Less is less, don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. This is especially true when you’re carrying everything you need to live for a week on your back, which brings us to the backpacking quilt: It’s a sleeping bag, but less. In many cases, a backpacking quilt is all you need, and I’ve come to like them better than sleeping bags for all but the coldest of trips.
These quilts are not like the ones your grandmother gave you. Backpacking quilts are made of nylon and filled with down like a traditional sleeping bag, but they lie over you like a quilt, rather than wrapping you up the way a sleeping bag would. The benefit is twofold: A quilt is lighter, meaning less weight to carry in your pack, and in the right conditions, you just might sleep better too.
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Why Is a Quilt Better Than a Sleeping Bag?
I have a whole article devoted to answering this question, but the short version is that it’s just as warm, and weighs less. The science behind the first assertion is basic physics. When you lie down in a sleeping bag, the weight of your body forces most of the down fill off to the sides. The down left under you is so little and so compacted (by your lying on it) that you’re not getting any real insulation from it. Why, the logic goes, carry around weight you’re not using?
Quilts get rid of the bottom layer of a sleeping bag, and lie over you like the quilt on your bed at home. Quilts typically weigh less than sleeping bags and pack down smaller, making them very popular with backpackers trying to reduce weight and save space.
When Is a Sleeping Bag Better Than a Quilt?
When it’s really cold. The problem with quilts is drafts (they don’t wrap around you so they’re prone to letting in cold air) and their lack of hoods. Drafts aren’t a big deal in the summer when most of us backpack, which is why I like them more than sleeping bags most of the time. That said, when I head out skiing or snowshoeing in the depths of winter, I bring a subzero sleeping bag.
After years of testing, I’ve found just about any quilt fine for summer use. For shoulder-season trips where temps may dip below freezing, I still use a quilt, but I use a Zenbivy, which keeps out drafts better than other quilts thanks to the additional sheet and side baffles. Any time I think temps will dip below 20°F, I bring a sleeping bag.
If They’ve Less Material, Why Are Quilts More Expensive?
Quilts are sometimes—but not always—more expensive than a traditional lightweight sleeping bag. Why are we paying more for less? In most cases, the answer is down-fill power. Cheaper sleeping bags often use 650 down fill, whereas most quilts are in the 800 to 1,000 fill-power range, which makes them somewhat pricier. That said, there are some great lower-priced down quilts, like REI’s Magma Quilt (see below).
The Best Quilt for Ultralight Summer Trips
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Enlightened Equipment
Revelation Quilt (40°F)
For summer trips, when I want to go as light as possible, Enlightened Equipment’s Revelation Quilt is my top pick. I have the 40°F version, which weighs just 19 ounces. Unlike many manufacturers, Enlightened Equipment does not do a dual temp rating of comfort and lower/extreme limit. Instead it picks a number in between and recommends on its website that most people “use a quilt 10 degrees warmer than the lowest expected temperatures.” My experience with the Revelation suggests this recommendation is solid. I’ve found the Revelation keeps me warm down to around freezing, provided I am wearing a base layer. If it’s any colder than that, I’ll sleep in a puffy jacket as well, but in summer, even in the mountains, this is rarely going to be necessary.
The Revelation has the ability to lie completely flat on warmer nights, which is how I typically use it. The foot box has a 20-inch zipper and drawstring, which allow you to close it down to create a nice tight (read warm) space at your feet when you need it. There are also straps that form a loop and wrap around your sleeping pad to keep the Revelation in place. The straps are separate, which is nice because half the time I don’t use them, but it does make losing then something of a risk. They’re also a bit different from other systems I’ve tested in that they loop around your pad (rather than just under) and then you clip the Revelation to them. I don’t like sleeping on the strap, so I use these straps “wrong” and just put them under my pad, ignoring the loop feature, and it works great. On warmer nights I don’t bother with the straps at all—quilts are about flexibility after all.
The Revelation is available in an almost endless array of configurations, with temp ratings from 50°F down to 0°F. You can also get different lengths (short, regular, long) and different widths (wide, regular), and choose between 850-fill-power and 950-fill-power down. A draft collar is available on bags rated below 30°F. I tested the 40°F model with 850 fill power, which weighs 19 ounces and costs $370. It’s also worth noting that there is an option to build a completely custom, made-in-the-US Revelation using your exact dimensions and fill power and fabric color preferences.
The Best Sleep System for Shoulder Season Trips
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
When the temperature dips below freezing, I turn to Zenbivy’s various sleep systems. In my neck of the woods, freezing temps can extend into June and start up in early September so I spend a lot of time in Zenbivy quilts. I’ve tested every model the company makes and part of the beauty of the Zenbivy system is you can mix and match different quilts and sheets according to what works best for you. My favorite combo is the Light Quilt (convertible version, which opens flat), paired with the half sheet/hood from the Ultralight Bed. I prefer the 10°F version of both. This ends up the most versatile, lightweight combo for the temperatures I tend to encounter (using the half sheet saves me 6 ounces over the full). That said, if I were backpacking mostly in the mountainous West or in warmer climates, I’d go with the 25°F option.
