Add loops to the sides of a quilt?

[DGoggins]

Its in this same thread….  https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/add-loops-to-the-sides-of-a-quilt/#post-3768124

 

Though I plan on just sewing elastic grosgrain loops to the quilt directly.

[Emma D]

Thermarest also made a version of this (though digging around for them now they seem out of stock/discontinued).

https://www.tradeinn.com/trekkinn/en/therm-a-rest-mattress-loop-kit/137006311/p?srsltid=AfmBOoplRzN72wtZdjv2J7ealPpfVP-VBrCM0CGFgd3_o15GaADsUdPr and

[DGoggins]

Interesting about those thermarest connectors. Though…just as an update…I did sew grosgrain loops to the quilt directly with the instructions from zenbivy and it works great!

I even had cordage in the matching colors. I also cut a zlite to torso length and with the zenbivy slip it in the envelope so it never moves. Comfort has been greatly increased and adds warmth, plus makes the biggest sit pad ever. (yes, it has added around 6oz or so though 5oz  since I don’t take my 1oz sitpad anymore).

From the zenbivy instructions, it says 35cm (13.77 inches) from the top of quilt to first loop, but next time I would do it more like 12 inches from top to first loop since it seemed to be too “high up” on me.

 

[DGoggins]

I also want to say….that after my first trip with the zenbivy, I also did a modification where I sewed in small straps with some Enlightened equipment clips.

Why? Well, the zenbivy is great for helping to prevent drafts when moving around. However, it can still easily “go wide” with having the quilt ends go off your mat. Basically super easy to have no quilt under you at all, so there are thin strips where there really isn’t a good thermal seal since there is just a thin layer of fabric from the zenbivy on the sides. Hard to describe but if you use a zenbivy I’m sure you are aware of what I’m talking about.

Now…the quilt is clipped in underneath you as well and won’t create air gaps when tossing and turning so it wont fall off the “sides” of the mat. Easy to do too. I had to sew an extra clip on one side so I could still adjust width on where the quilt clips in though to make it work with the EE quilt.  Overboard? Probably but I’m always striving towards perfection.

[Michael Glavin / Zenbivy]

Dgoggins:

can you send pictures of the quilt falling off the mattress. I don’t understand from your current text and photos. If the loops are sewn in the correct location on the quilt, it should be impossible for the quilt to lose thermal seal with the mattress when the quilt is clipped to the sheet. Thanks!

[DGoggins]

Oh nice, a response from Zenbivy! Cool.

Yeah I knew it was hard to explain. And….pictures are kind of hard to take too.

But, while a zenbivy helps prevent drafts, it doesn’t help keep the quilt underneath your body, because nothing is preventing the sides of quilt to stay in the center…so the edges of the quilt can go all the way past the pad. Like here ->

 

Here I’m laying in the quilt…my finger is touching the edge of the pad, the quilt edge is past my finger.

Now if I’m sleeping on my side in fetal position…when I toss/turn, my butt can easily unintentionally lift the quilt edge (which is already on the side of the pad) up. There might not be an air gap, but there can be a several inch gap where there is no down quilt….its just the fabric of the zenbivy.

 

However, if I attach the edge of the quilt to the center of my pad (like, how normal EE straps are), I get the best of both worlds. 1. EE pad attachment straps keep the edge of the quilt underneath my body (of course, its adjustable for temperature…I can slide the straps closer or farther apart). 2. The zenbivy prevents air gaps that inevitably happen with just straps.

 

Of course, I enjoy the other benefits of the zenbivy, like the pillow corral, or using the hood to tuck in the top of the quilt instead of using the quilt buttons around my neck, the microenvironment of the hood if I start breathing in it, the hood preventing light in the morning, etc.

[Michael Glavin / Zenbivy]

From the pictures above, I can see why you are getting cold spots.  The loops on the top of the quilt need to be farther from the edge of the quilt / closer to the center of the quilt.  The distance needs to be greater than the distance from the hooks to the mattress on the sheet.  If you move the loops closer to the center of the quilt, the quilt will not be able to “fall off” the mattress and both drafts and cold spots will be eliminated.

Your solution pins the quilt edge to the mattress, much like the original straps that come with most quilts.  This does not allow the quilt to naturally float and wrap around you, but pins it underneath.  The attachment on the Zenbivy eliminates this restriction and allows the quilt to move naturally.

 

[DGoggins]

The distance needs to be greater than the distance from the hooks to the mattress on the sheet.

Thats not the issue…I already have the right measurements there. I followed the zenbivy instructions ->

 

Original length of zenbivy “wings” ->

Then my length to a baffle on my EE quilt ->

Though I lose a little bit due to the loop length, though not enough to matter ->

So yes…in a perfect world….if I lift up on the center of the quilt, the edge of the quilt falls straight down and touches the mattress.

But….lots of things can push the edge of the quilt up from the mattress….arms, hips, butt, knees, etc. Here…I have a hand doing it. The quilt is lifted up, and then..the edge of the quilt is pushed up with my second hand.

Here….I’m on my side in fetal position. This is exaggerated, but my butt “caught” the edge of the quilt and pushed it up, even creating an air gap. I’m wearing Khaki shorts here! That isn’t my bare butt.

 

[DGoggins]

I hope I’m being clear. Here is another illustration. Zenbivy wing and quilt are laying on the side of the mattress. If nothing pushes the edge of the quilt….yeah, it forms a nice seal.

But…the edge of the quilt can easily be pushed farther…now its just zenbivy  wing material with no quilt insulation.

Now, this is super exaggerated, but….nothing is preventing the edge of the quilt even being pushed farther than the attachments ->

Thats why something has to be done to prevent the edge of the quilt from moving towards (or even past) the attachment points. A zenbivy alone doesn’t manipulate the edge at all. I dont want the quilt to “move naturally”. If it moved naturally,…it could easily lose a thermal seal or in more extreme cases, cause air gaps. And….even moving the quilt attachments loops closer to the center of the quilt still wouldn’t fix the possibility of the quilt edge being pushed too far.

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