GoLite Ultra Quilt Review

OK, but what about full size guys? What would the fit be like?

How does it and its temperature rating compare to the Photon Designed Arch Alpinist and other already out there quilts?

I had been so eagerly awaiting the release of this bag, ever since Ryan talked about it at it's release at last years show. I own the Golite Feather-lite which Will positively reviewed here. Rated at 40 degrees , mine has a minimum of 2.75" of top loft- I know for sure cause I cut it down the bottom and made it into a quilt!
I was truly hoping Golite somehow got 5" of single layer loft into this new 19 oz. package. Alas, no go. And w/ no better or maybe less loft than my Feather-lite how can we see a 20 degree rating? When the first runs of the Feather came out I remember reading about consistency issues in the down thickness, etc. Like the feather, maybe in later production runs of this bag we'll begin to see those 4" of single layer loft numbers Ryan was speaking of. In the meantime .I'll keep my thicker Golite Feather-lite quilt.

Hi Kevin – I can't speak to other body sizes and types, so what I did was measure the quilt at several points and provide that information in the table up front in the review – hope that helps.

The temperature rating is "generous" – that is, I personally wouldn't use it alone in 20° weather, though I consider myself a warm sleeper. I'd say the loft varies from 2-3" throughout the quilt.

I just had it out in the snow again this past weekend and slept in sub-20° weather by using it in a bivy sack and wearing synthetic-insulated clothing. I was quite comfortable.

I would like that is stated where the reviewed product was made. (It matters to me).

I have this quilt and think it's excellent. I am a very real believer in down. I've successfully used it in WET conditions for years.

The foot box condensation issues are a very real concern, and it happens in EVERY down bag. Here's what I have done and consider a successful (for me) solution.

The problem (I think?) is that feet get sweaty, but they are not necessarily warm. They "pump-out" moisture vapor during the night, but there just isn't enough warmth to fully get the vapor all the way through the outside liner of the bag.

The torso of my body is nice and warm, and i suspect it'll "pump-out" more heat and less moisture than my clammy feet. So – the outside sleeping bag fabric around my torso stays significantly dryer.

– – – BUT – – –

What to do about my clammy feet?

I have found that wrapping my feet in something with puffy SYNTHETIC insulation works well. This is done inside the down foot-box of the sleeping bag (or quilt). This solves the problem.

I have used these items with great success:
=================================

* Integral Designs Hot Socks. (works okay)

* A puffy synthetic vest wrapped around my feet (works pretty good)

* An old synthetic light weight summer sleeping bag, with the foot box cut off and sewn with a draw cord. (works perfect)

[The list above is in descending order, from light to heavy]

What's actually happening?
=====================

Here's my best attempt at explaining:

Somehow, the properties of the synthetic disperse the water vapor within the acrylic insulation in a way that doesn't allow it to "pool" anywhere in the bag. Is the water vapor trapped in the synthetic puffy insulation? Maybe?

– – or – –

There is less of a temperature differential between my clammy feet and the cold night air with the extra insulation, so it creates less condensation. Maybe…

Thanks for the excellent review. I bought one back in the end of Feb and have enjoyed it. However, I haven't been able to use it in temperatures near it's rating, so I welcomed reading someone's experiences with it. It's too bad you didn't have a production version for most of your testing as I would have liked to see how the more consistant filling would have faired. But at least now, I have more confidence in taking this quilt to it's stated rating with the clothing I normally bring.

I use a LaFuma 30 degree 800 Fill Down bag, and I use a small poncho tarp, so recently I got a bivy sack (Equinox) to complement the bag in colder and wetter weather. For warmth and comfort, this combination is terrific (I move around a lot at night, and having my Gossamer Gear pads and bag held in place by being inside the bivy sack is great help).

However, when it drops below 40 F at night, I've noticed lots of condensation inside the bivy sack (both on top of the sleeping bag and on the underside of the top fabric of the bivy sack). I've experienced this in dry Eastern Oregon, wet Cascades, and also the southern Appalachians. So I dry the bag out during the day.

I have two questions:
1. How can I measure loss of loft in the field? In other words, not having a postal scale, I can't measure the weight of the water that now resides in my bag. And even then, how can I know what kind of effect this will have on my sleeping warmth?

2. Should I just expect to have condensation on my bag after a night below 40F, and learn to love it?

I've often wondered if it would be an advantage to have a WPB material around my breathing hole at night, and, I suppose, this review of the Golite bag answers that question! Thanks also to Mr. Clelland for his comments- I might try some of those socks.
Thanks,
Charley

"…footbox collapse over the course of a multiday trip . . . with every one of his down bags" – in the inital review.

Bill Fornshell – I believe you use Cuben VBL socks for warmth more than mositure control, but hope you might opine on this topic.

Has anyone else tried VBL socks to address this? It seems like moisture control is the key, and that a couple of bread bags would do the trick.

Is it more complicated than this?

Could guys who have this quilt please state the measured loft?

From the article –

"The quilt is lined with soft black nylon and filled with 800-fill power down in 6” baffled tubes with 2-3” of single-layer loft."

I just received a size long and agree with the review.

Its a good quilt for the money, 2-3" of loft depending on what baffle is measured, some baffles across the chest/stomach area are a little light on the down and I would rate it at 30deg.

I spent two nights in it with lows of 28 and 24 deg. It works for someone that wants to integrate their clothing system into their sleeping system to get into the colder weather.

Don't expect western mountaineering or nunatak quality but you also aren't paying for it.

I really need something with more loft so most likely I will be selling it and getting a nunatak arc alpinist with some over fill.

Grzegorz-
You ask about the origin of the bag – the tag on mine states that it was made in China.

The loft appears pretty consistent throughout but wouldn't disagree that the chest area baffles might be a tad lighter than others. The accurate weight of my bag is 19.30 oz.

I will preface… I love this quilt! (See my review)

2-3" sounds like a copout, but it really does vary a bit. I don't think I'd say any of my baffles are 3" though. I'd say 2-2.5" would be a better estimate.

I almost always wear VBL on my feet in my down bag, unless it's a warm night, in which case I just hang my (bare) feet out of the bag. I would probably do this even if I used a synthetic system. That, and rolling/stuffing the bag the instant I get out of it to get out as much of the warm, moist air as possible before it cools and condenses…

I purchased an Ultra quilt in January & used it in February in mid 20 degree weather with gusty winds in excess of 50 mph in a tarptent. All was well until I rolled over on my side which resulted in a loop pulling out of the bag & thus inability to keep the bag attached to my torso length sleeping pad. If using the straps, be absolutely sure to not keep them too snug because the plastic loops that hold the straps to the bag will easily pull out along the hem line. Fortunately, I was able to have the bag repaired by a friend & plan to use the Ultra with a Montbell Breeze Dry-Tec bag cover in cold weather in the future. The Ultra truly is warm if you can keep it on top of you. I am 6'1 & weigh 215 lbs & the Ultra long has plenty of room for me.

I was suprised at my lack of ability to find size information on the golite site

I was even more suprised to see Golite states that the insulation is a mix of 800 and 600 fill. Does this make it an 800 fill bag? The manufacturer states the highest quality of down in the mix?

Thanks for the size information Jim

I think Golite was saying they use both 800 and 600 in their bags, not in this bag. I'm pretty sure it's straight 800 fill in the Ultra.

I've used this quilt quite a bit, in both the Med. size and Large. For bigger folks, the Large is the way to go, better coverage, less constrictive and less compression of down while sleeping. Switching up to the large was a whole new world of comfort for me.

I have this quilt, and a really like the fabric used on the rest of the shell and lining. Anyone know what it is, and if it can be purchased?

bought this last month and have used it consistently since then having had about 8 nights in total in it

I really love this quilt bag and at the moment I confess to using it as a quilt since the temperature is very reasonable although I used it the other night at 4Celcius with no problems.

only down side (no pun intended), I found that one of the straps came away from the stitching but this was easily fixed

I am looking forward to using this in the autumn and possibly trying it in a cold wet UK winter if I feel brave enough…. :->

well worth the money

How well does this quilt work with a full length sleeping pad? I'm thinking of pairing this up with a regular NeoAir. It seems that the quilt gets narrow near the feet so it wouldn't wrap around the pad near the feet area. Is this is a problem?

Dan – here's a visual of the Golite Ultra quilt on top of a GG thinlight (1/8") on top of a Neoair from a trip this weekend. They're all separate layers, and everything stayed put just fine all night. Both the Ultra and the Neoair are the short versions. What can I say? I'm only 5'3".

I did eventually put the quilt into a MB bivy, because I'm such a thrasher that I was getting cold from the sides. Another thing I could have done was berm up the sides of the Gatewood with snow so the breeze couldn't get in along the bottom edges. By the way, that Neoair is one comfy invention!

Another setup I tried at home but didn't use was slipping the quilt straps over the 2 pads and just leaving the bottom half of the quilt loose on top of them. That's all you can really do, anyway, because as you say, they don't fit inside the quilt. This also works well.

it should work fine with a full length neoair. In colder weather I seal the base of the quilt by putting the opening of the foot box on top of the neoair small and tighten the strap around the neoair. So I'm sure you'd be able to do the same and the foot section of the neoair will be on the outside under the quilt.

Thanks guys….that makes sense. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.