Cuben / Down Quilt

[Tim Marshall]

Mark,

the quilt is actually not rectangular, it is 46topx34footx76long. It only looks rectangular because of the low angle of the shot from the foot end.

Making a climashield quilt is very easy in comparison to a down quilt. for me i can make 2 climas in a day or 2days per down quilt.

what i do is put the zipper up the sides of the foot end. I am using #3 coil 26" zips from OWFINC.com. i also use a drawcord at the foot to close it up. I have no trade secrets, i just do MYOG, and the new Jason Klass standard, HSEDI (i'm the someone else). The gear i make to sell is the same as the gear i use myself. I keep no secrets about how i make it or what its strengths and weaknesses are. ask and you shall receive.

For a down quilt to 30* i'd suggest 2" loft, you could get by with 1.5" according to some, but i'd use 2" to be safe.

My original site tmoutdoors doesn't offer much info so i am working on a new site (and new name). it has sizing advice and more info enlightenedequipment.webs.com check out the quilt info and e-mail me if you have questions. Eventually when i feel i am happy with the site i will remove the tmoutdoors one and redirect to the new one, but i'm waiting to upgrade my services and get the .com first.

-Tim

[BlackHatGuy]

Well, a very initial report. Took the cuben quilt that Tim made for me out last weekend and used it as an underquilt in my Warbonnet Blackbird. Used the JRB suspension system to hang it. Worked quite well, though if I were going to use it a lot like this I'd probably want it just a bit wider (it's plenty long enough). It was chilly, around 40, but very, very windy (don't have an outside thermometer, so can't tell you what the temp was with wind chill). Winds were reported to gust up to 20 mph overnight.

I could feel the warmth on my back, literally. Was wearing an Icebreaker 200 zip T and a Montbell wind shirt, and I was very toasty! Can't wait to use it as a top quilt, which I'll be doing over the next couple of weekends in my SpeedMid, using a NeoAir in my MLD side zip bivy.

And I also can't wait to use it in the hammock as my overquilt (zipping up the footbox), with my JRB Mount Washington 3 underneath, or the Winter Yeti I have on order. Either way, I'll be one toasty dude in very cold weather!

Here's a couple of pics of the quilt under the hammock.

Bottom line, so far I'm very, very pleased with the quilt. Quality construction, great 'neato' factor (if you're in to that kind of thing, I unabashedly am), and very light.

Doug

[Troy Ammons]

Nice setup,

That lookslike a cuben tarp. What size and how much does it weigh ??

So how much does that entire rig weigh. IE tarp, UQ, hammock and accessories.

I am in the middle of seting up a hammock,
and am considering a cuben tarp and UQ.

[Jolly Green Giant]

I'm pretty sure it is the Hex Hammock from MLD, so it would be 6.4 oz and $260.

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=59&osCsid=535837d6bb86926cb6bb077c16478339

[BlackHatGuy]

Hi Troy,

The tarp is an MLD hex hammock tarp in cuben. According to MLD site: 10.7’ Long X 8’ Wide, 6.4oz.

The hammock is a Warbonnet Blackbird, single layer 1.7, weighs about 30 oz with adjustable hanging straps.

Tim's cuben quilt (used as a UQ in the pic) weighs, I think, around 13 oz. Don't remember, but certainly around that.

On this trip had a Nunatak Arc AT, long, slightly overstuffed, as my overquilt in the hammock. Weighs around 10.5 oz. (Why is it lighter than Tim's cuben quilt? Tim's quilt is a WHOLE LOT warmer, probably around 20 degrees warmer though I'll be testing that, could be more, and is longer).

None of this is weighed by me weight, just weights taken off the respective business' sites. Love every bit of the gear. All very well made. All suits my purposes very, very well.

If you're going to get Tim to make you a cuben underquilt (or make one yourself), I'd probably use one of the JRB underquilt dimensions as a guide. Mine's a bit smaller (less wide). But I didn't really get it as an underquilt, just thought I'd test it as one for kicks. A bit wider and it would be a very light and extremely toasty UQ!

[Troy Ammons]

Thanks, thats good enough.

Expensive tarp, I might build one sometime in the future.

As far as the underquilt, that is sweet. I have built one queen size down quilt for a bed in about 1978 and I dont think I want to ever do another one.

I had a good reason then. Bought a -20 down bag and the end baffles were not closed and all the down shifted when I washed it, so I built a down quilt that was later stolen, gak.

I have an ultra 20 now, and am going to build an oversized overquilt from 2.5oz XP so maybe I will just build it large enough to use as an underquilt in milder weather. Maybe I will have Tim do a cuben/down underquilt in the future.

[Tim Marshall]

i think it was 13.1oz if i remember right.

Your quilt is wider at the head than the JRB at 50" but yeah it is narrower at the foot at 40". (unless i am wrong, i think their quilts are 48" rectangles)

I definitely don't know anything about making an underquilt. I made this just like any other quilt but added tie-outs at the foot and head so it could be hung, beyond that it isn't really designed as an UQ but it is good to hear it does work that way.

there are guys out there who specialized in underquilts and i'm sure theirs are a lot better for that job.

-Tim

[BlackHatGuy]

"there are guys out there who specialized in underquilts and i'm sure theirs are a lot better for that job."

Don't sell yourself short! I think your's does just fine for the job! The tie-outs worked perfectly. I'd only get it a bit wider at the foot because of the 'footbox' on the Blackbird. Then again, I'm going to try hanging the attachment over the hammock at the foot end (instead of angled up toward the tree, if you know what I mean), which would bring the sides of the quilt up instead of stretched toward the end. I have a feeling that this will solve the issue I had, and make it just as usable as any other full length UQ at significantly less weight! And oh so toasty!

[Troy Ammons]

Too modest.

A square down quilt is a quilt is a quilt.

Baffles horiz or longitudinal.

All you need is tieouts, and I can see some great advantages to a cuben/down UQ. Heck of a lot easier
than trying to build a footbox down quilt.

Build it and they will come.

[BlackHatGuy]

"All you need is tieouts, and I can see some great advantages to a cuben/down UQ. Heck of a lot easier than trying to build a footbox down quilt."

But that's the beauty of Tim's creation. When I bring it inside the hammock to use as an overquilt or use it in my bivy, I can zip the bottom up into a footbox. Flat for UQ, quilt with vented footbox for top uses. It's a great piece of gear!

[Tom Caldwell]

Your white quilt doesn't look too bad with the white tarp. I wouldn't have ever thought white could look so good in a hammock setup.

[BlackHatGuy]

"I wouldn't have ever thought white could look so good in a hammock setup."

It certainly stands out in camp! ;-) People get a bit envious when they see just how light those two pieces of gear are!

[John Brochu]

Douglas, you have to stop talking about your quilt. I have one on order that I don't expect to see until January (mutual agreement between me and Tim) and now the excitement is killing me.

Hearing you guys talk about how warm yours is made me decide to go with 1.5" loft, which will hopefully give me a +35ish quilt for under 11 ounces and maybe as low as 10oz.

I sleep warm and can take most +40 bags down to +25 with some extra clothes so I think it's reasonable to hope for around +35 but it's a gamble. I've used the BPL Pro 90 with only 0.5" loft down to the lower 40s without much of a problem so 1.5" sounds dreamy.

And I figure in mid summer I can just drape it over me as a blanket and it will be perfect even for fairly warm temps.

We shall see…

[BlackHatGuy]

"Douglas, you have to stop talking about your quilt. I have one on order that I don't expect to see until January (mutual agreement between me and Tim) and now the excitement is killing me."

Okay John. I'll stop talking about mine. I'll talk about your's instead! ;-)

You're going to love it. Light and warm. Well made. As Steve said, it feels nice against the skin (though I'm always wearing something when using my quilts). Packs easily. Lofts quickly. Did I mention warm?

January will be here soon!

Take care,

Doug

[BlackHatGuy]

As promised to Tim, another report on the cuben quilt he made me. I had it out last weekend. Temp got down to 30 degrees overnight. I was under an MLD SpeedMid (not hugging the ground, about 2-3 inches off the ground all around), in an MLD Soul side zip bivy w/ eVent top (I had the bivy unzipped completely across the face), on a regular size NeoAir and 1/8 inch GG ThinLight pad. I wore a pair of Icebreaker light hiker socks, Icebreaker 150 longjohn bottoms, Icebreaker 200 zip-T top. I had the footbox zipped and the drawcord drawn closed at the foot (except for about a 1-inch circle for ventilation). Woke up well into the night and put on a possum down beanie.

I was toasty! I had the quilt 'draped' over me, I snugged it around my shoulders but did not tighten the top drawcord at all. Did not have any of the bungies hooked. I was warm without sweating (my feet did just a touch of sweating, the bottom of the quilt was wet on the inside (so no perspiration got inside to the down!). If I was to do this again with the same temps, I wouldn't cinch the bottom drawcord and wouldn't zip the bottom footbox.

So at 30 degrees in a bivy on a pad wearing only lightweight baselayers, this quilt was wonderful. Warm without being too hot. Comfortable.

I'll have it in my hammock this weekend, we'll see how she does! I'll let y'all know.

Doug

[Tim Marshall]

Good to hear Doug! I am thinking 25* should be how warm 2" of down is not even counting the VB. I think that is confirmed by a BPL loft chart, i linked to it on my site, but it seems to be down right now so i can;t confirm.

Pretty awesome that a 13oz (is that right Doug?) quilt can handle freezing easily.

-Tim

[John Brochu]

Wow, these reports are making me really happy I chose to order mine with only 1.5" of loft.

I took my BPL Pro 90 quilt down to 37 degrees last weekend (wearing a micropuff and BPL balaclava) and that thing has only 0.5" loft so I'm guessing the WLQ at 1.5" might be good for 30 degrees with some extra clothes.

[Tim Marshall]

I use this chart from BPL when i suggest a temp rating (this doesn't account for the VB so it should be even warmer)

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/bpl_sleeping_bag_position_statement.html

-Tim

[BlackHatGuy]

A quick update on my enLIGHTened cuben quilt: Used it last night on the Quehanna Trail in PA. Nighttime low as 25 degrees. I was in my Blackbird hammock, JRB Mt. Washington 3 underquilt, cuben hex tarp overhead. I was wearing Feathered Friends down booties, Icebreaker 150 leggings and 200 boxers, BPL Beartooth hoody, BPL possum down beanie and a Montbell UL inner jacket, unzipped. With my cuben quilt I was quite warm all night, even with the slightest of breezes coming in through the top of the hammock. I had the footbox zipped and cinched (leaving a app. 3" hole at the end), did not have any of the cinch cords attached, just tucked it around me at the shoulders. This quilt continues to serve me very, very well. It would easily go under 25 degrees in a bivy or a tent (where no breeze was blowing on you and with appropriate ground insulation) with minimal layers, all for only 13 ounces!

[Steven Evans]

Sweet…thanks for the update Douglas, keep us posted. It's good to keep all the info in thus thread so others can find it easily.

I haven't had a chance to get my out lately. I've been a bit busy and I think I've missed the window where I would have been able to test it's limits. The temps are dropping here, but no snow yet. Tim, any update on the website?

[Tim Marshall]

updates as far as what Steve?

-Tim

[Steven Evans]

Thought there were some shelters and packs in the works…but I just saw on your website that you are swamped.

[Tim Marshall]

Yeah, I still plan to bring the packs out, hopefully by spring. But i think the shelters are on hold for much longer than that. Sadly!

-Tim

[John Brochu]

I just received my cuben quilt today and my first impressions are very favorable. It weighs only 10.3oz on my scale after removing two cord locks and shortening some of the shock cord.

10.3 ounces!

Specs:

73" long x 49" at the head and 37" at the foot with 1.5" loft as ordered, but it seems to loft slightly higher than that.

I'm confident I'll be able to take this thing down to 35 degrees F and maybe lower but I won't be able to give it a real test for a while as nightime temps up in New Hampshire are going be below zero for at least another week. However, it has more single layer loft than my GoLite 40 degree bag which I can take to 35, and the vapor barrier nature of this quilt will likely give it a lower range than that. When I get a chance some night this winter I'll try to test it at 20 to 25 F overnight in my backyard.

My intention with this quilt is – outside of bug season – to go without a bivy sack since other than the momentum stripe on top center the cuben will repel any minor splashing. My tarp has a 9' ridgeline and is 6' wide at the head and 5' at the foot which provides really good coverage anyway. I was a little worried about losing the draft protection of the bivy but the quilt fits perfectly and wraps under me nicely – drafts are not going to be an issue.

For bug season I will use an MLD bug bivy, and if its warm I will unzip the footbox and use the quilt as a down blanket.

I'm super excited about this quilt as I now have a full sleeping system to 35 degrees and maybe lower which weighs only 17.3oz and I don't have to sacrifice anything as far as comfort.

– Enlightened Cuben Quilt, 10.3oz
– Kookabay 2.5" thick 35" long air mattress, 4.5oz
– Kookabay pillow, 1oz
– Polycryo groundsheet, 1.5oz

Due to the vapor barrier nature of the quilt, I would be concerned with trying to extend it's range by wearing my down inner to bed. This is something I'm going to have to experiment with and possibly modify my system a little bit, maybe with a synthetic sweater. But my best guess right now is I'll be able to take this quilt to the same temps without additonal clothing as I currently take my 40 degree bag with a montbell down inner.

After I can give this a good test next summer, I will post a proper write up in the review forum.

[Tim Marshall]

how does the length fit?

-Tim

[Author]

Posts