Which temperature quilt?

[nastynate]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on an EE RevX quilt but I'm torn on what rating to get. I live in the southeast and most of my backpacking is 1-3 day local trips from March through November. 20* seems to be the most recommended but I'm afraid I will roast in the summer. 30* would a little cooler when it's 75* outside at night, but I would chance being cold some early and late in the season. Or I could order a 40* knowing that it will be May when I get to use it and get a 15*-20* quilt for cold trips. Although I would rather just have one do it all bag. I'm not a thru hiker, and I also don't have any fancy down insulation layers either, just generic fleece and prolite shortie pad. Just looking for some guidance from some experienced folks.

[MuddyWaters]

Unfortunately, one bag or quilt doesnt suffice for all conditions.

75F at night is miserable with anything over you at all, even a sheet if its humid.

In summer in the SE mountains, it may be 75F when you go to bed, and drop to 55-60 overnight by dawn. If using a 30F quilt or bag, you go thru a zone where its too cold not to cover up , but when you do you sweat. Until after midnight when your body and the temperature has cooled off enough you can cover loosely with the 30F and be comfortable.

Thats why they make 40F, and 50F summer bags/quilts.

A 40F quilt, good pad, fleece top, heavy powerdry longjohns, and raingear will let you go about 10 degrees lower than the rating of the quilt usually.

Addition of good down puffy and down pants and down booties, and you could take the 40F quilt to single digits.

But that weighs more, and costs more obviously, than a lower rated quilt. But is flexible.


If you will mostly be above freezing, a 40F quilt would probably work best.
If you intend to routinely be freezing slightly below, a 20-30F would be best

I do believe Tim will make you a custom quilt to whatever temp range/loft you want. It will just take a little longer.

[10-K]

I use a 50* bag from mid-May - September so I ordered the EE ProdigyX 50* quilt.

I also went synthetic over down, mostly as an experiment. At 18 oz, the quilt is 3 oz heavier than my 50* down bag.

[johnnybgood]

If most of your backpacking is 3 season then a 40 * quilt will suffice. I' m actually thinking about doing the same thing myself , asking the same questions. I tend to be a warm sleeper and I have a 20* down bag that is typically overkill for the vast majority of my overnight trips.

You can always take thermal top and bottoms if camping during shoulder season when the temps get lower.

[nastynate]

Maybe a 40* for 3 season and pick up a cosmic down 20 for those few winter trips. That would seem to be pretty flexible and I could layer the quilt over the bag for temps in the teens and total cost around $300 for a 4 season setup.

[johnnybgood]

A nice silk liner will also add 7+ degree temperature rating which will get you to the lower teens