Highly compressible synthetic quilt…?

Tyler,

To my knowledge there are exactly 3 options for synthetic quilt, all using climashield insulation. The size and fabric choices will impact the final weight and stuff size. The MLD standard sizes are the smallest so you need to be sure to pick one that covers you well but they will as a result be lighter and pack a little smaller. Arrowhead Equipment also makes a synthetic quilt but the use of 1.1oz nylon keeps it from being a top competitor in my opinion. Then of course there is the EE Prodigy, a true wonder to behold:) In my opinion the Prodigy or Spirit are likely to be the best bet for you.

As i type this i'm remembering there might be one or two more synthetic quilt options but for the life of me i can't remember who is making them. Some of the hammock companies might make insultex quilts but i'd avoid that due to the vapor barrier affect the foam layer has. It gets clammy in my experience.

If its not known i OWN ENLIGHTENED EQUIPMENT so I'm a bias D-Bag:)

-Tim

Tyler-

I too live in the Southeast, and do a lot of shoulder-season and winter backpacking in the Smokies and Cumberland Plateau….and I use down quite happily and successfully. Being the gear pig that I am, I have a 40 degree HammockGear Burrow for cool summer nights, a BEAUTIFUL EE Revelation 30* quilt for shoulder seasons, and a Katabatic Gear Sawatch 15* quilt for winter. I have never found our rain and humidity to be an issue, although I keep them loosely-stuffed in cuben sacks and make every effort to dry them in the sun during hiking breaks during the day. If volume if a major concern, I would be inclined to go with down first. JMHO.

Hi Tyler,

Tim's run-down is accurate for your specific question.

I echo the above info on down in the SE (Florida in my case) so I know a little about humidity :)

Been using down quilts almost exclusively for ~10yrs. I say almost because I will use a military poncho liner in some warmer temps.

I'm a happy customer of Tim's and own two of his quilts.

Great feedback folks – I really appreciate the info. Tim: thanks for swooping in w/the current market info for quilts – yes, you ARE one to know! I've heard excellent reviews of your items & love the website redesign (I may be late on that but it looks really sharp!)

I've been very happy with an older MLD synthetic quilt I have. It's rated at 40F, and I use it in warmer conditions. Nice gear, and is still holding up well.

I bought Tim's Prodigy in a 30-deg. wide this year. Used it on my Wonderland trip for 7-nights and I have nothing but positive things to say about it.

For comparison, I've used nothing but down bags for the last 25+ years. The 30-deg. Wide Prodigy stuffs down to about the same size as my old 30-deg Marmot down bag and is virtually the same weight.

I faced some moisture and it wasn't impacted at all in terms of warmth or loft. I only had issues keeping down dry a couple times and while it lost loft/warmth, it never ended up being a safety hazard for me hiking in the SE (Smokys, Citco Creek). Even though… it is sure nice not to have to worry about occasional moisture and the constant effort to work at keeping down dry. I look at it as one less thing to distract me and the weight/compressed size are now close enough to down (in 3-season form) that as long as it last 5+ years, I've seen my last down quilt.

Hmmmm…the Prodigy is sounding pretty good. Can it be thrown in the washing machine easily? Ideally I want as little fuss w/sleep system as possible. If care+maintenance are better than down & comparable to other Climashield contenders I think I'm sold.
…not to mention I spent more than enough time on the EE site playing w/color combinations. Way to go Tim – that kept me entertained for a while! Pretty, pretty colors…

Tyler,

Peter deserves all the credit for the website. He was able to really improve it I. This last push.

You can wash the Prodigy but avoid top loaders with an agitator. We hand wash ours and let them air dry. Much faster than washing down but still safer for the quilt than the machine.

-Tim

Tim –
That sounds doable. Thanks again so much for the input; I'm placing an order soon!

When youu hand wash, how do you get the water out?

If you just pull the bag out of the water doesn't it damage the bag because it's so heavy?

Dump water out with bag in the water container? Pour bag onto some surface so most of the water drains out of it?

I've just used the tub, let the tub drain after washing, then rolled the bag (like you'd roll a foam pad) to push more water out, then strung it up to dry.

I'm interested to know how Tim does it.

Jerry,

CLIMASHIELD doesnt absorb water like down. If you wash it in the tub once you rinse and drain the water the quilt will drain a lot of water if just left there layed out in the tub. Then you can move it outside.

-Tim

Oh, old age is a bitch, I was think down for some reason : )

So, do you do the same thing with down?

Basically the same for down but it must be left draining for hours more. A drier at the end also helps fluff down up but no heat!

-Tim

Have you ever washed a bag with that new treated down?

I"d avoid ANY top loader. I have one w/out an agitator, Maytag Bravo, and it does terrible things. No idea how. I would never trust my quilt to it!

(I probably should have bought a new washing machine, but I spent that money on my big gear-spree this spring)

I've only washed the old fashion down. I have a new "waterproof" down hoodie that I used in combination with the Prodigy. While it did fine I wet it down in the tub to see how "waterproof" it would be. I could still wet it out just like any of my old down products. It is maybe more resistant, but it isn't synthetic-like in terms of water resistance. I've not done a scientific study by any means. If you dunk the Prodigy though it won't hold water like down will. It just drains out. You still have incidental moisture in the shell but drying it out is a breeze comparatively.

I went for the Forrest Green/Grey combo. It matches my down hoodie from Goosefeet. I really like the combo because it gives me a good deal of freedom in changing my sleep system based upon conditions. I can wear part of my sleep system around camp and when I get out to piss at night I'm still relatively warm on both sides of the transaction.

"I"d avoid ANY top loader. I have one w/out an agitator, Maytag Bravo, and it does terrible things. No idea how. I would never trust my quilt to it!"

Same here. I spent too much on it so I don't want to get rid of it. I should just write it off and get new one. It isn't very effective. Doesn't use a lot of water though which is good.

"but it isn't synthetic-like in terms of water resistance"

It's a fallacy that synthetic insulation will not absorb water. It will. What it does better than regular down is retain a bit better warmth when wet but even that is minimal. When synthetic insulation is wet it will also lose the ability to provide warmth. BPL did some testing on this years ago and even showed that down dried much more quickly than synthetic insulation and therefore, provided more warmth more quickly during the drying process.

I'm not convinced having used both in the same situations.

I think the dunking test is of minimal importance. What is important is how it handles sweat, humidity and incidental contact to wet surfaces and mist/rain.

I've used both under those situations and the down certainly retains some warmth, the loft is visible degraded. The synthetic loft is not impacted nearly as much.

Perceived warmth has a lot of variables and I'll fully concede that my psychological view of that lost loft may color my perception. In terms of drying… I don't have a scale in the backcountry to see how much moisture is retained. The synthetic doesn't require much though to feel/look dry. Perhaps it is my perception that colors my feeling of warmth. I'm not convinced though…. I know which I'll grab on a rainy trip. ;-)