awesome quilt, smelly down.

My original 30F Enigma from last Fall has no smell. After dispatching numerous chickens over the years, I can feel your pain over any smell. Scalded feathers do not smell that great. Sounds to me like the down was not washed/rinsed well, but then I never bathed my chickens.
Duane

+1 on the quality of the quilt

-1 on the smell. I emailed tim tonight asking for suggestions.

i'll post results.

I plan on NOT washing the quilt.

If i return it i'll ask it to be filled with goose down and i'll pay the extra.

Hi JR, the issue i described for duck down certainly can happen with goose down too, but on average i would say it's less of an issue or less common with goose.

In any case, i was only speculating based on holistic logic. I don't really know what is going on, but i would say it's most likely related to the washing/cleansing process of the down, and it not being properly cleansed whether duck or goose down.

DWR treated down can also have a smell, albeit different than less ideally cleansed down. Some of these DWR's use strong man made chemicals–do you expect them to have no odor at all? They shouldn't have much odor if fully dry though.

I've used down pillows and toppers since I was a baby – down has a smell. Down is also luxurious. Old pillow are kind of musty – new ones are too. But my EE quilt has no smell. Maybe it's the nylon, or maybe it's luck of the draw. Hang in there. You'll be fine sensitivo.

I corresponded with Peter from EE today.

He was surprised to hear of the smell of the down and offered two solutions, wash it, or return it.

I am returning it and paying the difference to get goose down.

I've had the quilt in my tent (set up in the back yard) for the past two days and it still smells.

I'm returning it not because of the design or a flaw in manufacturing, but the smell of the down.

EE makes some really great stuff and probably just got a bad batch of down, its not like they smell every single quilt that goes out.

I figure I paid 225 for a quilt and shouldn't have to wash it right out of the box, so i'm returning it.

Theres no hard feelings and I hope it doesn't come off that way. I'm happy with the solution, a minor inconvenience with a backpacking trip to North Manitou Island coming up in two weeks but hey, what can you do!

Guys,

I'm sorry I missed this thread until now. We have had a few complaints over the years of smelly quilts. In the past I assumed it was mostly related to quilts being sewn in homes and the funky stuff people cook in their houses. Now that we are in a shop and there are no cooking smells I'm not as sure.

I have checked all our raw materials and none of them have any odor. The down all comes from reputable sourcing companies and is well cleaned and sterilized. I have read of quilts and bags from many manufactures having odors and do wonder if perhaps there is just a small set of people who are more aware of the natural smell of down than the rest of us. I have smelled some of these "stinky" ones in the past and not understood what the fuss was about, i just didn't smell anything.

We have recognized a few possible options

1) some type of odor penetration during shipping. If it smells like perfume I bet it happened in shipping, this has happened once or twice where other packages break and leak on our quilts while in transit

2) PU coated stuff sacks. We have tried a number of stuff sack fabric and some have had a PU coating. IT is possible that the coating on the stuff sack has enough odor to transfer it to quilts while stuffed during transit and while packed. We have switched to 100% sil coated fabrics and are now stuffing quilts in the breathable storage bag for transit.

3) High humidity in storage or transit. If the quilt is stored in a wet or highly humid area that may create a musty smell until the down is fully aired and dried

4) funky buns. Some people just stink, not everyone notices it on themselves but it could be possible to notice it on a item after use. I know a few people who always smell and I can only assume any quilt they used would be stinky too. If you buy a used quilt from a stinky guy it will probably be stinky too. When people contact me about used quilts smelling I can only assume this is the case.

At Enlightened Equipment we take this serious and we do everything in our power to produce the best products we can. All our materials are new and of the highest quality available to us. If you are experiencing problems we want to hear about it so we can get it resolved. Down quilts do smell like something, everything smells like something. As long as your down quilt smells like a down quilt I'll be happy, if it smells like something else I'll be less happy and would love to try and figure it out with you.

-Tim

FWIW, last week I received my new EE Revelation 30* w/750FP Duck down. Not only is the quilt a beautiful piece of work, but it does not have any smell that *I* would characterize as odd or funky. What I *do* smell is what I would characterize as the natural odor of the materials. By that I mean that EVERYTHING has a smell. The 10d fabric smells like new, clean fabric (I think it smells pretty good, and will be thrilled if it still smells like that in a couple years). If I try really hard, I suppose I can detect some odor from the down, but honestly I think that smells pretty good too!

Not to say that those reporting strong or foul smells are wrong…their quilt might really smell bad…to every one of us. But in general I agree with Tim, there are simply some people who are more sensitive to smells than others.

So what happens if *you* think your new down gear smells bad? Well, as if you needed another reason to buy from EE besides awesome quality, value and performance, there is this…

Our Guarantee

Massive kudos for Tim and his company for taking such a strong stand for customer satisfaction.

I bought a new 750fp duck down EE quilt last month and can understand both John's the OP's sentiments.

To my nose the quilt smells like duck, or at least what I imagine duct to smell like. It doesn't smell like rot, mildew or a chemical like PU, but more like a natural musk (and I have not used it yet so it is not my natural musk!) The smell is not overpowering, but it is detectable.

However, to this point I have not found the smell unpleasant at all. I will be taking it out for 10 nights in the next couple weeks and will be interested to see if the smell continues to be noticeable or fades or if my tent mates notice.

To me, it was definitely not worth exercising Tim's awesome guarantee.

That being said, the quilt construction is fantastic!

One more note, I had an older Revelation X quilt (2012?) that used 750 duck down and didn't notice any smell, but I don't own it anymore otherwise I'd do some side my side smell comparison.

EDIT: Tim, with as much time as you spend playing with the quilts, could it be that you are immune to the (slight) smell?

I've owned more quilts from Tim than I can remember. Can't remember any smelling unusual. In fact, I've always liked the smell of Tim's quilts. Sometimes, at home, I cuddle with them so I can smell their goodness all night long. I coo at them and stroke them lovingly. Sometimes I even ….. never mind.

I'm not sure imune is it. I can tell that quilts have a smell, but everything has a smell so for me they just smell like quilts.

That's not to say that there could be an issue here it's just that to me they smell the same. I'd have to smell one in question to see if I could tell a difference. I'm pretty sensitive to smells and easily offended by them so if there is an issue I certainly want to resolve it.

-Tim

"Everything has a smell".

I really don't want to drag this discussion out, but prior to writing this I got out my new quilt and stuffed my face in it…you know…just to make sure. Yep. Still smells awesome! That's my opinion.

As an example of everyone perceiving the same smell differently, I recently sold an Equinox sil-tarp on Gear Swap. After it was delivered, the purchaser contacted me and asked "it smells decidedly of vomit…is there something I should know?". All I could say was that it smelled like sil-nylon to me…and it had always had the same smell since the day it was new. It was a distinct, "chemically" smell identical to many of the sil-nylon products I have smelled, but not one I would characterize as "vomit". I wondered if perhaps that smell was accentuated by being crammed into a box for several days during shipping.

Nevertheless, *He* thought it smelled like vomit. I told the buyer that if he was not happy, I was not happy, and that if he wanted to return it I would happily refund the money. He said he would wash it first and then decide…I never heard from him again.

Everything has a smell.

Interesting to read this thread. I've spent the last two nights sleeping (indoors) under my new 10% off EE quilt, and to me it does have a slight but noticeable aroma of bird, unlike any of the several previous down items I've owned (all purchased new by me originally). It's not strong enough to really bother me, unlike the cheap Costco vest I tried on in the store a few months ago which smelled so much like raw chicken left on the counter too long that I pulled it off and hurried away. But it's there. I assume that it will either fade with time, or my brain will adjust to thinking "that's what my quilt smells like" and eventually I won't even notice it.

And for the record, it doesn't smell like perfume, PU coating, dampness, or funky buns. Just bird. I used to live with a cockatiel, and I know bird scent when I sniff it – but I am sure that there is a spectrum of sensitivity to any given odor among people, and perhaps the scent of this particular down is one I am particularly sensitive to. Or perhaps the fabrics used in this quilt mask the scent less than the other down items I own. Or maybe it's that the time from bird to me is much shorter with a cottage maker like Tim, versus a big company with inventory that sits around for months in warehouses and stores.

That said, I love the quilt, and look forward to many toasty nights outdoors under it! It's a fine piece of workmanship.

I always assume that anything with down is going to have a slight dead bird smell to it. It goes away with washing and use, but it returns some when it gets damp.

I carefully bear bag and hang my food, toothpaste, cooking pot, and anything with an odor. Then, I crawl into my poultry-scented wrap for the night.

Oh, the irony!

;-)

I bought a 750 the last week they were available. It does have a hint of "wet dog" smell, but not enough to deal with returning it. However, I am probably just more keen to smell that particular smell being very allergic to dogs. Most dog owners have a hint of wet dog smell to them as well (lets assume its their clothes), and so I have probably subconsciously trained myself to pick up on that smell to avoid clawing my eyeballs out.

All in all, a great quilt and the pricing was the best Ive found.

"I carefully bear bag and hang my food, toothpaste, cooking pot, and anything with an odor. Then, I crawl into my poultry-scented wrap for the night.

Oh, the irony! "

This gave me a good laugh. Never even thought of that before.

Thanks,
Frye

edit; I received my enigma today and it smells just fine.

I had ordered a 40* quilt from HammockGear earlier this year and then read about the same issue on the Hammock forum regarding their quilts. When the quilt arrived, I of course was worried but could not smell anything unusual. The quilt is awesome!

I love the smell of 850 cubic inch down in the morning! It smells like …….VICTORY!

Interesting to see this thread resurrected after 4 months :)

I just received EE quilt #2 last week…a 10* 800fp Enigma to compliment my 30* 750fp Revelation. They are both exquisite pieces of work and…

They smell very different!

Since the same fabric is used in both the only thing to which the difference can logically be attributed is the down. Just one more example of…Everything has a smell.

BTW, they both smell awesome.

…but the 20F Enigma I received a few weeks ago has no down smell at all and just a hint of that smell that new synthetic fabric exhibits.

I haven't used it yet but will be doing so in a couple of days, so I just had to get it out of the storage area to see if I could smell anything.

Nothing but EE Awesomeness!!

I'll pay extra attention when it gets a little moisture in it. But it takes a pretty foul fowl smell to annoy me.

I work at a store that sells some outdoor apparel. We had a shipment of patagonia down jackets that smelled awful. The smell went away after a couple of weeks.
I think you are smelling fresh, right off the bird down.
Hang it outside to air out.

" I received my new EE quilt a couple of weeks and did notice the same "animal" smell you did."

Uhh…sorry, guys, but don't blame the birds. Have you ever seen (or smelled) Tim???

(sorry, Tim…I just could not resist this one :)

Those were the days!

-Tim

Mine smells like top sirloin when dry and rib eye when wet.

Got a little moisture in the Enigma last night from normal condensation.

Still no smell (OK, maybe a faint dog smell!), and that thing dried out a lot faster than I remember down bags of yore drying out. The thin shell and low humidity have something to do with that, I would imagine.

.

Local journalist named his bag "The Pet Store"

http://www.outtheremonthly.com/