Open vs Closed Foot Box Quilt?

I use a Katabatic Flex here in Colorado. I never open the footbox because it’s generally 40 or below overnight at altitude. Bear in mind the Katabatic footbox has a snap so you can still have it closed but a little vented. I’ve accidentally used it that way once or twice and did notice the difference.

I’ve learned that I have no use for an open footbox in the Colorado Rocky Mountains at any time of year. Your use case may vary.

No one can help you much with this, because people’s sleep preferences are so varied and personal.

I use the same bag though a very wide range of temperatures – never worried me.

Others seem to struggle unless the bag is closely matched to the conditions.

The problem is – experimentation is expensive, as you’ve discovered. Maybe you can borrow or buy used until you are clearer about what suits your particular body and your local conditions?

I prefer a closed footbox for simplicity. If my feet are too warm I pull them out of the quilt. It works fine for me. YMMV.

Open footbox is a completely worthless “feature”.

My feet are the first to get cold. My chest is the first to get hot.

“Venting” the footbox just means cold feet and an uncomfortably warm chest. The worst of both worlds!

Maybe it works for some,  but in hundreds of nights camping I’ve never “vented” to control comfort successfully once.

Go for the closed footbox Katabatic 100%

I usually start with my feet out. I may wear some insulated pants all depending. If I have a closed footbox, I can find it in the early morning when it gets cold, otherwise I’m struggling to keep my feet covered. I have a 20* Revelation. I leave it zipped except the few times that I’ve used it in a motel. I have a 10* and a 20* quilt. Warm pants and jacket.  That covers about everything. I don’t like using 2 quilts. I always end up in a gap in the middle.

Katabatic Flex 22 and 30 owner here, no regrets.  Nothing worse that being too hot when under down.  In the summer the lower elevations of the Sierras will get down to maybe 50 at night, and the upper elevations will be down past freezing.  One bag to rule them all..

For further temp mitigation, down can be moved off you with horizontal baffles, while vertical baffles will not work very well to do this.

I just leave my feet and legs in the closed foot box quilt even when it’s warm at night.

There’s not much surface area in feet and legs so they don’t produce a lot of heat.  As long as I can remove the quilt from my torso, arms, head then I’m cool enough.

I like the simplicity of a closed foot box and find it really easy to pull my feet out if I want to.

I like the flexibility of a zippered footbox; and yet, in all my years of using quilts, I don’t think I have ever used either of my quilts with the footbox opened.  Now I’m questioning my whole philosophy of life….

Yep. That’s my story arc. I had a quilt with a velcro footbox and it was a pain to open/close. One night my feet were warm so I just pulled them out and keep my them under the quilt and it worked great. I eventually replaced that quilt with a sewn footbox and have been happy since.

I have one of each, closed(Enigma) and open(Revelation.) For solo hiking, I like the closed footbox on the Enigma. For hiking with my wife/kids, I like the Revelation.

The Revelation provides some measure of security in the back country. If one of us falls off a log bridge, endure 6 hours of heavy rain, flip the canoe, or encounter snowy/cold conditions, I can open it up and use it over both of us. Even if it is slightly heavier, it is worth it for the peace of mind (two wet sleeping quilts are better than one.)
The Enigma is slightly lighter. It is slightly warmer than the Revelation, but that could be the age difference (it is three years younger.)  I wash them after every trip (just rinsing them out with plain old water.)
Basically there is no difference between the two. For solo work, get the lighter one. With other people, get the open footbox for more versatility. In either case, get the long/wide.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I still haven’t made up my mind, but I’m leaning towards the 30° (closed foot box). After reading your feedback and thinking about it more, the problem I’m really trying to solve is I need something warmer then my 50° EE Revelation Apex at temps between 40–45°. Even layering up, I was still kind of cold at 45° with my 50° EE Revelation Apex.

I keep coming back to the idea that regardless of open or closed foot box, I’ll just be too warm in a 20° quilt at 45°. If I need to dip below 30° I can just layer the two, or look into a 10° if I see that I’ll be backpacking more often at sub 30° temps.

I only have one quilt: a 30 degree EE Revelation.   I have used it from sleeping on top of the snow to the mid 60s.  In warm temperatures, I unzip the footbox and moderate tempeatures by leaving limbs out.  works for me.  My 2 cents.