Sea to Summit  Ember 30F Down Quilt

I really wanted to give this a better review. I found the quilt pockets in this quilt were so huge, so long, that it was very very easy for all the down to migrate to the very edges (offering no protection to the body), which it did several times over the course of my trips. I spent several afternoons on the trail trying to manually move the down from where it was bunched up at the ends to get it to redistribute through the large pockets, and was only mostly successful. It's not as warm as you think it is -- if the temperature goes below 40-45, you'll be pretty uncomfortable unless you really bundle up a lot.

You might be asking yourself if it’s worth the investment to replace your sleeping bag with a quilt? I decided to buy one to save both weight and space. At 22 ounces this quilt in its compression sack is less than half the weight of my 20 degree down bag. There are only a few items in your kit where you can save pounds so that was one compelling reason. The compressed size is about 2/3 the size of my down bag compressed. Size became important to me when I recently purchased a smaller lighter weight pack. What I was not expecting was the luxurious sleep experience! I recently tested this bag while base-camping just outside the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington State. Overnight temps were about 42 degrees. I’ve been using my “do it all” 20 degree down bag for about 15 years now and it’s always been too warm for summer temps. This meant adjusting the zipper throughout the night to permit just the right amount of open to prevent over-heating while not letting too much cold air in. The quilt solves this problem. Okay it has a higher temperature rating at 30 which helps, but it’s also the architecture of the quilt. Since it’s not gathered as snugly around your body it retains less heat. This more open design is also the thing that really improve the sleep experience. I’m a side sleeper and I tend to wake up multiple times throughout the night when sleeping on an inflatable pad to shift to the other side. I’ve always found my mummy bag a bit confining for these nocturnal maneuvers. The quilt is much more similar to your bed at home. Having room to move around “under the covers” is a big improvement. I can honestly say that the night I spent using this quilt was one of my best sleep experiences ever while camping. When choosing a quilt I was torn between the Ember 30 the Thermarest Vesper 32. The Vesper is lighter. The deciding factor for me was the temperature rating. Once I placed my oder I started having second thoughts – I kind of like the fact that the vesper has the closed tube at the bottom for your feet. But with 4 cinchable pad straps this quilt gives you the option of gathering it up around your feet or keeping it more open by running the straps under your pad. I opted to keep it loosely gathered around my feet with the bottom two straps on top of the pad. I was a bit concerned about compatibility with a non-Sea to Summit pad, but it works just fine with my Nemo Tensor. My only criticism is that I find the snaps a bit difficult to undo. You almost cant unsnap them without using the material to pull the snaps apart and the force required seems excessive for the gossamer material. But so far so good. Botton line this was a significant investment but I am glad I took the plunge. The weight and space savings are significant and there is no substitute for a good nights sleep in the back country.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I used this as my sleep system for a long bike packing trip on the Katy Trail in Missouri. The packability and the warmth were perfect. I love the toe box being able to pull around my pad and the straps were perfect for keeping it in place. I did find I was most comfortable leaving the top strap off while sleeping. If you are going for ultra light and packable you will not beat this product. I would choose it every time.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] It’s great for warm weather camping if you’re a hit sleeper. I’ve used just this down to 40 degrees combined with a good base layer I was perfect, I’ve also used this locked into my spark pro and it was great I was too warm at 27 degrees. They integrate perfectly and pack down better than anything else.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Super compressible, super warm, lightweight. Slept comfortably in 30 degree weather in a completely exhausted state and was still toasty warm. Two days later slept in 55 degrees and was able to regulate temperature easily by adjusting quilt. Totally sold on quilts now instead of sleeping bags.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Tested the 30 degree version in 35-40 degree weather and it performed great. I've used it several times and have had no issues with cold drafts. Would recommend

Down can shift, but the fill was minimal. Even when trying to even out the clumps in each baffle, there wasn’t much.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Love it! Fits great with my bike packing setup! A lot warmer and cozier then I thought.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.]