variables.

Keep in mind that temp ratings assume you will be wearing a base layer.

I join the skeptics about a liner adding 10F of warmth.

To me, a 30F is perhaps slightly more versatile in that you can take it into warmer temps, whereas with a 20F you are more likely to roast in the upper 40s and higher. Many with a 20F quilt might also have a 40F in their quiver, which not only lets you better match your gear to your conditions but also opens to options of layering both for even colder temps.

Last data point I’ll mention is that many find that quilts don’t seal off well enough, which might not be a huge problems with temps are chilly but when temps get below 20F then an enclosed bag is preferred by many, even avid quilt users.

“I will camp in all sorts of areas. Will use a freestanding tent or a duplex with a Xlite pad.”

Ok. So after 5 years of carrying my Hammock Gear 20° quilt with a sewn footbox and never being cold despite frozen water bottles on many occasions, I feel like maybe I would be better served in a 30° quilt. I don’t wear long underwear or my puffy when sleeping but I could always add those if needed

I use a women’s XLite with a breathable splash bivy under a shaped tarp.

Do you sleep hot like me? Are you going for a wider quilt so that you can nice coverage? Sewn footbox? Then maybe you should consider the 30°, especially if you are going to use that liner or a thin baselayer.

If I had to guess I would say I am an average to cold sleeper. I use an Xlite large and will use large wide quilt. I don’t think the footbox is sewn. 20* is the way to I think

Some may consider this “BPL Heresy”, but I prefer to dial in my sleep system planning on NOT wearing my puffy to sleep.  My reasons are:

• It’s my buffer in case the actual temperatures are much (say 20 degrees) lower than the projected temperatures
• I like to have it to put on in the mornings to help ward off the cold of getting out from under my nice warm quilt

I take my puffy into my hammock with me.  If I need to put it on in the night I actually put it on, unzipped, backwards.  That allows my arms to move much more freely and I’m squishing very little of the jacket insulation beneath me.

@fanta-2 – I think you’re right going with the 20* quilt.  If you end up needing a quilt for warmer temperatures at least you’ll find that a 40* or 50* will be cheaper than your 20*.

@kbabione – this quote is for you :)

”If you aren’t wearing all your clothes to bed, you brought too many clothes”

– Glen Van Peski

That said, I too take my down jacket under the quilt with me, and wear it precisely as you describe when necessary.

As to what is the best rating, it depends on where and when you are hiking. If you expect to use it in the future in a wide variety of conditions, you might consider getting 2.

I own a 20F and a 40F quilt to cover all my hiking.  Trying to make a single quilt (i.e, a 30F) work for all conditions means you’ll be uncomfortable on either end.  If I was doing a single trip, that might be acceptable, but not for planning for several years with multiple trips.  A friend of mine ignored my advice and ended up having to replace the 30F he bought at a later date.  As it’s your first quilt, you only want to get one until you know you like using one. But if you are starting with sleeping in colder weather, I’d start with the 20F and not look back (as this is how I started out).

Personally never felt a liner really added the warmth it promised and the difference in weight between my 40F and 20F quilt is < 5 oz.

I also don’t believe in wearing all my layers to bed to stay warm, unless I screwed up, as that is my buffer in case conditions are colder than I expected or the weather changed.  I’ve been snowed on at high elevation even though none was forecast before I left 2 days earlier.  Even in cold weather, I prefer to just wear my thermals to bed and maybe my hiking pants if I get a strong wind chill as my legs tend to be colder than my core.  As I normally get up early to start hiking, which is also the coldest part of the day, if I had to sleep with all my layers and my quilt, I wouldn’t have the warmth to pack up in the morning until it warmed up later.

As an example where I did screw up, for a Labor Day trip into the Sierra Nevada I once grabbed the wrong quilt bag (even though they are different colors so don’t know what I was thinking) and brought my 40F quilt instead and my down jacket was with my other quilt. xAs I was now 6 hours from home, went anyway since I was mainly going to be in a lower part of the range under 10K ft. Fortunately always have a lightweight 100 Fleece jacket in my car which partially replaced the missing down jacket.  First night was 34F night (which I still had plenty of margin so looking good) and then the next night was 22F where I was forced to wear everything I had and slept cold (barely warm enough where I could sleep).  If it had been even a little colder, I had no margin left. Can’t imagine actually planning a trip to do that intentionally.

If you don’t think you’ll be sleeping out in temps below freezing AND you’ll  be packing a silk/cotton liner, then I’d go with the 30* quilt. However, the percentage of silk in a liner makes a difference. I’ve read that silk is second only to down when it comes to the amount of insulation provided per weight (natural materials). The silk/cotton blend would probably add about 5 degrees, whereas a 6.4 oz pure silk liner would add about 8*. I have a 7 oz  pure silk liner that I pair with a WPB sleeping bag liner (for summer SUL) and it does add noticeable warmth. But most pure silk liners you see available are in the 4 oz range.

A 20* quilt is going to be a bummer where overnight temps stay above 45*. When temps get a little colder than predicted I wear my rain jacket to sleep in. And sometimes I’ll pack a 2 oz reflective mylar emergency blanket that I can place on top of my bag/quilt, if I think I might be pushing the limits. The reflective blanket doesn’t breathe, but it allows me to stay warm enough to get sleep. It can be placed under quilt and pad to add warmth as well.

@JCH – LOL!  I’m familiar with that quote and have tried it.  I had decided a long time ago (when I bought my GG Murmur) that if I ever had a chance to hike with Glen I’d probably pass.  What is normal to him is “uncomfortably light” to me.  I did one trip where my base weight was 6-7 pounds (Gatewood Cape, torso-length pad, BPL UL60 quilt, GG Murmur pack).  I had a good trip, but ended with the thought that I wasn’t looking forward to doing that again.  I knew I could drop my weight to that level if I needed to, but I’ve found that carrying an additional 4-5 pounds doesn’t hurt at all and the mental benefits to having some luxuries along are substantial.

Get a comfort rated 20F. And what liner is giving you 10F?

@kbabione – very happy you got the humor in that one :)  I too would never be able to keep up with Mr. Van P…I’m all about packing a little extra comfort (weight).

Another appropriate quote: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”.

re: having multiple quilts.  If your treks involve a wide range of temps,  I have to agree with suggestions of owning a 40-50 and a 10-20. No one piece of gear can do it all.

Marcus I has a very good post regarding comfort vs limit. Some manufacturers rate differently and also price differently. You see the obvious differences in the specs. A similar dimension quilt, will for the most part, have a similar amount of fill for the the weights specified. Sometimes (in rare circumstances) other features make a difference…

Also, keep in mind the layering consideration. Do you like to or will you wear your insulating clothing to bed? With that said, does it make more sense to buy a lower rated but continuous baffle or kara step (loco libre) quilt to fit your needs? fluff that stuffing down low and put your puffy on?

I like to plan to wear my puffy and tights, not because I want to have a lighter quilt, but because I like to get up in the am and not feel compelled to stay in my bag. If the puffy and tights are already warmed up, it is easier for me to get up. I would err on the side of getting the warmer bag, as I have no issue with venting. YMMV, some people can’t sleep unless they have something wrapped around them.