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What do you suggest is a good quilt temp rating for summer on the AT? I am trying to decide between a 40 and 50 degree quilt for the warmer months. I've never really had a summer quilt so trying to figure out which would be more appropriate.
Personally, I own 2 quilts and I found the best overall ratings to have for 3 season backpacking are a 20F and a 40F one. That said, if you want to limit yourself to just the AT corridor, then for the hottest part of summer the 50F is best. 40F would be better if you are going to push the time frame a little wider.
Slo-go'en
03-28-2017, 00:26
I'd go with the 40, it still can get really chilly early in the morning in the middle of summer. Would rather have a little too much, then not quite enough. Can't be a whole lot of difference in weight and cost. And since these things tend to loose feathers and loft over time, you'd get more life out of a 40 then a 50.
bigcranky
03-28-2017, 06:54
I got a Jacks R Better 40F quilt for summer use and it's been great, but when the temps drop below 50 it does get chilly. I used on a Long Trail E2E, and for several years in the South. I don't think I'd have been comfortable with any less insulation.
Hikingjim
03-28-2017, 08:08
Getting the 40 will allow you to bring it on more trips. And the hot days, it will be a lot nicer than having the 20
50s typically only have about 5 or 6 oz of down, and the shell is the other half of the weight. It quickly requires you to bring more clothing if temperatures are going to dip at all, making the 3 oz you saved on that quilt inefficient
4eyedbuzzard
03-28-2017, 08:37
If you'll be in VT, NH or ME or even in the higher elevations of GSMNP through into southern VA get the 40 - you'll need it even in July. Perhaps with the exception of GA and the mid-Atlantic states, it can get in the 40's almost anywhere on the AT on a clear night even during the middle of summer due to cold fronts passing through and radiational cooling effects. Yes, average low temps will usually only be 50 to 60 in many places - but on those clear cold nights you'll definitely want more insulation than a 50.
Just Bill
03-28-2017, 09:41
What do you suggest is a good quilt temp rating for summer on the AT? I am trying to decide between a 40 and 50 degree quilt for the warmer months. I've never really had a summer quilt so trying to figure out which would be more appropriate.
If you're talking down... I agree with the others: 40*
A 50* down bag has almost so little fill as to be useless. And depending on what "summer" means to you... yes you could be dying from VA to PA just sleeping on your pad in May/June or you could be wishing for a three season bag in the whites in July/Aug. While treated down has improved the issue... several days out in the high eastern humidity of summer months could leave your bag pretty listless by day three out of town. So your 40 will likely be a 50 after a few nights just from sucking up humidity from the ambient air. Things get quite saucy in the Shennies to Vermont once you're under the canopy and the humidity sets in.
It's really too bad that somebody doesn't come up with a 45* bag...
Maybe in a premium synthetic so you don't have to deal with the moisture issues...
Something that still packs pretty small but could still be cut big enough to be layered over your three season bag...
Almost like it was made to be the perfect compliment to a 20* down quilt so you had two quilts you could double up to get close to zero at the start...
Then swap out as you worked your way through all the different seasons and challenging climates of an AT thru.
Oh well... wishful thinking... something like that doesn't exist. :-?
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/123698-New-Quilt-from-One-of-our-Own?p=2139056#post2139056
Lol! Maybe that same someone needs to produce said 45* in a couples version akin to the Accomplice from EE and then several of us would be super happy!
Just Bill
03-28-2017, 10:24
Lol! Maybe that same someone needs to produce said 45* in a couples version akin to the Accomplice from EE and then several of us would be super happy!
Lol... there's what... you and Eligibe (SP?) and one other person. I will definitely put the entire R&D department on it!
Maybe one of these days... but as many have noticed... someone has had a hard enough time just trying to get any of these out the door at all.
Lol... there's what... you and Eligibe (SP?) and one other person. I will definitely put the entire R&D department on it!
Maybe one of these days... but as many have noticed... someone has had a hard enough time just trying to get any of these out the door at all.I know, just giving you a hard time!
Just Bill
03-28-2017, 13:00
I know, just giving you a hard time!
:eek: me too :sun
Lol... there's what... you and Eligibe (SP?) and one other person. I will definitely put the entire R&D department on it!
Maybe one of these days... but as many have noticed... someone has had a hard enough time just trying to get any of these out the door at all.
Yes, Im still waiting for it
Thanks for the replies. I am thinking about going with a synthetic for summer use. I have a 20 degree enigma for winter use. I should have also stated that I'm from mississippi so mostly hike in the south.
What do you suggest is a good quilt temp rating for summer on the AT? I am trying to decide between a 40 and 50 degree quilt for the warmer months. I've never really had a summer quilt so trying to figure out which would be more appropriate.
It would depend on how you shelter, how you are able to amend your sleep system, how you know to amend warmth, ability to vent, sewn foot box or totally able to open a quilt flat, ....
IMO, sleeping in a single L hammock with no pad or tendency to cowboy camp or under an A frame tarp or with no under insulating pad requires different quilt temp rating thinking then having a tendency to sleep on a high R value pad enclosed in a tent. ALSO, do note quilt temp ratings are not typically third party independently temp rating certified...which has me questioning temp ratings of various gram weenie manufacturers. This is perhaps not as critical during summer but in quilts at near or below temp ratings it can make for chilly sleeping conditions.
bigcranky
03-29-2017, 10:26
I know there is some general consensus on using a synthetic quilt in the summer. Sweat, humidity, thunderstorms, yada yada. Ok, but I've been using the same 40F down quilt for 6 or 7 summers now, for hikes both short and long, mostly here in the humid South but also up in Vermont, and it'd been great. Comfortable, light, packs small, never had a problem. Given my past experience with synthetic sleeping bags, I expect by now a synthetic quilt would need to be replaced, but I think this down quilt will last another decade or more.
YMMV, of course.