Cuben / Down Quilt

[Tim Marshall]

I am dying for a trip report Steven. Any extreme cold fronts expected soon?

-Tim

[Steven Evans]

Tim, as am I…unfortunately, I went on too many trips at the start of the year and am paying for it now. I really must apologize for promising an earlier trip report but I honestly thought I could get away for at least one night – I was wrong.

Not to worry, I have almost a month off starting on August 17th and am planning 2 week long trips. This will give plenty of field time with the quilt. I'm dying to take this beauty out for a test run!

[Tim Marshall]

i just hope it is cold enough.

-Tim

[Steven Evans]

Typically, august is our hottest month. It won't get to 32F/0C but I can probably bet you I'll see a 40-45 low in the night…our summer has been pretty chilly so far. One of my planned trips is WAY up north (16 hour drive) so it'll be even colder then down here.

[Tim Marshall]

cool, i hope you find temps cold enough for this thing.

-Tim

[Troy Ammons]

What kind of loft are we talking here.

Looks great and I would bet it will go below 32dF by a good bit.

[Steven Evans]

Hi Troy, I have never actually measured the loft, but there is a picture a few pages back with a vodka bottle beside it…I think that will give you an idea. It's pretty puffy and the uber light cuben really lets the down expand.

[Tim Marshall]

So, did you get it out? How was it?

-Tim

[Steven Evans]

Just back from a little vacation…had the quilt out for one night.

As for the performance, the low was about 60F and the quilt is really too warm for this temp…I didn't get any condensation, mainly because it was just kinda lying on me and I would just pull it on and off, which is my plan anyway. It really wasn't a good test of it as I would have been good with just the bivy at those temps…it was really hot that day.

However, I find it very comfortable. The cuben is so light you can barely notice it lying on you. I think most people are thinking of an uncomfortable plastic material lying against their skin but the feeling is very much different. You can see in the video I made, when a slight breeze comes along, the quilt moves quite a bit. This thing is so light, it's almost like it floats on top of you…I'll have a much more thorough report in the coming weeks after my trips.

Video is linked from my R&D page on my site.

R&D

Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Very nice Steve and Tim. I emailed Tim this morning asking him if he could make me one but I'll need it a bit larger as I probably have 90 pounds on Steve, eek! I think I'd like to go with 2" tall baffles and about 12 oz. of down as well. See how low I can go this winter. :)

Man, I love cuben fiber. So glad to see a quilt being made of this stuff now. I think mikeinfhaz and I kicked around this idea a year or so ago.

Tim, I think I need a new tarp as well. I think I can keep you busy for a little bit with all the new gear I need. :”,Tobit”

[te – wa]

yep, i remember those discussions.
i have some .33 cuben that i may experiment with, outside of stuff sacks that is. Chaps?

[Steven Evans]

I still haven't used the quilt enough to "really" make any long term comments, but I have some preliminary feedback on the quilt from a few more nights use.

Took it to 4*C (40*F) last week with no problems whatsoever. I slept in only a light baselayer (think 3 oz tights and 4 oz shirt) and was warm all night. You can definitely get this quilt to handle freezing. How much lower, I don't know – but I'll find out as winter creeps up on us. At this temp, there isn't much venting needed to keep moisture down within the quilt. As long as it isn't bundled up tight around you, it pretty much stayed dry inside. I did have some moisture buildup in the footbox as this area is difficult to vent, especially when in a bivy. If you are getting one made, talk to Tim about other options with the footbox…we have already discussed this.

I'll also add that the upper limit of my quilt is somewhere in the 15*C (60*F) range. You can still use it, but you need to vent frequently, or just lie the quilt on top of you without having your feet inside the footbox.

So far, it's working out quite nicely. I'm hiking the Height Of Land Trail leaving next Monday so I'll get another 5 days use of it. Will let you guys know how it goes.

[JT Croteau]

I've placed my order with Tim today. I went with the following dimensions:

Length: 84"
Head Width: 60"
Footbox: 40"

2.5" tall baffles with 16 oz. of fill. Footbox will be sewn in as I really want this to be a mostly cold weather quilt.

This is going to hopefully be my fall/winter quilt for this season. We'll see how low I can go. We already have night time temps in the low 40's here in the White Mountains with near freezing on the summit of Mount Washington. By the time my quilt arrives, it will be even cooler. =)

[BlackHatGuy]

"By the time my quilt arrives, it will be even cooler. =)"

And so will you with your new cuben fiber quilt! :-)

[Tim Marshall]

Just ordered a bunch of CUBEN!! Working on one now, I keep forgetting how light this stuff really is. It's crazy!

The one i am making now uses the zipper and drawcord to make the footbox to increase venting. I will post weight compared to 3oz for all the non-down items on Steve's quilt. Should be under 4oz still.

-Tim

[Steven Evans]

JT, that is going to be some serious warmth…What temp are you hoping to hit with it?

Tim, let's see some pics when you are done.

Leaving in 3 days for my trip…will let you guys know how it goes.

Steve

[Tim Marshall]

Just finished shell with the zipper, dims are 46×34 over 76 with zippered drawcorded footbox. My scale says 3oz so the loss of the footbox evens out the addition of the zipper, however this quilt won't fit someone 6'3" tall, more like 5'11". I still need to add the bungee straps, but they are tiny. Made the foot a little wider.

I will post pics of the frost killer(JT's insane quilt) when it is done in a few weeks.

-Tim

[Troy Ammons]

Thats going to be a super warm quilt. Sub zero I would think.

I did not care for the drawsring foot box I dod on mine.

I actually prefer just a vertical closure at the end which makes it easy to create a quilt that opens up flat.

I think next I am going to try a triangular foot box that will completely open up, IE an extra triangle flap on one side.

Just out of curiosity how much time do you spend on one of these. Sounds very time consuming.

[Tim Marshall]

I plan for 10hrs, but i never keep track. It might be a little more than that. It is hard to say as i sew and babysit at the same time, so 1 hr isn't really all work, maybe 20min. So it takes a lot more than 10 actual hours when you factor the little one in.

The few weeks for JT's quilt factors in the week or more for delivery of CUBEN and the 3 projects that are in line ahead of his. Not a few weeks to sew the one quilt.

-Tim

[JT Croteau]

"What temp are you hoping to hit with it?"

I hope I can at least get down to 20 degrees or the teens.

[Steven Evans]

Just an guess, but I think you'll crush the 20*F mark…I was thinking 5*F or maybe even less…that thing is going to be awesome.

[Tim Marshall]

"Just an guess, but I think you'll crush the 20*F mark…I was thinking 5*F or maybe even less…that thing is going to be awesome."

with a final weight of under 24oz too! I think it will be closer to 20 actually, but the shell is much bigger so not sure how much that will add + bigger/more baffles. I want to be sure to overestimate on the weight, but still going to be light!.

-Tim

[Troy Ammons]

2.5" of loft should take you to 5dF.

Being a vapor barrier quilt should take it a bit lower, but I guess that could work against you if you need to vent any at all.

Very interesting project.

I am really curious on what the lower temp ratings are on these. Now we just need some magic breathable waterproof .35 ounce fabric.

[JT Croteau]

"Just an guess, but I think you'll crush the 20*F mark…I was thinking 5*F or maybe even less…that thing is going to be awesome."

5F would be awesome. I need to start thinking of what I am going to go with for ground insulation this fall/winter as that will play a role in how low I can go as well.

[Tim Marshall]

I just finished #2. It uses a drawcord and zipper to make the footbox, this will allow much more venting options. It is 76" long (sized for up to 5'10") 46headx34foot and weighs the same 11.1oz on my scale as Steve's did. Steve you have a better scale than me, i need one. It is going to Japan and i hope to hear how it handles the higher humidity.

-Tim

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