….and I miss it!
For starters I’ve continually redefined what I want/need/want in a piece of gear. In general I’ve chosen to simplify things. One issue though is that it is hard to determine if you like something until you own it. Something that could seemingly be a holy grail can end up being not ideal or even terrible. Not necessarily a bad product, but bad for you/your needs.
One example of this is the Katabatic Gear Flex 15F Long. I like quilts a lot, but this one is really great at letting cold air in when you move…at all. I purchased a long and regular width. I’m pretty narrow, with narrow shoulders and I only weight about 165lbs which is 7845micrograms I think. I’m incredibly snug in this when I fully batten down the hatches for cold weather, and then I move and it’s like a screen door on a submarine. This quilt is SUPER well made though and feels great, functions really well in terms of the zip, snaps, the way the footbox closes etc. So I ended up selling it.
I also hate fumbling and setting up the straps. Sure you can leave them on a pad, but then you have dangling things which annoy me and I don’t think they work that great if there’s a huge hole in the back of the bag. For a quilt to work in my opinion for my purposes (I am a cold sleeper by the way) it has to meet the following items:
The bag should wrap almost all the way around
If it’s a tall it should automatically be a wide
Footbox has to have an effective closure (otherwise you have to do something stupid like stick a sock in the hole)
Untreated down of 850 fill or better
Drawstring for the neck not right on the seam of the bag but a few inches back
Fun colors or patterns…why is everything fucking blue, green or black?
I don’t want to have to move the down around on my own…I just want it designed to function as an XX degree bag in a certain orientation and that’s that
I ended up with the Feathered Friends Flicker YF wide/long 20F sleeping bag in what I thought was purple but is really just blue. It’s great, it’s easy, no straps, warm enough. My critiques are thus:
It is warmest with the zipper in the middle/top of you. I think it would be better if the zipper was on a side like a traditional sleeping bag. This is designed to give you more flexibility. When it is cold though, you let way more heat out getting into and out of the bag to go pee. A piss jug can solve this problem a little but not all the way.
It is 2 lbs in the large/wide which I need which is perfect sizing however a quilt and even some sleeping bags weigh less…I don’t understand. I’m guessing the zipper and the non UL (YF) material are the culprit because it does have 900+ Muscovy down fill. So unfortunately, I’m like well, should I get a 30F quilt that’s like 20 oz? I was hoping this was going to be a one and done thing…I also have a 6F bag and very lightweight summer quilt.
It does feel amazing and sumptuous and luxurious. Hard to put my finger on it but it packs so small for its size, then fluffs up pretty huge and all the little tiny features just add up to working very well. Like the drawcord for the neck is about 6 inches behind the seam. So it gently floats closed instead of providing a gentle strangulation. Also the footbox closes really well. No air gaps or cold spots. Not as good as a permanently closed one but not far off either IMHO.
I am so glad to be rid of stupid straps and having to remain absolutely still when it is cold so that I don’t let cold air in. Around 30F is, for me probably the bottom of the temperature range in a tent Maybe 26F would provide a cold night. Keep in mind I pretty much always use an Xtherm unless its mid summer conditions.
If I were to start again I would get the following:
Polar tech Alpha liner / summer bag
30F Neve Gear quilt with sewn footbox
This is the toughy…something about 10-20F rated…maybe just get the UL flicker 20F…or go crazy for something like the zpacks full wraparound zip mummy bag
0F mummy bag that I could combine with alpha liner or 30F quilt for even colder conditions
Ok, now that that’s off my chest I can go back to living now.
Cheers!
