Gonna order a quilt – advice appreciated

[Gordon Gray]

After using my Kelty Cosmic 20 degree bag unzipped like a quilt for all my 2016 trips, I have decided to purchase a real quilt for 2017 on.  I have done my research and think I will chose this:

Enlightened Equipment – Revelation.  I would chose the 20 degree, long/ wide version with 900fp. Weight 20.68 oz.  Cost $315 for my specs noted.  http://www.enlightenedequipment.com/revelation/

I camp 3 season in the Colorado Rockies and use a NeoAir Xlite 6’X20″ pad.  I sleep in full jammies and beanie.

I have looked at the Zpacks, JacksRBetter, Katabatic,  ect…  I haven’t found anything that stands out vs what I have chosen.  Am I missing a brand I should check out?  I am not interested in spending any more unless I was really convinced, but price isn’t the main deciding factor.

You know how fun it is to have the cash and do the research for new toys!

Thanks for any advice or general comments.  Here are some pics just to make this thread a lil more exciting.  This was from a trip from Frisco to Vail.

We camped right here:

The morning we started had some weather but it cleared up as seen in pic above:

I really enjoyed the multiple passes we went up and over:

[BC Bob]

Consider also the top quilts from Hammock Gear.  I just bought an underquilt for my hammock and it’s excellent quality. They get top reviews on their work.

http://www.hammockgear.com/down-quilts/

[Chris Hunkeler]

I love the photos and am curious what others have to say as I’m looking for something similar. My interest was piqued by a previous post about the Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt.

[Bob Moulder]

I’m a teensy bit biased as the owner of 4 EE quilts, but I think you’ll be happy with that choice.

Specifically related to your usage, I have a Revelation 50°F and an Enigma 20°F. The Rev has the zip-open footbox and the Enigma is sewn. I figure that in cold weather I’m not going to be unzipping the footbox anyway, hence the Enigma, and the Rev can be opened completely like a simple blanket for warmer summer weather, which has worked well for me.

But you won’t be making a mistake by getting the Rev in the 20°F version because it will be just as warm and the weight difference is probably about an ounce compared to the Enigma, and it will indeed give you much greater flexibility in the shoulder seasons. We have pretty hot, sticky summers in the Northeast and a 20°F quilt would be overkill for me, so it’s just best to have a different quilt for summer.

[Matthew / BPL]

I’m absolutely happy with my 20° HG Burrow in .97 Argon with a sewn footbox, extra wide width and an extra ounce of fill at 22 ounces.

[James holden]

get an extra once or two of fill to prevent down from shifting with quilts

also get a down/synth hood if yr gonna use it near its limits

20F in the xlite is pushing its lower limits … a thin foam pad underneath at those temps might help (especially with a quilt where theres nothing underneath you)

;)

[Lester Moore]

Gordon, you’ve made a good quilt choice IMHO. I love my 20F regular wide EE Enigma in 850 DT. The only minor complaint is that the foot box is a little bit roomy on really cold nights. But stuffing a down vest around the feet fills up any cold spots in the foot box. When strapped and snapped down well, it’s tolerably comfortable into the 20’s for me (average temperature sleeper).

If you’re pushing the season, consider adding a 2 ounce 1/8″ closed cell foam pad from GG – putting this on top your Xlight adds quite a bit of warmth. And definitely consider a Goosefeet down balaclava or EE Hoodlum (or something comparable) too – both are much warmer than a fleece beanie.

[John Klinepeter]

I have two EE quilts and one Katabatic just as an FYI.  I slept warmly in the EE Enigma 30 degree quilt at 25F in-tent temperature (measured with min max thermometer) this past September wearing a down vest as the only addition to my normal clothing.  Mats were a women’s Xlite, R 3.9, plus a 1/8 inch thick foamy.  I consider myself to be an average to slightly cold sleeper.

 

IMO the wide quilt is a good choice.  Two of my quilts are regular width and they work fine with occasional use of the straps when pushing the temperature limits of the quilts.  With the wide quilt, the EE 30 already mentioned, I am completely happy leaving the straps at home.  There is less fiddle factor with the wider quilt.  That is for my 5’11” X 165-170 pound carcass :)

 

I use something roughly equivalent to the Hoodlum mentioned above and find it very good to the low 20’s F in-tent temperature; haven’t tried it below that temp.  It becomes grimy in a hurry and can be machine washed unlike the down-filled hoods.

[Matthew Stenger]

Those pictures are gorgeous. Especially the last one.

[James Marco]

Yeah, another vote for the Revelation. As was said, the wide lets you do away with the straps and the long lets you put stuff (water, canister, phone, etc, steripen) at your feet to prevent freezing at 20f. It isn’t warm enough for a winter quilt and really is too warm for summer use. But for most of spring and fall it works fine.

A good pad is pretty much required with any quilt. Things like the short, torso pads do not work as well, but can be made to work with the zipper/cord on the foot box, again, mostly for summer, late spring/early fall use. Adding a thinlite pad over the NeoAir can help near the limit of this quilt. Especially with the neoairs and other air pads, it can bleed heat if the pad is not totally covered and the Revelation is not really designed to be used over the edges to prevent this. Actually, Tim says not to do this because the fabric shell can be damaged. For the 2-4oz, it is usually worth carrying at around 32F.

[John Rowan]

EE delivers a high-quality product for an excellent price, and I think that you’re not going to go wrong with them if you go quilt.

I have an Enigma 20* that I’ve used on and off for a few years that I think is on its way out in favor of a Zpacks bag I picked up (pending a few nights in the Zpacks), but that’s more an issue of me moving from quilts back to full-zip bags, not an indictment of EE.

My other thing with the Enigma is that I’ve never really felt like I could get my legs super warm in there. It was never a huge problem, but my theory is that the more squared-off footbox of the Enigma leaves my legs a fair amount of air to heat, and someone with my lousy circulation (thanks, caffeiene) might not be up to the task. I have a Golite Z30 that has similar specs as far as sizing, fill weight, etc. go, but more of a rounded/tapered shape at the end and it definitely felt warmer. If I was buying again, I’d probably go Revelation over Enigma just for the different footbox. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve felt like I needed or wanted a zipper.

[Kenneth Keating]

I have four of the EE quilts.  Two of the more recent ones are 20 degree Revelation and Enigma, long-wide versions.  The Enigma has a larger footbox area which I liked at first, but I definitely get much colder in the Enigma at the same temps as compared to the Revelation.  For coastal trips I take the Enigma due to the higher temps, and I use the Revelation for the High Sierrra’s.

I insert my Neoair Extherm inside the quilt with the sides of the quilt tucked under the pad.  The quilt has not shown any signs of wear because of this.

[Jim Colten]

EE delivers a high-quality product for an excellent price, and I think that you’re not going to go wrong with them if you go quilt.

+1 that.

One comment though … if that is Gordon in his photos then I can’t imagine him needing a wide.  I toss and turn and am considerably wider than the chap in the pics and am not at all nervous in a regular width  2015 version  20 degree Rev.   I did opt for overstuffed wide in a 2013 0 degree Rev though.

AFAIK EE stopped offering the overstuff option when they stopped using karo baffles.  Folks wanting overstuff could just order a model 10 degrees lower … the weight and cost penalty is very little more than it was for overstuffing

[Gordon Gray]

Thank everyone!  Really good info here.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Thanks everyone!  Really good info here.

 

[Bob Moulder]

if that is Gordon in his photos then I can’t imagine him needing a wide.  I toss and turn and am considerably wider than the chap in the pics and am not at all nervous in a regular width  2015 version  20 degree Rev. 

Jim, my only observation there is that an ‘average’ size person might want to get the wide (and possibly long) version if he intends to integrate a down parka and down pants into his sleep system to extend its lower temperature range. The additional width accommodates the volume of the extra puffies without overly compressing them, obviously.

I got my Enigma 20 with precisely this in mind. Using this strategy I have remained comfortable down to -5°F with the Enigma. I did a bunch of field testing and tweaking of this sleep system—with equal attention paid to my air mat/CCF combo—before I felt confident going someplace very cold and very far away from a safe trailhead.

[Gordon Gray]

It is me in the pics.  I am 6’1″ 200 lbs.  I like to spread out when sleeping.  My arms are not always on the pad.

Quilt ordered today.  Hate waiting during the creation time but I won’t need it till mid spring.  :)

 

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