Anybody ever used Thinsulate 3M for a quilt

[Andy Anderson]

I'm thing about making my first quilt. I'm looking around on OWFINC's website and wondering if the Thinsulate No 40 would work without quilting. I know No 40 is thin, but I'm looking for a 50-60 summer quilt. I think No 40 is 40 grams per square meter so that should convert to about 1.7 oz/sy. Also, for the shell do people typically use? I'm assuming it's the breathable ripstop nylon. Looks like they have 1.1, but wonder if they have anything lighter. I'm a little confused since I typically just buy gear and have never bought MYOG materials. I'm looking for inexpensive materials since I've never even turned a sewing machine on before.

[And E]

Don't use Thinsulate. I have some of the 60 or 100g, not sure which. It's got scrim on both sides that's fused to the insulation via perforations/melting/welding whatever, every 6 inches or so. It's fine for little things like gloves, hats, even clothes, but won't be very useful for a quilt. It also doesn't pack down/compress very well.

It's a low to mid loft insulation, mostly used in shoes and such.

Climashield Apex 2.5 will be perfect for the temperatures you want, and will probably with less than 16oz completed.

Thru-hiker or OWFinc for the Apex. (# corresponds to ounces per meter square, my 5.0 quilt takes me down to just about freezing)

[Kevin Beeden]

Aren't there different grades of Thinsulate? Some have scrim, some don't. Some have bonded-thru layers, some don't. I suspect the scrimmed, bonded versions are intended for footwear and gloves.

I made a pair of insulated salopette liners many years ago, using Thinsulate Liteloft, that had no scrim, no layer bonding, and lofted to about 4cm. No idea if this grade is still available, or the details of the quoted 'Thinsulate 40'.

[And E]

That's right, forgot that there's different versions.

The stuff I got was from Seattle Fabrics, got it from their remnants section in store for dirt cheap.

But either way, Apex is the way to go. Continuous filament, so though it won't pack down as well a Primaloft One, it will last much longer. Plus, no stabilization needed, except around the perimeter of the quilt.

For fabric, Argon .67oz/yd2 is $10 a linear yard from Dutchware gear and everyone says it feels great. They also have ~1oz/yard (slightly less) Argon for $8.

DIY gear supply has Impetus 1.0 for ~$10, and it feels really nice (better than the 1oz Argon, IMO).

1.1 nylon 2nds are the way to go if you want to keep it under a tight budget.

[Thomas Conly]

I had a sleeping bag made of thinsulate lite loft years ago and did not like it. An issue with thinsulate is that it doesn't breathe as well as other insulations. Didn't matter what I wore to bed, I'd get damp and cold all the time. It also does a terrible job or regulating your temperature. It's too hot when it's hot out and too cold a couple hours after you've gone to bed. There's a reason you don't really see it in sleeping bags. Apex is definitely the way to go. Also, I would also vote for argon .67 or impetus. I've handled both and liked them. Argon .9 is more like a windshirt material. 1.1 oz nylon is perfectly good too.

[Sam Farrington]

Yes, used Liteloft for a winter bag, and it was suitably warm for less weight than other synthetics. Did not have Thomas' breathability problem, but sewed it into the bag without any scrim. Liteloft is a batt material, not a dense, thin material like most Thinsulate.

Also had a YakSak from Yakworks, that used the regular dense, thin Thinsulate.
Worked great for about a year, then for some reason lost its insulating properties. Strange, because the material does not rely on loft, so there was no loft to lose due to compression. It weighed about two pounds and used it comfortably in the old Tamarack shelter just below Killington (VT) Peak in the winter when it was new. Well below freezing. But after the year, it was not warm even around freezing in warmer seasons.

For the same insulative value, both the Primaloft and Apex seem to be much warmer for weight than regular Thinsulate.

Was thinking of filling compartments in a bag with Thinsulate LiteLoft (not regular Thinsulate) instead of down, to eliminate any compression of the batts at stitch lines. Based on Thomas' post, will have to rethink now, and consider Apex or Primaloft. Maybe look at Roger Caffin's experiments and come up with some kind of tests for insulative value – but even those would not address the breathability issue Thomas raises. Thanks for the info.

P.S. Asked OWF a couple years ago why they discontinued LiteLoft, and they said because it had become too expensive. No mention of breathability or function issues.

[Aaron Sorensen]

I made a quilt using the 60 gram version with scree.
The insulation is 60 grams but that does not include the scree.

So even the 60 gram is heavy.

I made the quilt with M90 in and out and 9 ounces of 800 fill.
I sewed the top baffle stitches on to the thinsulate so the outer piece of M90 had no stitching.
I then had a quilt I could cowboy camp with in the misty and foggy conditions of the bay area.

I thought the quilt would be about 20-22 ounces, but it came out to 25.
It is much warmer that a typical quilt with 9 ounces of down but not even close to my 17 ounce quilt with 12. At least it works great for the conditions it was made for.

[Author]

Posts