Pushing a Katabatic Chisos quilt beneath freezing with WM Flash jacket and pants?

I have the chisos, and I've pushed it to those temps with a WM flash, but if I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with a palisade. For only 3 extra oz, a palisade gives you true 3-season versatility. I think of the chisos as more of a summer specific quilt. If you already have a 20 deg quilt or bag that you really like, than the chisos would be a good bet for summer, but if you expect to be at or below freezing often, I'd go palisade.

I prefer to get a bag that goes down to the avg expected temp I will be sleeping in. For me avg is not really a good indicator and I take my wool leggings and down jacket for the extra bit insulation just in case. Since you are a cold sleeper then it seems you would want to go with a 30 degree rating. I am really interested in the Chisos quilt but at its rated temps only.

Hi Serge,

Yes, this would be my only quilt. I tend to do most of my camping/backpacking in summer here in California. There are occasional trips early and late in the season. Night time temperatures can descend into the the 30's in the Sierra, low 40's at lower elevations. The infrequent early or late trip would see temperatures just below freezing.

How warm were you with the Chisos/Flash combination? Were you comfortable below freezing? I do take your point regarding the 3oz difference.

Thanks for the info.

rhz

Hi Carl,

Thanks for your response. I understand what you're saying. The only reason I'd even consider doing this is because Katabatic seems to rate their bags so conservatively. I've received the palisades (chisos on order). The palisades is very warm.

Thanks again.

rhz

I have a Chisos with 2oz overfill and have been fine into the mid 20's in long silk weight with the lighter Katabatic hood. I already have a Sawatch so the Chisos made sense. The 2oz overfill puts the bag at 16.7oz.

If I could only have one bag and didn't expect temps below 25 or so, I would stick with a Palisade or overfilled Chisos. I like the overfill as a tossing and turning side sleeper-eliminates cold spots.

Hi John,

Out of curiosity, what motivated the Chisos + 2oz over the Palisades? The weights of the bags are then almost identical, no?

Would you stick with your recommendation even if you were to use down insulating layers rather than a silk weight baselayer?

I had figured that the additional 3oz of down from my WM flash jacket plus another 2 oz for the pants if I brought them would give me Palisades equivalent warmth.

Thanks!

rhz

I purchased a Palisade and in came in at 18.4oz so the overfilled Chisos was almost a couple of ounces lighter. The bigger factor for me was wanting overstuffed baffle chambers to control the down when I toss and turn so I sent the bag back.

A Chisos with a 2oz overfill is just a bit shy of the down in the Palisade and after spending considerable time researching CLO ratings, loft vs insulation density, and other factors, I was confident that the overfilled Chisos would be good to 30f and provide better down control to avoid cold spots. Even with the hood, my Chisos still weighs slightly less than a Palisade, and is ultimately warmer than just a Palisade without the hood. As a bonus I liked the green a bit better as well.

The harder question for me was to go wide or not. I loved the size of my 2010 Sawatch and knew that the 2011 was just a bit trimmer but wasn't sure if I needed the additional width. I am happy that I went with more overfill vs wider, particularly on a warm weather bag, but use my Hyperion vest over my back & backside when the temps drop, since that is the area that gets a bit drafty in the early morning hours. When on my back the width is perfect but when I fall asleep I tend to roll to my side and curl up a bit and that's when I need a bit of coverage if the temps are below freezing.

As a side note, the Chisos seemed a bit slimmer than the Palisade, not by much – perhaps an inch or so, but it didn't seem quite the same. That could be attributed to the greater differentual cut on the Palisade.

Hi John,

Thanks for the info. Glad you found what works best for you. I'll be interested in comparing the widths of the Chisos vs the Palisade.

rhz.

How's the Chisos/Palisades working for you Rafi? And John, did you notice if the overstuffed Chisos was any shorter than the Palisade?

I was pretty set on the Palisade, but after reading this thread, I contemplating on opting for the Chisos with 2 more oz like John did. I'm cold/side/toss and turn sleeper, so having the overfilled Chisos to control the down seems to make more sense.

It is a bit shorter due to the chambers wanting to expand a bit more. If you are 5'10" to 6' you may want to go to the large overfilled bag.

When I am on my back I tend to cross my legs at the ankle and my size 11.5 feet push against the end. The overfilled footbox helps but a bit longer would help. Of course if an overfill pushes you to a long you may want to reconsider the next heavier bag in a regular.

I was so stoked about my Chisos that my hiking partner bought one as well. He also got a regular with 2 oz overfill but has yet to use it. On our last trip he mentioned selling it as he is long past the 45 day return. If you are thinking of going this route let me know and you can pick up a new bag for less. He didn't mention what he would sell it for but I would think $280 or so.

I have not regretted the purchase and it is now my go to bag. This winter I am going to push the limits in the back yard to see just how low I can take it.

I'm 5'8 and size 10 shoe, so it looks like a perfect fit. Is he selling the one with overfill or regular? And did you have any draft problems with the narrower cut?

He has a regular length with 2oz overfill. I don't have a problem with drafts for the most part. When I curl up on my side my back side gets a little cool but either straightening out my legs a bit or sliding something down over my lower back has fixed the problem.

There is enough width to reposition it for full coverage, I just get a bit lazy in the middle of the night and find it's easier to push my down vest around my back when near the limits of the bag.

This typically occurs with my 20" wide UL7 mat. With my 24" wide downmat I rarely have the draft when curled up on my side.

I'd be interested in the Chisos. I was set on wide from what I've been reading, but I think I can make it work. PM me with further details? And were you using the pad attachment when you had some draft?

I sent a pm.