HammockGear Burrow 20* quilt – initial review/impressions

[J Dos]

This is an initial review of my HammockGear Burrow 20* top quilt. Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with HammockGear. I have no personal interest in the company. I paid full price for my quilt.

I'm posting this because it seems HammockGear is not particularly well known on BPL and I want forum users to know there is another great option for purchasing a made-in-the-USA quilt.

Recently, I was all set to purchase an EE Enigma 20* with 800 fp down until a friend sent me an e-mail saying I should take a look at HammockGear's website. I had read several positive reviews about Adam (the owner) and his company, yet had no previous experience with his products. Well, I always like to research new (to me) companies and decided to do my homework.

I sent my first e-mail to Adam at 8 PM (California time) and he replied within an hour. This is amazing to me because his company is based in Ohio, which means he replied to me after 10 PM. It was quite a detailed reply telling me everything I needed to know about ordering a quilt that worked for my stated needs. He addressed every concern and point in my message, something I have noticed that many cottage owners have not done when I corresponded with them.

Based on customer service, user reviews, quality materials, and what I consider a screaming awesome price, I decided to purchase a Burrow.

I am 6'2" 185 pounds. I'm a side sleeper who tosses and turns a lot throughout the night. Adam recommended a long/wide version with sewn-closed footbox and a half-taper cut, so that's what I ordered. It cost 323$ including shipping. I received my quilt in 2 weeks as Adam said I would. Mine came with a silnylon stuff sack, but no cotton storage bag. I will not end up using the stuff sack as I store my bags uncompressed in my backpack. Also, the quilt did not ship with pad straps. None of this bothered me, but it is something to consider for other users.

Here are the specs:
Price: 323$ (Includes shipping and all options I ordered)
Length:79" (The website said to subtract 4” from total length when ordering a sewn closed footbox. So my quilt is 75"). I measured the length several times to be sure.
Width: ~55" Depending exactly where I measured, the width varied between 54-54 1/2".
Temp rating: 20* (Adam said this is a conservative estimate. I also added 2 ounces for extra loft since I'm a cold sleeper.)
Total weight: 22.6 ounces including 2 ounces overfill of 850 fp water-resistant down
Fill weight: 16.0 ounces of 850 fp water-resistant down (standard is 14 ounces for long/wide).
Fabric: Argon inside and out. It feels great against my skin.
Cut: Half taper instead of straight taper (Adam said the half taper provides a little more quilt and more room for a side sleeper). It adds .25 ounces to total weight for the half-taper cut.
Footbox: Sewn closed instead of the snap-closed option. Yes this reduces versatility, but is generally a warmer cut and I believe that with proper layers and campsite selection, I should be able to push this quilt to 10*.

My initial impressions are very favorable. While I am no expert, I have owned bags and quilts from many reputable manufacturers, including WM, EE, FF, Marmot, REI, and have been able to try Zpacks and Katabatic products. My Burrow can rival any of these for quality. Not a thread out of place.

Pics include my NeoAir Original sleeping pad and Klymit Cush pillow/seat.

This is a close up of the loft at the footbox. I'm not sure how accurate an indicator it is of overall loft, but it should give a rough idea of what to expect.

I have not yet had the opportunity to push this quilt's temp rating as I live in the Santa Cruz Mts in Central California and it’s getting warmer at night. I did have a 34* night sleeping on my deck and the quilt kept me warm with a simple wool beanie, merino baselayer, wind pants, and merino socks. No need for down booties at those temps. I have also slept with my down jacket on and have ample room to move without compressing the down of the quilt or my jacket. The length is perfect. I have about 2”-3” to drape over my head without compressing the footbox. There is a snap at the neck you can button closed and a draw cord to snug the quilt around your neck.

Additionally, there are 3 attachment points on each side of the underside of the quilt. I have not yet decided which material to use to secure the quilt to a sleeping pad. I definitely want to add straps to cut down on potential drafts.

I should have a chance to use my Burrow on an overnight next weekend. For the time being, I am limited in trips I can take because I recently received a promotion at work, which means I am on probation for 6 months (~3 months left). I can accrue paid vacation, but not actually use it until passing my review.

I will try to keep this thread updated as I take more trips and gain more experience with my Burrow. I do plan on buying a 40* or 50*quilt for my summer trips, but I may try Gear Swap before buying another new quilt. That means this quilt might not get much use until next fall.

I hope this outline and my pics are useful to other BPLers, at least for general info and sizing. Obviously, I cannot comment on durability or true field performance near stated temps. If you have any questions/comments, post them here or shoot me a PM.

Happy trails.

[George Ford]

Thanks for taking the time to post it, very helpful.

[Ken Thompson]

"Thanks for taking the time to post it, very helpful." +1

Should have posted in Reader Reviews.

[Charles P]

Nice review, thanks for posting. Sweet looking quilt!

[J Dos]

Thanks for the comments!

I wanted to add a couple of things I forgot to mention in the OP.

I'm a ground sleeper, not a hammock dweller. That's probably obvious from the photos, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Also, here's the fill weight, total weight, and price (new) of a few competing bags/quilts in the comparable long/wide size and 20* temp rating. All of these specs/prices are from the manufacturers' website.

HammockGear Burrow long/wide: 14 oz 850fp/20.2 oz (323$ including shipping) Mine has 2 oz overfill for 16 oz 850fp/22.6 oz total weight

1) WM Ultralite long: 17 oz 850fp/31 oz (500$ not including shipping)
2) Zpacks bags x-long/wide: 14.1 oz 900fp/21.3 oz (430$ including shipping)
3) EE Enigma long/wide: 13.7 oz 850fp/19.45 (430$ including shipping)
4) Katabatic Gear Alsek long/wide: 17.1 oz 850fp/27.2 oz (525$ not including shipping)
5) Nunatak Arc Alpinist long/wide: 12oz 800fp/23 oz (509$ not including shipping)
6) FF Hummingbird Nano 20 long: 14.6 850 fp/29 oz (429$ + 17.50$ for shipping)
7) Marmot Helium 15*, reg specs: 21.6 oz 850fp/38 oz (419$ including shipping)

I know there are other comparable quilts/bags I have forgotten to include. This is just to give a quick comparison for weight/price. Of course, most other manufacturers will include a cotton storage sack. Other quilt makers offer pad attachment straps as well.

The point is, all in all, I think the Burrow is the best deal on the market right now for a new quilt/bag in my spec range.

[Jeremy]

HG makes excellent gear. I have one of their under quilts.

[josh wagner]

i have a number of items from them. excellent build quality. even better customer service. adam entertained a phone call of mine for @ 1 hour when i was contemplating getting his tarp.

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

Nice looking quilt, thanks for sharing!

I have a TQ & an UQ from them, and had another UQ from them, purchased about 2 years or so ago, but it got sent back. I agree, the quality is nice, however, there were some mix ups on shipping my stuff out. Customer service was acceptable, but I wouldn't say top notch, however, in the end, Adam & Jenny did fix the problems with my UQ… As well, a friend of mine has numerous items from them, however, he has also experienced longer than expected wait times, and has had to remind them at times about them…

My biggest hang up with them is that everything I received from them was a good deal smaller than what it was supposed to be. My TQ was about an inch narrower (and when the only offering at that time was 50 inches, every inch counted) and about 6 inches short (and this was measured when laying completely flat, so my measurements were correct). As well, my UQ came up a few inches short in both directions too.

So, I gotta ask the OP, in your review you said "should be" when talking about lengths, which makes me think that you are going by what they said, however, have you actually measured it? I know it will be tough with a sewn footbox to get the length though. But, after my own experiences, I like to hear actual measurements and weights because I am skeptical of any listed specs… Plus, it's good to let the manufacturer know if there are any discrepancies as they may not be aware of them…

Anyway, Adam made my UQ better by completely making another one, which is actually when he changed the design on the Phoenix UQ's. After receiving it though, the loft was IMO severely lacking when compared to the first UQ, so I sent it back again and he added some more down. When it came back, the loft was still considerably less than in the first UQ, but I kept it anyway. Honestly, I was tired of dealing with it all. I also kept my TQ as it came. I haven't used it much since it's really too small, but my son or wife can as they are a bit smaller than me… I think it would suit me well inside a hammock, however, my equally rated synthetic EE quilt with wider dimensions in both directions actually weighs 1.5 oz less, so there is no real reason for me to use the HG burrow anyway…

But again, let me say that the quality was still quite nice, and they did make efforts to correct it all. For this, I still have good things to say about HG, and will recommend them, however, I can't help but recommend other companies (such as EE, which I have had 3 great experiences all around) over them. I will also say that it is nice to see that they finally decided to start accommodating ground dwellers as well by offering wider quilts, and even the half taper (which yes, as a side sleeper, you will need, especially if you toss and turn.)

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy your quilt… it does look nice.

[J Dos]

Chad 'Stick",

I've read your blog and watched several of your reviews on Youtube! Thanks for taking the time to make such detailed reviews. It really helps make an informed decision when buying gear over the internet. Your article on the NeoAir Original sleeping pad is the reason I jumped on one that became available on Gear Swap. Well, that and a great discount.

I meant to measure the quilt length/width before posting, then forgot. I measured the length a few minutes ago and it indeed came to 75"-75 1/2". So +/- half an inch. The width came to 54", but might be affected by the sewn footbox, which prevents me from completely laying the quilt flat out. The weight is spot on when allowing for the 2 oz overfill. For me, the quilt is plenty wide enough to wrap almost entirely around my body. A larger user who is also a more active sleeper may need to contact Adam and ask for a wider, custom size.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Customers definitely need to know correct sizing specs. Quilts are really important to get right, in order to minimize drafts. It seems a common issue in regards to drafts is people not ordering a wide enough quilt to meet their needs. I could be wrong. If a manufacturer is selling a quilt 5-6" under their website specs, I think that's a problem that requires attention.

I would be very frustrated having to send something back and forth for alterations, especially if I ordered a quilt for a specific trip.

Maybe some of the issues you mentioned have been corrected over the last couple of years as HammockGear has grown. At least I hope so. As I said in my initial post, I had an exceedingly positive experience, but realize this can differ for others.

Again, thanks for sharing.

[J Dos]

Jenny (Adam's wife and I believe the co-owner of HG) sent me several lengths of shockcord free of charge. She didn't even let me pay for shipping. I have a couple of mini-cordlocks in a drawer, so I will now be able to use this setup to cinch my quilt tight around me. Pretty awesome customer service.

Also, I ordered 2 cotton laundry bags from Amazon. I believe I paid ~$8 each. They measure 24×36 and give my quilt plenty of breathing room. Actually, I think these laundry bags are superior to many of the storage bags that companies have included with my previous quilt/bag purchases.

I logged a couple more nights with my quilt and really think I nailed it with this choice. As I stated in my initial review, I will post more info as I gain more experience with this quilt.

[Mike M]

I've spent the last couple of weeks researching winter quilts and after a long deliberation, I decided to go with a Hammock Gear Burrow 0. I had a nice long chat with Adam and he was able to fine tune my quilt the way I wanted it (extra width, overfill) for a price point well below everyone else I looked at.

As much as I wanted to get another Katabatic quilt (own a Palisade), I couldn't justify just shy of $700 for a quilt. Nunatuk was also at the $700 mark. Both boasted 22-25 oz of quality 850 down and 3.5 to 3.75" of loft and roughly 36 oz total weight.

The Burrow 0 w/ 4 oz of overfill (just $9/oz-when I contacted Feathered Friends, was also considering a bag, the cost was $17/oz) ) it puts the Burrow at 23 oz of fill (treated 850 goose down), with a total weight of ~ 31 oz, cost was $373.

I looked at several reviews and pictures, it appears the fit and finish of the HG quilts is very good.

I did also look at Underground Quilts, their price point for their 0 quilt similarly configured was pretty good as well, but at ~ $100 more than the HG. Also at EE, was also at the $475-ish price point as well, I seriously considered an EE, but I didn't like their flat sewn foot box and didn't see an option for a mummy style footbox????

While price certainly wasn't my only consideration, it was an important one. The proof will be in the pudding, but I'm pretty confident at this point I'm going be happy with purchase :)

[Patrick Baker]

UGQ has a new "premium" product called the Renegade:
http://www.undergroundquilts.com/renegade/default.html

I have owned and used HG, UGQ, and EE.
Some brief comments/specs follow:

UQ Flight 40F
Ordered: 84 Long/55 Wide
(76Lx52W>48W>44W) actual dimensions when laid flat
Should have "custom" ordered half taper instead of full taper,
as 48" is too narrow for me at the 30F-40F temp range I use this for

HG Burrow 50F
Ordered: Extra Long/Wide
(74Lx52W>44W) actual dimensions when laid flat
74" might be 2" too short for me, but at 50F its debatable

EE Rev 30F
Ordered: Long/Wide
(82Lx54W>42W) actual dimensions when laid flat

EE Rev 40F
Ordered: Reg/Reg
(76Lx50W>40W) actual dimensions when laid flat

[Mike M]

got the quilt and am quite pleased :) I got a Long/Wide (actually I think it's their X-Wide which isn't on their site), the quilt measures 79" in length and 58" at the shoulders tapering to a 40" footbox, hips are roughly 46"- tough to get an accurate measurement there.

I ordered mine w/ 4 oz of overfill (23 oz total) and am getting a single side loft of between 3.75 and 4", which should put it pretty close to (or even slightly below) the 0 F mark. quilt weighs in @ 30.9 oz which is pretty darn nice for a 0 (or close to 0) rated bag

perusing Katabatic's site, the measurements are pretty closely in line w/ their Grenadier model, which they (if it's like their Pallisade, conservatively) rate at 5 F

fit and finish is excellent! hoping to get it out this weekend and it looks like the mercury is going to really drop, so should be a pretty good test :)

[Simon Kenton]

Thanks for posting Mike. Can't wait to hear how it goes!

[Author]

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