Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting quilts - your experience

I need a new sleeping bag. I'm 70 and don't sleep as warm as I used to. My feet are a problem. Wool socks don't work like they used to. I don't carry a heavy pack anymore. I use llamas so weight isn't much of an issue. Bulk is, though. Panniers fill up quickly.
For a pad, I use a 3" cold weather air mattress with a rating of R-3. If it gets colder, I have a 1" Thermarest self inflating pad that adds another R-3.

Warmth is my primary issue and I'm kind of intrigued by the quilts but I've never used one. The zipper on my old bag has been a perpetual snagger since it was new. I'm tired of fighting it to get up for the 3AM pee. I like the idea of not having one at all.
Do they tuck in easily to prevent butt crack drafts?
I've been looking at Enlightened Equipment's quilts. Their instructions aren't clear at all. Do you put the straps under you or wrap them around the pad? They say it attaches to the pad but how?

What's your experience?

I've used a fair amount of quilts.

First - I hate pad straps
Second - Drafts can happen , it is mostly a function of the type of sleeper you are and the sizing. Many size them too small and thus get drafty if they toss and turn

Of the available quilts, there are a lot of good options. I used the Western Mountaineering Astral Lite at 17 ounces. For me , it seems true to temp or very close to it (26 degrees) , and the fabrics leak very minimal feathers for being so light.

An air pad may reduce drafts a bit .

Yes, I'm with you I hate zipper snags on bags.

I just used an EE for an 8 night backpack hunt and have has it for 3-4 years or so. Mine is the 10 degree Revelation. Inflatable pad under. Nights were mid to upper 20's. I love the EE hoodlum too. You basically strap the quilt around your pad, climb in and tighten the drawstring at the top of the quilt to lock you in. Easy to roll from side to back relative to a bag. I wouldn't want to take my 10 degree bag to 10 degrees though....

With my hunting pants on and an upper base layer, and hoodlum, I was pleeeenty warm each and every night even after poor calories at dinner....

I'm on the margin between regular and long and between regular and wide. I'd definitely go long/wide.
I'm 95% side sleep, sometimes stomach. Never back. I have a touch of sleep apnea that prevents back sleeping. I'm fine on my side or belly.

EE's Enigma and Revelation quilts both come in 0 degree versions. They should be good down to 10 or 15. If it gets colder than that, my camp trailer looks pretty good. The Revelation has the advantage over the Enigma in that the foot opens up into a flat blanket. That would be useful in warmer weather.

Yes. The footbox is nice...

Negative- go Extra Long/Extra Wide. Every single person that I know that has went with the recommended sizing got drafts, got cold, and regretted it. Conversely every person who has went with as wide and long as possible has loved it. Also your pad will be the weak point. Highly recommend you get an insulated pad with at least a 5 r-value. Exped, Thermorest, BA, all make insulated pads that roll up small.

I haven’t found a single bag that my feet doesn’t get cold in first. That’s an easy fix though- boil water and fill a Nalgene bottle up with it. Put it in the bottom of your bag wrapped in some clothes. Your feet won’t get cold.

We tested the EE Revelation quilts where I work for a year. 20 or so guys used 20, 10, and 0 degree quilts in regular, all the way to extra wide/extra long sizes, from 60 degree nights, to negative 9 degrees in snow. The dudes ranged from 5’5”ish 140 lbs, to 6’2”ish 240lbs. All greatly preferred a 0 degree quilt and as long and wide as they could get, in conjunction with a good pad.

I've been using EE quilt for few years now, like Form said extra long extra wide and will never go back to bag. I use blow up pad with middle straps run around the pad . I found there is a learning curve with the quilt but well worth it in my opinion. EE quilts are good stuff.

I am in the extra long extra wide camp, or at least one size up from what the chart says if your a smaller sized person. I sleep on my side and front and like the quilt to come up over my head and wide enough I can move around and not worry about drafts.

I like to move and even with the extra size the quilt is lighter than an equivalent sized bag would weigh and much more comfortable for me.

I have number of quilts, most homemade some synthetic, some down. now a EE enigma. I like the down best, but before I put down 3-4 hundred on a nice down quilt, I would try a synthetic on a trip or two so you know the sizing works for you. Its possible to make a synthetic quilt in 1-2 hours for well under a hundred bucks.

Just for experimenting, a standard twin sized blanket is 60x90". The quilt wide sizes I've seen are generally 55-58" wide +/- . EE Revelation is a little wider - 54" standard, 58" wide, and 64" extra wide. Their lengths are 78" standard, 84" long, and 90" extra long.
So, an X long, X wide Revelation is about the same as a twin sized blanket. You can lay on the floor and see how it drapes around you. Of course the loft of a quilt will likely make the effective width a bit less.

You can get a twin sized comforter on Amazon for under $30. It might be a tad wide but that can be trimmed off if you want to experiment.
If you're good with a sewing machine, Amazon has 750 fill goose down for $26 for 1/2 lb. An X-long, X-wide Revelation has 26 oz of 850 fill down. $52 for 1 lb of Amazon's down will give you a 0 degree quilt. Of course, quilting with down isn't as easy as it sounds.

there is a learning curve with quilts, they aren’t for everyone

as the temps drop, I go back to bags (roughly teens or below), the few ounces extra outweigh drafts at that those temps

definitely size up, especially width- this will significantly reduce drafts

if you are set on a cold weather quilt, I’d argue going with a closed foot box (Enigma)- again draft concerns; higher temps a open foot box has real advantages

also consider in the equation with a cold weather quilt, the weight of a hood- not needed in moderate temps- a good warm hat/balaclava that you already have will work, temps approaching teens- you’ll want a dedicated hood

I never was successful with quilts backpacking and I've given up on them. The only quilt-like setup I use now is a Thermarest Alpine down blanket which has elastic around the edges to pull it tight around a neoair pad. Instead, I use that for pulling it in tight around me but I use it on top of a Cabela's cot pad. It makes for a pretty good night's sleep when truck camping.

Tom

I've read that the open foot type typically have a small hole at the drawstring. They say to stick something in it before drawing it tight. Something like a bulky extra sock or a coat sleeve. That will plug the hole.

Have you tried just leaving your bag unzipped and see how it works for you?

You might look at Katabatic Gear quilts over EE.

I’ve been using a quilt I made from a Ray jardine kit for about 15 years and it works well, despite the duct tape. I also use a hill people gear mountain serape as an over/under bag depending on temp and it works for me. Xtherm pad. Any bag is a quilt with a foot box. Like others have said, go wider than you think.

+1

I’ve got the 15 degree wide and it’s just the right size and uber warm and sub 2 lbs. it has a better designed open foot box than EE, with the built in draft tube you don’t need to stuff anything in the hole to prevent drafts.

My bag is literally 40 years old. It still lofts pretty good but I think the down is falling apart. It just doesn't hold the heat any more. My body is also 40 years older and it doesn't hold the heat as well either.

I have used an EE Enigma for about 45 nights over the past two seasons and I can't imagine returning to a traditional bag when temps are above zero. I do some winter camping (down to 20 below) and have a -40 bag that is huge for such special purposes. Otherwise, the EE has proven ideal for me. Admittedly I toss and turn in my sleep, but I've never slept more comfortably in the outdoors than I have since making the switch to the quilt. I used both a Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XTherm and Klymit Insulated Static, but much prefer the comfort and warmth of the NeoAir.

It's highly unlikely that I'll ever be camping below 10F, maybe not that cold. I'm looking at 0F bags/quilts that should cover all bases. I'll be winter camping with some scouts but we'll be car camping so I can take an extra bag for a cover if need be.

I'd be going EE Revelation XL/XW/0 degree, and an XTherm Large mat.

I have the XL/XW/10 degree, and the extra warmth is worth an extra ounce or two. The beauty with quilts is that you can always push them off or kick your feet out if it's too hot, so there's no such thing as a backpacking quit that's too warm. IME, at least.

A few years back, went from bags to quilts. Wanted a wider quilt, they were a little tough to find, so called Underground Quilts, and they built a couple custom quilts for me. Both at 64" wide, a 30° for myself, a 20° for my wife, with her,s being a little shorter. So far, haven't felt any desire to go back to bags.. These days, pretty easy to find 65" wide quilts. I would suggest going wide, and long. EE makes a down hood, and down booties, cure the cold feet, if neccessary.
Take a look at the Underground Quilts Bandit XL. If I remember correctly, sewn foot box, one less draft, whatever fill weight or color combo you might want.. Having run them for a couple years, would just go straight to the sewn up foot box. At the time I got them, figured I would pop them open, use them like a flat quilt every once in awhile. Haven't bother to do that yet, if it's a bit hot, just kick one leg out.

I have the Bandit XL at the top of my list. They have wider widths than most of the others and are a bit cheaper for the same thing. As I said in my OP, I pack with llamas so a few extra oz isn't any object. Bulk is more important than weight and quilts can squeeze down nicely.
From what I've read, the trick to stopping drafts with the zipper foot is to stick a folded over sock in the hole as you pull the strings tight.

EE quilt, Big Agnes air pad, on top of Thermorest Z Lite. I like it quite a bit. The Z Lite weighs next to nothing. I tie two loops of shock cord around it, then unfold it in half as a seat for my tired ass. Handy.

I'm too old and stiff for a hard pad on the ground, warm or not. I need some air under me.

I've been elk hunting this last week (no luck) and did just that. I used my old rectangular down bag and zipped it up to a bit under knee high. We were in a camp trailer but left the heat off most nights. It would get down to about 45. My bag started getting cold about there, which is why I started this thread. Using it as a quilt worked great. I like it very much compared to a zipped up bag. The bag is 60" wide but I think a 55" would still give me plenty of width. I'm a side sleeper but keep my legs pretty well stretched out. I had 1 side well tucked under me. A couple pad staps on 1 side would just be a bit more insurance.

I have an EE Revolution 20 and love it. Have used it down to 25 or so. Bought down booties and a down balaclava from some Chinese company on amazon and they make for a toasty combination. If I was doing it over I'd probably get the Enigma instead of the Revolution. If money is no object, the Katabatic quilts are supposed to be the best.

I switched to a hammock with a quilt and an underquilt, the underquilt fastens under the hammock with bungies so you get no compression of the down. I sleep as well in that setup as any bed. A cheap way to try quilts is a military poncho liner (moderate weather only). Fwiw most hammocks can be set up a tent if terrain prevents hanging.

Between my breathing and my back, I can't sleep in a hammock. No back sleeping at all.

Several hundred nights in my EE 0 degree quilt. Love it. Neo air and the insulated version as well if I am gonna sleep on snow. No regrets. I certainly will be buying another one. At like 22oz I do not miss my 3.5lb 0 degree bag at all. I find my feet are actually warmer in the treated down quilt than in my synthetic bags.

This may be the same for me. I have 3 hammocks to try out. We lost last summer to smoke from forest fires so I never got a chance to use them. ENO double (standard "banana" / back sleeping), Warbonnet Ridgerunner (bridge, should allow side sleeping), and Amok Draumr ... apparently a true lay-flat that works for stomach sleepers. I doubt I'll get a chance to try any of them before next summer .. hoping for no fires for a change.

Tom

Throw a wool blanket over your bag while sleeping, tuck it under at your feet.

I use a jrb bridge hammock, only sleep on my side and have years of prior back issues. I never want to go back to a tent,
pads all seem designed for the back sleepers and were always inadequate.

I sleep hot, but I love my EE Revelation 20*. It is a wide/regular, we had nighttime lows in the teens a couple nights and high 30s one night during 2nd rifle for extreme ends. I was fine every night with nothing on my head, and the warmer night I didn't even wear socks.

I think the straps work great if you use them correctly. I ordered an extra loop strap to replace the straight one up top, so I have two straps that go around the sleeping pad that connect to the quilt. I just cinched those up underneath me every time I got in, never felt a draft. I used a Nemo Tensor sleeping pad.

Question about UGQ and EE: I can't find anything on their websites about how they're sewn. Are they sewn through or do they have some kind of baffles to prevent cold spots on the seams?

Pretty sure every quality quilt has baffles. EE definitely does.

I recently discovered another benefit of my EE quilt although not ground breaking...grin. .

Scouting and truck camping so I could be mobile (cot in pickup bed with camper shell) I encountered some very cold temps and was cold in my truck bag (10 degree bag). Used the EE quilt as a bag liner and was very toasty the next night.

PS - the hoodlum continues to be awesome....