EE 0F degree quilt vs WM or FF 0F degree bag

I spent 3 nights in the GSMNP last weekend, mostly on the high ridge around Mt. LeConte and the AT. I used a 0 degree EE Enigma, combined with appropriate base-layers and a Ray-Way head cover. Conditions were cloudy, rainy, sleet, freezing rain, snow, wind, and then just cold and beautiful..around 10 degrees.

Other than my Big Agnes insulated air core (this was my weak point), I was just fine, and I'll bet all of the options listed will work. I slept two nights in a shelter and one night in a TT Notch and thought some wind protection from some sort of bivey arrangement would have been nice. Pay attention to your pad, and pay attention to your head.

Good luck…I appreciate what the ridge runners are doing in the park!

a 0 degree bag is "easier" to be sure, the tradeoff is weight- sounds like you already have some quilt experience so I don't think you'd have much trouble w/ a 0 degree quilt.

ounces of down is important, but ultimately loft is what is going to determine how warm you are- I would bet if you compare loft- the two would be very similar (obviously you have to halve the loft of the bag)

for 0 degrees you want ~ 3.5-4" of single side loft

you definitely want to pay close attention to sizing a cold weather quilt- it needs to wider and longer than you 3 season quilt- you don't want any drafts in cold temps and the extra length lets you keep some things you want warm in the foot (it will also let you get the quilt up and around your head)

you will make good use of the down balaclava w/ a quilt, for three season use you can probably forego a down hood/balaclava, not so in the winter

sounds like you experience a fair amount of moisture there, so whatever you go w/- I would opt for a treated down

I'd just comment on the above that you may want to size up for a winter quilt, but not necessarily. I'd only size up a particular dimension (length or width) if I was already pretty close to that limit. So using myself as an example (6'3" and 185lbs), I use our EE Reg/Reg for 3 season use, and use a Long/Reg for winter use. As I'm technically over the recommended length for the Regular, I need more length, but I'm not close to the width recommendation for the Regular, I can stick with that width even in colder weather, and even if I wear my down jacket and such while I sleep.

I prefer a bag below 15* or so but if you can do a quilt more power to you for the weight savings. I have spent quite a few nights in the smokies in the winter and used a Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 on several single digit nights with the lowest being 4*. If I was buying a new bag today for those temps I would lean toward the WM Antelope with overfill. It's lighter than the Kodiak which is a really big bag.

Edited because I can't type worth a flip on my phone

Its not unusual to wake up with your quilt wet from condensation in that area in the winter. I would recommend a light synth quilt over your existing 20 quilt. The synth will dry out a bit better and hopefully keep your down from wetting.

I tried a 0F quilt and decided I much prefer a winter bag, I have a Kodiak and a Puma and they are brilliant :-)

I loooooove my Kodiak. Just sayin'…

>I loooooove my Kodiak. Just sayin'…

Aw shucks.

I would also go with a synthetic quilt on top of existing quilt for the reason he mentioned. It will cost a lot less too!

Why not use a VBL if it's going to be below freezing? Added warmth and no condensation in the bag.

Maybe it is because in the conditions where condensation is an issue I am usually in a bivy, but I find that any condensation that doesn't settle under the sleeping pad is on the outside of the bag down near the foot end and since mine is DWR it typically just brushes off. The same for any ice.

Also, maybe this is just me, but I personally find a quilt less versatile since I can use the bag zipped open as a quilt or get in and zip it up and use the hood with varying amounts of closure.

As far as weight, in practice I find that to be as warm as a bag, a quilt needs more loft than a bag and a fair amount of width and it winds up as heavy if not just a bit heavier tan a slim cut bag because it needs to be kind of wide to avoid drafts and isn't as warm without a hood. I guess that is probably to some extent a personal thing depending on how much room you need and how you sleep, so that may not be the case for everyone,