Enlightened Equipment Prodigy – 30 deg

[kevperro .]

Some context: I've been backpacking for >25 years and I've done two long distance (>500 mile) hikes during that time, along with more than I can count < 100 mile excursions. I am an ex-Army Ranger and several years in the military living in swamps and jungles with little to no shelter. I understand what it is to be wet and cold with nothing in my possession dry for days on end.

Past sleeping bags have all been goose down except in the military, and one synthetic bag I tried about 12-years ago. It sucked…it lost loft/warmth almost immediately and sowered me on synthetic insulation. When backpacking I've never had serious problems with goose down insulation. I've done a week in the SE with prolonged wetness and while my down bags lost loft, I survived fine.

So what possessed me to try another synthetic option? I don't know… I'm sick. Keeping a down bag dry is always a concern when I'm in camp. When I switched to a tarp I wanted the extra assurance that if I got some rain spray, that it wouldn't materially change my comfort/safety level. The weight gain vs. goose down was offset by the ability to delete some of the things I might bring to keep goose down dry. No bivy or extra clothing layers just in case. That and I read good things about the newer synthetics in terms of longevity.

So why the Prodigy? Tim @ EE had the most options in terms of customizing a quilt. MLD offers one that I was going to try but the lead-time and the lack of customization pushed me towards the Prodigy. I've come to the conclusions that sleeping bags/quilts should be treated like clothing. It needs to fit right to function so the plethora of sizes offered by EE was a huge factor.

This is my second quilt. The first was a Katabatic Alesk that was too narrow for my tossing and turning. I vowed on the next quilt I'd go wide so my Prodigy is a Regular/Wide version (I'm 5'7" 185lb).

First impression was extremely positive as the communication and customer service from EE was superb. Tim and his crew were excellent at every step.

My superficial view of all the EE products before I bought was that they were simple and ugly compared to the shaped Katabatic (sorry Tim) and the MLD pictures. They look like a simple flat cut design that is tied together at the foot. Like a sack…with a draw string. Upon using one my conclusion is that isn't far off but you know what…. this works. The fancy cut of competing products doesn't necessarily add value to the functionality of the quilt. This is easily the most comfortable sleep system I've tried and the warmth of the synthetic is much better than expected. It is easily on-par with my EN rated former goose down bag. The design elements, zipper, buttons and draw strings are all very well done and functional. A lot of thought went into the design.

I think it is worth mentioning the pad attachment features too. Katabatic has a good reputation for their pad attachment system. Having used both, I like the EE buckle system better than the Katabatic.

Time will tell on the lifespan of the synthetic but in all other ways the Prodigy has exceeded my expectations. I'll update my review as I get more time in use.

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