Insulation question

[Big Dawg]

. There are many reports of users of down under quilts with 1.5 inches of loft experiencing warm comfort at 25-30 degrees and uninterrupted nights of sleep. .. These are results beyond traditional expectations of 1.5 inches of loft…I submit it is because of the effectiveness enhancement of the effects of gravity on Under Quilts.


Pan

Pan,,, my recent post on this thread stated that I assmued your comments about an Under Quilt would apply to synthetic as well,,,, but i may be totally off base. Do you know if synthetic would give me better insulation as an underquilt,,,, a +40 quilt keeping me warm down to 25-30 degrees? A 40 degree quilt would not be enough for me, considering most of my camping is in fall/winter/spring.

[Smee]

Pan,,, my recent post on this thread stated that I assmued your comments about an Under Quilt would apply to synthetic as well,,,, but i may be totally off base. Do you know if synthetic would give me better insulation as an underquilt,,,, a +40 quilt keeping me warm down to 25-30 degrees? A 40 degree quilt would not be enough for me, considering most of my camping is in fall/winter/spring.

It's all about the thickness of the under quilt. An inch and a half thick synthetic quilt will perform about the same as an inch and a half down quilt. We think our JRB quilts are good to about 40 degrees for the average owner. We have had reports of customers using them comfortably into the 20s. We don't know what they were wearing or if they augmented the under quilts somehow. All of our quilts have an overstuff. So while they are baffled to 1.5 inches, they actually loft a little higher. They have been measured up to 2-2.5 inches. Using Youngblood's formula, a 1.5 inch thick quilt should work to about 40 degrees. A 2 inch quilt should work to about 30 degrees. Sleep in fleece long johns and maybe you can stretch those numbers a little. The biggest issue is that it really depends on the individual. And the only way to truly know you'll be comfortable is to put together a system based on the best information you can get, and try it. If it works, great. If not, modify it and try again.