quilt query.
 

quick question, i just recieved my new down quilt from enlightement equitment looks a nice well made quilt ,but seen as i'm first time quilt user it comes with 3 straps 2 long 1 short what are these for can someone tell me please. :o

The straps attach from side to side on the bottom of the Quilt to be cinched as tight as you need to retain body heat in colder weather or not used at all in warm weather so you do not overheat. It takes some practice to set the cinching level while inside the quilt.
I have been using a quilt for over ten years and would never go back to a sleeping bag unless I was doing winter camping below zero F.

What are the advantages?

ah cheers i went back to the website and found out exactly what they were for,:thumb:

1. Since the quilt is used in combination with a sleeping pad, there's no "wasted" weight from having sleeping bag insulation compressed underneath your body. Less compression in your insulation means more warm air can collect, so quilts basically eliminate the compressed stuff and replace it with a sleeping pad. A sleeping bag has both, but weighs more.

Many people also find quilts more comfortable since they restrict movement a bit less. I personally find them a bit finnicky to keep tightly sealed for warmth, but I am very skinny.

My list of advantages include: Reduced weight; a smaller compressed/stuffed size; a more flexible and extended temperature range from completely open to tightly cinched; Much less confining than a mummy sleeping bag. Does requires an additional hat or balaclava in place of the hood of a sleeping bag for cooler temperatures. All in all a positive experience over the last decade of use for me.

If you got an Enlightened quilt, it should come with four straps, of which you can use either set, or none at all.

The longer, non-stretchy strap can be used to secure your quilt to the sleeping pad, while the shorter, stretchy one just fastens it around you, hopefully stopping drafts.

I've never found the need to use them, but I did intentionally get a wide quilt, even though I'm not to wide of a person, which gives me more than enough stuff to wrap around me.

have only used sleeping bags, so I am curious-re weight, wouldnt the only difference be the zipper weight? I agree that mummy bags can be constraining, but I see how opening or closing a zipper more or less is less convenient than various opening options of a quilt? Dont you find that your feet tend to stick out from moving out when asleep, or arms or whatever?
Ive never seen anyone use a quilt in my years camping, so while I know how they work at home in a bed, I do wonder about the stated advantages. I do see the disadvantage of waking up cold if your leg or whatever sticks out, or if in turning, you end up not wrapped up--more for cold nights I mean.

I want to get a down quilt. I have a down sleeping bag, but I use it as a quilt now anyway. I either use it as a mattress (with my sarong as a top sheet), or I sort of loosely wrap it around myself if the temperatures get a touch cooler ... pretty much what I would do with a quilt.

I like my down sleeping bag, but that zipper is a bit uncomfortable ... and I don't like being contained by my sleeping bag.

Do you use a quilt, doona or duvet at home?

We do, a queen double, of course, but the real beauty of a Q/D/D for me is that I can throw it off to cool down, or "roll up" with it if I am cold. My legs act as very good heat moderators. I do the same with the duvet at home and have been doing this more and more with my down sleeping bags. I also spread my leg and arms a lot more, and I also find bags confining and eventually annoying.

As to weight, I am not sure because I haven't got anything to compare, and much will depend on the down content and area that the quilt covers.

i checked out you tube last night some good reviews on there by experience backpackers on that quilt.
myself i'm a fairweather cycle tourer :p so it will be quiet a while before i get to test it out. the guy Tim is a gent very east to deal with and his work is top notch so chech out his website for deals i seriously don't think you will be disappointed.
the reason i went for a quilt i used my alpkit mummy style bag as a quilt anyway i did like been hemmed into the bag and i get up severl times a night ,very restless sleeper in a tent.

I used a quilt for a few years, but went back to a sleeping bag because when the night got cold there would always be little draughts. I also move around and rolling from my back to my side always messed up the straps. Even with a hat the neck and shoulder area could get cold and I found that the quilt did not support my arms and I'd end up with them off the sleeping pad and on the floor of the tent.

I changed over to a Montbell UL Superspiral down hugger. It keeps me far warmer than my Jacks R better Hudson River quilt and in't confining at all because it stretches as I move around.

Rowan, I agree about how a bag can feel confining, depends on the size of bag, cut and size of person too. The compact sleeping bag I use is a bit too constricting and I would definitely get a wider cut next time. Nun's comments pretty much sums up my concerns about a quilt, especially that my campmat is fairly narrow, re arms legs on tent floor and waking up cold. As you say, I tend also to use a bag unzipped if its warm enough.

In the end, one just wants a good nights sleep, so whatever works is the main thing, as getting a good nights sleep is important for the next day and really important if sleeping in a tent day after day and riding each day.

Though I think all of us have probably used a sleeping bag as a quilt, the "inventor" ray jardine, is pretty hard core about how he sets up his sleeping. For him, all his clothes are part of the system. While i would guess most of us have at least some exposed skin. But drafts aren't going to bother ray, because he has his various draft stops, and he may be wearing clothes to boot.

Your feet don't come out because he has a foot pocket in the bottom like an unzipped bag.

Weight savings are a really subjective thing. If you take a really mesomorphic guy in a bag, there comes a point where he is using the bag as a quilt cause he can't zip it up. That guy's quilt will be the same size as a bag. But someone with oceans of room in a bag will be able to trim down a quilt. That is one of the real advantages, quilts are dead easy to make. You can make them with no sewing. They are cheap and virtually disposable. As a result they can be customised to your precise needs.

I've made two quilts; one down-filled and one synthetic. Both took a considerable amount of sewing. In fact, I cut corners when sewing the down-filled quilt and ended up with feather bleed issues, because of it. How do you make a quilt without sewing? :)

The original quilt if that is what it is, by Jardine (as opposed to centuries of quilt making), is made with poly insulation. I think that is part of his system in a way that down could not be. If I was using down, I would sew it also. And even making a Jardine quilt with poly is a sewing project. But they are also disposable in the sense that the poly batting that is the same that is used in any poly sleeping bag, is cheap, and looses it's effectiveness. So you might prefer not to put it together with too much work. The bag is as simple as two layers of rip stop, sandwiching the batting. The sewing is basically just a perimeter hem that bonds in the batting. There are a number of ways of doing this with tape, and interfacing. The actual quilting is just a couple of stitches with a loop height the same as the target loft height, or a little lower. I have also used a tagging gun.

Sails can be assembled with this tape, you want the sticky stuff:

http://duckworksbbs.com/sailmaking/tape.htm

I have to say, I made a quilt around 79 using polarguard, and while the loft height is not all that great any more, it is still really warm, and I use it all winter long on my bed It was sewn around the edges, and I quilted it by sewing it right through. Not as efficient as current designs, but all this stuff about the poly failing, while true, relates to the optimal loft height.

Recent innovations in synthetic insulation simplifies quilt making. Climashield Apex is available in layers that do not need any additional sewing to stabilize it. The only sewing needed is around the perimeter. The end result with newer light weight nylon is an easily compressible, warm quilt suitable for damp conditions. I bought one from Mountain Laurel Designs two years ago for sea kayak touring but have found it just as useful for bikepacking. My original down Nunatak Arc Alpinist quilt is a bit lighter, warmer and more compact as you would expect. The MLD Spirit Apex quilt is narrowing the gap.

Thru Hiker has the materials for such a quilt.

Clothes are part of the sleep system with a bag too. You can take a lighter bag if you plan to sleep in clothes inside your bag on cold nights.

Quilts are simple to make and can be inexpensive, but I've found that for a comfortable night's sleep the full wrap of a bag is far better than the
annoying cold spots you often get when you move around under a quilt, But I hate being confined in a mummy bag so the stretchness of the Montbell bags is a great solution. I can spread my legs apart or bend my knees and the bag stretches with me. 22oz is heavier than my quilt, but a few oz is worth it in this situation.

http://www.montbell.us/products/disp...7&p_id=2321139

Drafts can be a valid complaint about quilts. I think that the problem often stems from choosing too narrow a quilt to allow effective tuck in for movement inside the quilt without drafts.

Nun: I actually also use a Montbell Thermal Sheet as my very warm weather summer quilt or travel quilt with the hoodless bag unzipped to the point of making a foot pocket at the bottom. Works quite well above 40F, weighs 12 oz and packs very small. Fine quality as well as you know.

Looks like they were thinking Hammock , the under-quilt to keep the heat loss through the hammock bottom Minimal.