MLD spirit 28 size when compressed?

I don't have the 28, but had a previous version of the quilt (it was too narrow for me but a fantastic piece of gear) that was rated to 32 and it packed down small enough to fit into a 6L stuff sack. I was impressed.

Thank you for the very speedy response! If it will compress to 6L or even slightly larger I'd be very happy with that. All the more space for food :)

Any additional feedback would still be welcome.

Sorry I wasn't more specific with pics but I almost thought it had down in it due to the compressibility….

Now you just have to wait to get the excellent product!

Well, I happen to have a 6L dry sack near by that I put my down quilt in to see how big it would be. I'm expecting it to be a bit larger than that still. Before your reply though I expected it to possibly take up nearly all the space in my 12L dry sack. So it actually was still pretty helpful.

I don't have much more of a wait! Should be here around the 20th or so and off I go to the AT on the 28th.

I have the Mountain Laurel Designs Spirit 30 Quilt.
Mine weighs 19 ounces.
Here are some pictures I just took. The shoe is sizes 10.5 for comparison.
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I just compressed the quilt into a nylofume bag that serves as my pack liner. I pushed all the air out and snapped the picture. As shown is about the same size it is when loaded in my pack.
By the way, this quilt has the entire Appalachian Trail on it.. all 2,180 miles and 100 days of use. I even used it for the BPL GGG event in henry Coe and i still sleep under it here at home in Ben Lomond cause I love this thing. (read: Don't have a girlfriend to keep me warm.)

I wanted to add, this quilt is the first synthetic sleep system i have had since the days Polar guard. I had no expectation of durability. I am pleasantly suprised.
I sorta expected the AT to kill the loft of this quilt but as yet i have found no loss at all. In fact the ability to wash this quilt in a regular washing machine with plain old tide is very handy on the AT. I was able to do town laundry and have a fresh clean quilt in less than an hour.
Also this Apex insulation is wierdly warmer than it's loft would suggest.
Initially i was a little spoked by how trim the quilt was but it always feels warm instantly. My Western Mountaineering Down bags seem to have a lag time between getting in and getting warm.
With the Apex you feel the warmth of your body heat returned immediately.
This probably sounds ridiculous and i don't have a scientific explaination. I still love my WM down bags and think they are perfect for certain climates like the PCT or CDT.
For the wet, humid AT I was very glad to have the Synthetic. I never worried about it and even slept in it wet a few times and it dried on my body before morning and was plenty for the AT so long as i added clothing layers for the colder sections.
I think you will love your spirit quilt. Especially when it warms up after pearisburg and you can use it with the foot sack wide open like a blanket.
Quilts rock the AT!

Thank you very much for the pictures Matthew. I actually read your review of the quilt. Surprisingly one of the few reviews of this quilt. I too plan to use it for the entire length of the AT, possibly will switch to my down half quilt(9oz) for summer though but doubtful. I got the spirit 28 in large and supposed to weigh 23oz but I wouldn't be surprised it it was slightly lighter, or right on.

From the photos it seems to be right about the size I need it to be when compressed. Any idea how much volume in liters or cubes that would be?

Just for you:
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The Bear Vault 500 in the picture easily contains my MLD Spirit 30. I could compress it a few more inches. So less than 700 cubic inches.

i had to old version of the spirit and liked it. I bought a down bag but I will move back to synthetics for wet climates.

I wouldnt sqeeze it in a 6 liter dry bag though. Use something bigger. Or just a pack liner, which is more efficient in using all the space anyway.

It must be pretty good if it survived a whole at tru hike and still works!

Matthew, again I really appreciate you taking time out of your night to do this for me. All questions have been answered! That's right on point with my space constraints.

Yeah, I generally try to let my sleeping insulation take up all the remaining room in my pack to minimize compression as much as possible. Thanks for the input everyone!

@ Wander Lust, I was shocked. I really had bad experiences in the early 1990's with synthetic bags. I found Western Mountaineering and never looked back.. until those few nights on the PCT and CDT when the temperatures were just above freezing and humidity was near 100%.
That is when down fails.
The bag wets out from the atmosphere itself. Bivys tents, even tarps contain the moisture of breath and concentrate that in the down.
While i would not call a few nights sleeping in moist down a "failure" by any means, I was very glad on the MUCH wetter and more humid East Coast to have Synthetic insulation.
Nothing wrong with down on the AT. Most hikers seem to use and love it.
What switching to synthetic for the AT gave me was complete relief from worry. The AT is mostly much warmer than the PCT or CDT except for a few places (Smokies and Whites) but it is exponentially wetter. I have lived in the West all my life and never seen such a wet environment as the East Coast.
I can begin to understand their personality a bit more now having walked accross 14 states along the AT.
Did I mention the rain?

@ Phillip, There is a living trail out there just waiting for you. You are going to love the AT. Beautiful, tough, sublime, social, there is a reason the AT is rthe Grandaddy of Trails. They might not have the elevations of the west but they also didn't put no switchbacks either! Enjoy your hike!

yeah,

synthetics just make life easier in such humid conditions.
My experience was that the mld quilts were good products and seemed to last for a while, but now I am really sold to buy one.

It is also seems that it is easier to wash a synthetic bag on trail.

thx for all the info.

As for washing the Apex insulated quilts: I just used Tide.
I used a front loader washer on permanent press cycle (Normal) and for drying used LOW.
I also checked the dryer frequently with my hand to make sure it was not hot enough to melt the fabric shell. (Momentum 90 or the newer version Endurance).
How hot is that?
Well if it hurt to much to hold my palm on the dryer door glass i turned the dryer to "fluff" or pulled my quilt out.
Actually my MLD quilt was dry long before my wool blend sock were.
I usually left the laundrymat and hiked on, with a dry quilt and clothes, but two pairs of wet socks slung on my pack and wearing the third pair on my feet.

This will be my first synthetic quilt or bag ever and I'm very excited to realize the advantages of it. I've also never had a really wet down bag. I've had the shell fabric completely wet out before from cowboy camping with tons of dew. So much dew that somehow I kept feeling it drip on me throughout the night. The down was minimally wet inside and it dried very quickly in full sun. The only thing I would worry about would be those times when there isn't enough sun, or no sun to dry it out. Also I feel like the synthetic quilt will be so much less of a hassle in the long run that it will equal time saved. I haven't even received this quilt yet and I already view it as a very versatile backpacking tool. It can be used in so many configurations that it can be applied to nearly any situation I will encounter on the AT as Matthew's experience has demonstrated.

I've started to like synthetics more for the reasons Matthew has listed. In his book Andrew Skurka also mentions that he thought the MLD quilts held up a bit better than other synthetic quilts he'd used.

one note about synth is that its a perfect complement for using a down jacket underneath it … as the moisture will migrate to the outer synth … so if yr down jacket is a tad damp it can dry out quicker

as to packing dont stuff it into a stuff sack IMO … just put it at the bottom of yr bag inside the dry bag, the weight of yr gear will compress it

synths are for brainless people like myself who just dont like to fiddle around and prefer spending time on moving rather the faffing … the kinda lazy people who prefer lighters to matches, canister stoves to alchies, rain jackets to ponchos/umbrellas, tents to tarps, etc … not real BPLers you understand ;)

as a side note, it is quite encouraging to hear of peoples positive experience with synth and (gasp) fleece … i wear my 19$ old navy syth puffy every day now …

Eric
Thanks for mentioning the down layer plus synth bit, that is where I am heading next …
(also thinking about using it as a top layer over a WM Summerlite…input here very welcomed)
Matthew
After how many nights did you wash the quilt?
Do you always wear a layer of clothing under it ?
Franco

@ Franco, I washed it a lot more on the AT than I did my down bag on other trails.
I washed my WM Ultralight once after the PCT and once after the CDT.
Mainly because the AT was warmer and had no switchbacks, I was sweatier amd stinkier in my MLD quilt each night. I washed it 4 times in 100 days.
I washed my MLD quilt in Bangor ME after the AT and again here in Cali.. so in total 6 times.

@ Eric, i knew we had something in common! We both share a slothful and indolent nature when it comes to "fussing" with gear. Less time fussin' about means more time hiking and eating.

Using only synthetics isn't a new UL concept. Ryan Jordan has used them successfully for years – synthetic quilt, hoody, pants, etc.

@Matthew:
I came to the exact same conclusion – although it took me even longer than the Triple Crown to fully realise the advantages of synthetic.
But it isn't only laziness that makes me use synth nowadays. I think on long trails with varying and damp conditions synth can stand much more abuse than down. I am now using a BPL 240 quilt but will definitely get a MLD the next time I come to the US to have a backup in case the BPL dies eventually. I have been using the BPL quilt for about 100 nights and it shows no sign of deterioration yet. But I am curious to see how long it will live eventually. Good to hear that yours survived the AT and is still going strong.

Thanks for that. More food for thought…
Franco

I have a compressed/non-compressed photo of the 2015 generation of the MLD Spirit 28 on my article of the quilt.