im thinking of getting a quilt kit as they seem pretty light and well designed/made am i right in thinking ill need the alpine upgrade as im starting my thru hike second week of march 09
2) it says that on a long hike it will get compressed too much and ill need to buy 2 of them anyone used this quilt an can confirm? im thinking maybe as it gets more compressed the weather will get better so it wont be a problem that and drying it in towns to refluff it will help any exsperience sugestions ect ???

I made a similar quilt and have been seriously disappointed in it's performance. I recommend you consider making a Hungry Howie down quilt (http://www.backpacking.net/makegear/make-down-quilt/index.html) instead. Speer Hammock sells excellent quality down (bottom of page) (http://www.speerhammocks.com/Products/Supplies.htm) and the material for the outside and baffles can be had from Speer or numerous suppliers.

what was wrong with it ?

Definitely go with the alpine. Mine worked great, still use it every night (2nd year (including many, many trail nights).

-Duffy

has it held up to constant compressing without losing too much loft?

Mine lost a lot of loft and is no where nearly as warm as it was 25 uses ago. I use it in the house now and it is barely adequate for 60F. It also takes up way too much space in a pack.

my ray jardine style quilts are great. I've used them for over 8000 miles.

My only addition were thin fleece "wings" that helped me tuck it in beneath me and gave a soft feel. I showed it to Ray and he said he had tried that but he found it unnecessary.

I recommend buying a kit and trying it out. His instructions are very very well done and the materials are always tops with this products.

im really in the middle on this so much about it seems good warmth, weight, COST anyone else out there have any exsperience. my biggist worry is the whole lose of loft problem

my ray jardine style quilts are great. I've used them for over 8000 miles.

My only addition were thin fleece "wings" that helped me tuck it in beneath me and gave a soft feel.

Wookie,

Any way I could talk you into some pictures of this modification? :D

A jardine quilt with the alpine upgrade is a bit bulky. If I were putting a hiking kit together from scratch and trying to save $$ I'd go with the Jardine quilt (alpine), make my own clothing from Thruhiker kits, and buy or make a Gearskin (Moonbow). The gearskin helps eliminate the bulk factor. My Alpine quilt keeps me warm in my hammock right down to Jardine's 28F rating. Jardine uses climashield, just like everyone else, so I don't see why his kit would lose loft any faster than any other synthetic gear you'd buy. Jardine recieves his insulation uncompressed and ships it to you that way, it is never stuffed until you stuff it.

I havent noticed any loss of loft. I'm very picky about where my quilt goes in my pack, never on the bottom or under anything heavy. I put it's stuff bag in the pack first, then gently stuff the quilt in, as Ray recommends. My quilt takes up the unused space in my pack (ULA Catalyst), and doesnt seem bulky to me. I have never used down, tho. Also, I always store it hung up, not packed, when not on the trail.

You need to be careful with synthetics, and they will last a full thru-hike
you can't machine wash or dry them, and you can't compress them or stuff them into an undersized pack.



I started mid-march with the alpine upgrade. I was cold some nights, but no colder than people who had 20 degree down bags from second rate manufacturers (bags that go for under 250-300 dollars). I now prefer down, but synthetic does have its benefits (most notably cost).

The main downside to going with the alpine upgrade is that once things warm up you'll roast in your quilt

i have a pretty big pack so im guessing as long as i dont STUFF it in and am gentil with it it should last without lose of loft problems (thats my thinking any way) i wont need it the whole way as scottp says then i can get my wife to send me something different

If you are careful not to compress a synthetic quilt, it will likely be OK. I carry a smaller pack and found the bulkiness of the quilt to be a real pain.

When we say big pack and smaller pack, what sizes are we talking here? 4400 cubic inches would be on the big side though not huge, am I correct?

4400 is considered huge for thru-hiking by today's standards. For non-thru hikers it's probably only average or above average sized.

I made one w/ alpine upgrade. I like it , but don't have any experience with any other light weight bag or quilt, so I can not give any comparison. I have slept in temps in the teens. My head got cold, but I have since made a balaclava. When it gets real cold, I need dry clothes, socks, and hat to keep me warm at night.
I also use a ray-way pack. I always pack my quilt last. I let it loft as much as needed to fill up the extension collar. Because the extension collar has no support, I have found that the quilt rides there better than anything else. Other heavier things make the extension collar sag. That way I never have to compress my quilt more than necessary.