Seeing the notice for Jardine closing his shop I thought it might be time for me to check out his gear before I dont get a chance.

A few questions'

Is this stuff for real? It almost seems to good to be true

How hard is it to make?

If I use his blanket system can I use a bivy sack or will I have to purchase his tarp kit?

Thanks in advance

oh oh oh - a question I can answer! :)

I haven't purchased any of his kits - but I just finished reading his book.

The quilt system replaces your sleeping bag and can be used independantly -you don't need to use his tarp which would be your shelter (ie replaces your tent).

Lots of people use quilts with bivys. Lots of people use really small tarps with quilts and bivys, actually.

The hardest part of making hiking gear is figuring out that you can do it if you try. Well, that and putting up with the jokes about being a guy who sews! (j/k) The gear might not look all snazzy with popular labels on it, but making gear like tarps and quilts is pretty simple.

And you feel more self-sufficient hiking with stuff you've made on your own - it's a whole different aspect of hiking that I didn't really consider until after completing my first hike using some of my own gear. It's a pride thing, I guess...not proud of a piece of gear, but proud of a new ability. Sounds cheesy, huh? Hard to describe.

But yes, it's for real, and Jardine isn't the only source for materials and kits.

I have made a down quilt (www.thru-hiker.com), and a 2# 3+ person tarptent (my design) and a couple of stuff sacks. If you take your time they are all rather easy to make.

I hope to make a P-1 like pack this winter.

It can save you money (ex the down quilt kit cost me $140, but the same quit from Nunatak would have cost me $362), but most of all I get to make items with the features I want. And more importantly, the features I don't want.

I've made a quilt from one of his kits, and it was the first major sewing I had ever done. I had no problems making the quilt. The instructions were clear and the materials were exactly as described on the site. I later purchased a second kit and used the materials to make a hammock underquilt. Both turned out very well.

I really like the idea of the quilt but I was wondering about the performance.


Currently I carry a marmot pounder in the summer and a marmot pounder plus in fall and spring. I am alergic to down and have to stick with synthetic.

Marmot Pounder is rated at 40 deg and weighs 16oz. The rating seemed a little hard to believe once I saw the bag (it is really thin) but I used it in a hammock when the outside temp was 45 and never had a problem.

Marmot Pounder Plus is rated at 25 degrees and weighs 2lbs 2 ozs. I have not had a chance to try this yet but it is considerably thicker then the pounder and I have no reason to think it won't be confortable at 25 to 30 deg.

Both bags have a full zip and I end up using them much like a quilt, with all but the bottom unzipped.

His website said that a single person standard quilt was rated at 40 deg. and weighed about 1 lb 5 ozs. Is this really conservative?