Help me decide: EE Revelation or Katabatic Flex?

double post

Terry g wrote:

I would go with a regular.  The response I received from Katabatic was that if you are a little taller then the rated length (like .5 inches) you will be fine.  You have even more flexibility if you are a side sleeper.

I had a Katabatic Gear Alsek 6’6″ and am around 6’2′ and had the same thing.
I never ended up using it because of not doing long overnight trips that required camping but I felt a normal size length would have been fine as well – even though I was a bit over the rated length.

DGoggins wrote:

I do have to say….I didn’t really believe other forum comments that stated how good the katabatic look and feel was over the EE. I was perfectly happy with EE’s construction quality before. But….now comparing the two side by side……I am a believer. The Katabatic just feels more like a retail product….the branded storage bag, tags, booklets….and the sewing is incredible….its just more “finished” than EE.

I do have to agree. When I received the Katabatic Alsek, it was quite impressive.

People pay a lot of attention to detail here in Japan and the cottage industry (like Locus Gear et al) reflects this, but I think Katabatic Gear was just as amazing if not better. Not to say anything bad about EE of course, I have just never owned anything from them. But the Katabatic Gear was really well thought out and made.

@hjuan99, are you glad you went with the wide flex rather than the regular width? I have a wide Flex 22 and am a little worried it may be too wide.  I am a little smaller than you are (5’9.5″ 155) and worried it will be too much work to warm it.  I haven’t been out in weather cold enough to make a difference yet.

I am definitely glad I went with the wide width….5’10 170lbs is not much different than 5’9.5 155lbs….

As I stated in my mini review above….the katabatic doesn’t feel as wide as the wide revelation to me….where the wide revelation feels a bit too big in practice, but again, even then its not terribly wide.

However, I go wide in all bags….like, I own a Western Mountaineering megalite and versalite…the versalite being as tight as I can go and be comfortable…..but my wife is just fine in a WM ultralite…I couldn’t possibly sleep in an ultralite.

I toss and turn in the night, and sleep on my side, so need a wide width bag….I hate feeling too constrictive. And, just so you know, I’m currently 36 and in good athletic shape so I don’t have circulation type problems so having more width in my bag isn’t a big issue….I can heat it up…

Long story short…..the wide katabatic doesn’t feel that wide to me and I would really doubt I would be comfortable in a regular width katabatic…for me.

I was out this weekend with my wide Flex 30, and at one point I was wondering if it was “too wide.” I haven’t had it in near-freezing temperatures yet, so I was worried that the extra width would make me too cold on very cold nights.  However, after playing around with the strap attachments, I found that if I lock both sides in to the tightest setting towards the middle of my sleeping pad (so that the sides of the quilt are only a couple inches from each other), I can achieve a snug fit that will keep me as toasty as a sleeping bag while still having room to roll from side to side.

For reference, I’m 6’2″ and 165 lb, so also pretty skinny.  I went with the long/wide. I love the length – it’s perfect for me. I like having the wide width, but I think that I would have been okay with the regular.  Still, the regular width Revelation was too drafty for me, so I’m glad I took the couple ounce weight penalty to make sure that I had enough quilt to toss and turn at night.  Especially – and this is common for me – if I go to sleep when its warmer out so I don’t need it attached next to me.  Over the course of the night, it gets colder and I want the quilt wrapped around me, but I’m often too sleepy/lazy to snap it into the straps in the middle of the night if it’s not *that* cold.  The wide is great in those cases to have a bit of extra draft protection.

Finally, I see the wide option as essentially a bit of overfill.  On cold nights, I push the down from the sides to the top of my quilt, so that those couple inches next to me that I partially lie on are mostly devoid of down and instead just act as wind barriers.  The extra down on top gives me more warmth during the night.  This is one big difference between the Flex and the Revelation, and while I didn’t think I would like the horizontal baffles, I actually like the ability to regulate the temperature of the quilt with them.  On warm nights, I’ll push the down out to the sides and lay it open like a blanket.  On cold nights, the opposite.

@hjuan99:

and your feeling is that for 5’11”-6′ the long version would be to long?

I think that yes….if you were not planning on using it for winter (where you would stuff items at the end of the bag), then for 6′ and under the regular length would be the better choice.

What are the pros/cons of the Flex models vs. the standard Katabatic quilts?

It seems like there are 3 points of interest between the two ->

1. Ability to open up the quilt completely with the flex…so you could use as a blanket while traveling, or open it up fully in warmer weather, use with 2 people in warmer weather…or just keep it zipped and open up the footbox if your feet are too warm. You do pay a 1oz penalty for the option though, but the footbox is 1″ wider.
2. Differential cut. The elite series (palisade, etc) has a differential cut, so the “top” side of the quilt fabric is bigger than the inside. So…if something is pushing a lot against the interior (say…if you are a slide sleeper your top shoulder would be pushing against the fabric, or if you have a knee pushing into the side of the bag), the idea is that the down will still be able to loft instead of getting compressed against the outer layer of fabric. I could see this makign the bag warmer….but I usually bring wide bags so there is enough fabric that I’m not fully pushing against the fabric enough to completely compress/tighten the fabric/down.
3. Cost. Flex series is over a $100 bucks cheaper….which, after talking with Katabatic, it sounds like the only reason for the price increase is due to the differential cut. It takes a lot longer in labor to make a palisade than the flex.

Based on everything that I’ve read, I’m getting very close to buying a Katabatic Gear quilt for my next “bag.”  I go back and forth between the Palisade 30 and the Flex 30, though.  I like the flexibility of the Flex (good choice of name :-) ), but I perceive the Palisade may be warmer because of the sewn foot box, and pack up slightly smaller because of the cut.  The Palisade is also approximately 2 ounces lighter than the Flex.

Most of my backpacking is in September in the Sierras, where the nights can be a bit chilly during the summer.  I think that if I would use the quilt with the foot box cinched tight 95% of the time, then the Palisade (with the closed foot box) may be the better way to go.  I don’t care about the difference in lead-time between getting a Flex and a Palisade, as I have plenty of time before my next trip.  I am also not concerned about the $100 price difference between the two bags, because over the life of the bag, the $100 will be inconsequential.  I am replacing a traditional 15-year-old REI down sleeping bag, so either Katabatic quilt will be a noticeable improvement.

Here are my main questions:  do people with the Flex frequently sleep with the foot box open, or do you almost always use it cinched tight?   Do any Flex owners think they may have been better served with a Palisade, or is the flexibility of the Flex worth any perceived detriments?

Hi Dave,

Only had my Flex down to around 5c so far, it was a very wet and windy 5c though.

Absolutely no problems with the footbox, my feet were toasty warm all night.

Only problem i had was that i hadn’t cinched the top enough, so got a bit cold around my shoulder/chest area.

Cinched it down a little more and i was toasty warm for the rest of the night.

Huh….The difference between the wide versions of both quilts are only 1 oz….I wonder why the regular width are 2 ozs different….

Anyway, unlike the EE quilts…..the footbox on the flex seals up completely, so it shouldn’t be warmer because of a small hole (like the EE quilts). However, the palisade footbox is smaller than the flex one, which would make it warmer. That could either be a good or bad thing for you…..some people like larger footboxes. Interestingly….just like the weight difference being off, the regular size is 2 inches smaller in the footbox than the flex in Regular, and in wide its only 1 inch smaller…..

I doubt there would be much of a difference in stuff size….probably just marginal at best….

But yes, the palisade should be warmer because of the differential cut though.

Anyway, just from my experience….I have used EE revelations for years, and just switched to the flex line, but out in the field I never unzipped the footbox. If it was too hot, I would just take my feet out of the footbox and have the quilt just lie on top. Only time I used it in blanket mode was at a hotel when there weren’t enough blankets and I just happened to have my quilt in the car.

Now…..thats not to say that in an emergency where you were out with multiple people and one person’s bag got soaking wet, the blanket mode would be better to cover two people….you couldn’t do that with a sewn footbox.