I finally got around to making my down quilt I've been talking about for a year and a half.
thought I would share it here since this is where I got my inspiration. Nothing amazing, but hey, it is the first thing I can share on this forum. It weighs 20.4 oz.

Sweet! Looks nice and clean. Increased baffle size at the bottom even. Congrats on a great looking piece of gear. So, details??? What you love about it, what would you do different next time? What did you use, and how did you decide to handle the down. Great looking quilt.

Baffle height was about two inches. I used the thru hiker kit and got black 1.1 oz DWR for the liner and momentum 90 for the shell. The down was harder to handle than I expected. I used a shop vac with netting taped on the hose to suck up the down and blow it into the baffle. Things I would do differently would include possibly adding some straps on the bottom but overall I'm pleased. At first, I put three feet of velcro for the foot box but later removed about 1 and half feet of it due to it making the quilt too narrow with all of the velcro. I can't wait to get out and use it. It has about 2 1/2 inches of loft throughout. The footbox looks pretty beefy in the pic, I don't know if it has more loft than the rest, might just be an illusion from the picture.

Nice job!

The footbox on a quilt should always look 'beefier' when made the way you have it, as the down is double thickness there. so if your average loft is 2.5", then you footbox should be at least 5" (often a bit more).

Of course, you can always add straps later if you think you want them.

I am going to use my quilt labor day weekend so I'll decide then if I want straps or not. It doesn't seem too hard to add them anyway and it might help me keep out drafts when I'm using it in lower temps. Here are some pics that are a bit better quality.

Edited by Thunderhead on 08/18/2008 18:42:49 MDT.

Looks good.

Just one suggestion for you. Consider adding a small square or round 'pillow flap' ofr down in the middle of the foot end to block that air hole. Otherwise you are going to find a lot of cold air coming in there. Such a small addition can make a huge difference to comfort.
Of course, in warmer weather you can kick the flap aside and get some ventilation.

Cheers

I second Roger's suggestion. Or you can have the 'pillow' attach with velcro so you can remove it when not needed.

Good Looking work!

Regarding the flap: could be a spare sock or almost anything jammed in there. Plastic bag.

Edited by Paul_Tree on 08/18/2008 20:37:28 MDT.

I was just going to use a sock to plug the hole. I considered a flap but a sock will do the trick just fine I think. Thanks for the compliments.

A sock will plug the hole thus preventing drafts, but the other problem with that type of drawstring closure is that the loft of down in the area around the hole reduces to almost zero. Your feet are where you ideally want the most insulation instead of the least. A round pillow of down that's at least as thick as your average loft will alleviate both the draft AND the loss of loft.

Looks good! Now that you've finally finished it, are you going to be using it on your bed for a while? ;P

I actually have been laying with it on the couch at night. :) Not on the bed yet though.

I loved using my quilt on my last hike. I was plenty warm just wearing shorts to sleep in. I've decided that I do want to add straps for when I use it in winter. I'm thinking about just attaching them with snaps so I can remove them when they're not needed. Any thoughts on the snap idea?

Well, you could just add a footbox:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2395267530045831896qzUNvA

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2930900490045831896Hbpsxd

The red is added at the top of the quilt to form a hood that snaps closed. You could do something similar at the foot.:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2037304560045831896yNKphW

here is the head closed:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2384258360045831896DiTDjW

Edited by rambler on 09/17/2008 19:47:00 MDT.

snaps are easy to add to your project and i have never had one come unsnapped on it's own. However, unless your quilt is much too warm for most of your trips you'd probably use the straps most of the time so i would skip the snaps (save the .75oz for 3sets of snaps)


-Tim

Thanks for the input Tim. I'm gonna use the snaps.

Ok. So I think I DO want to add a flap to the end of the footbox but I don't have nay down left. Could I use some cheap synthetic insulation to make a flap? Or should I just break down and order another bag of down? There is no way that I need another 3 ounces though. Also, I haven't gotten around to adding the straps yet because the snap I added at the top of the quilt unsnaps on its own sometimes when I am trying to cinch the quilt around my shoulders. Should I try two snaps at the top or consider another option? Roger.....Tim....any input?

Hi Jonathon

> Could I use some cheap synthetic insulation to make a flap?
The thought police will get you!
Why not: it's your quilt.

> Snaps
Hum, well, whatever works. I made my quilts wide enough that I don't need any straps for the top half, but I guess it's a bit late to say that :-)

What you might find is that you will soon get used to using the quilt and learn how to turn over *under* it, without disturbing it. We can do this now with two quilts over us - and they are slippery!

As for the snaps unsnapping - maybe it is better that the snap undoes, rather than having a strap rip off the side of the quilt in the field?

Cheers

the snap may be coming undone because it isn't set good enough. give it a couple more whacks and see if that gets it.

-Tim

i have an ounce of down. OR more if you need. I think 1/2 ounce is more than plenty to do a footbox flap.
send me $10 to cover shipping and some down. Mike

Edited by mikeinfhaz on 10/05/2008 17:03:59 MDT.