First post on here but been lurking for a while. Mainly for tips for the quilt I recently finished. Thanks for all the tips and inspiration and here's my thanks in the form of pictures of the finished product.
Nysil fabric, 600 fill down, 800 grams

nice work Rob. What kind of temperature rating were you shooting for?

That looks fantastic.
What is nysil fabric?
What size baffles, how much loft, expected temp range?

Great job

Nice work! Like they said: we want the details!

Rob, I agree with everyone else...nice quilt! but you got to provide us with more. I'm curious about the length and widths used. It looks like you have a permanent foot box. I also like your underside "cinch" system. I don't think I have seen anyone use a staggered single pull cord before. Does it effectively pull the bottom together with one pull?

Good job,
Jamie

Edited by jshortt on 10/11/2010 19:08:54 MDT.

Thanks for the compliments and here's some more details.

49"top, 39" bottom, 78" long with a straight taper
sewn in footbox
6" baffle spacing with 2 1/4" baffle walls, around 3" loft

Nysil is similar to Pertex. It's water resistant and around 55 grams a m2.

The single cord works well. The cord in the pic is some thin elastic cord I had around. A guy line cord worked even better. I originally had only four with the bottom two staggered. I added another across from the middle one just to help it pull in that side a little more. Maybe if the staggering had been spaced closer it would have worked better.

In terms of temp I'm mainly just shooting for warm at freezing. I know I tend to sleep slightly cold. With a 19 month old son and another on the way I don't get out loads but I figured if it would work down to -10C/15F it should be more than adequate. I can always layer or take my sewn thru summer quilt I made first.

Looks great, nice work. Would you mind posting a picture of the footbox?

Brian here are some pics. Basically I did it the simplest way there must be. I sewed the quilt all the way round then turned it inside out and sewed the bottom 24" together. I made a round footbox, stuffed and sewed it shut. Then with the quilt still inside out I sewed the two flat seam areas of the quilt and the round bottom together. This may eventually cause a cold spot but I doubt it as the down plumps around it.
I intend to go back at some stage and cover the edges with a piping of the blue material just to tidy it up. My wife says I'm just being anal.
Also I did the round bottom the size it needed to be, make it an inch or two larger to account for the shrinkage when stuffed.

Edited by robwa10 on 10/12/2010 13:52:22 MDT.

Took my new quilt out on Sat night in the Peak District and gave it a good test. Temps hit -1C/30F.

Details of what I slept on and wore:

In Bivvy with basic CCF mat and Multimat Adv Compact under CCF

Cheap, and old thermals (Walmart ones I think that I bought 10 years ago) on with my down hat and old wool socks.

Was toasting when I got in. Woke up about 5am and was neither hot nor cold. That point where you know you could get cold but can still go back to sleep. Put on my fleece just to be sure. When I got up it felt as if their might have been a slight haze of condensation in the Bivvy but it wasn't soaking or anything.

I remeasured the loft of the bag today after hanging it out and it's nearer 2 1/2". I think either my maths was off or I shouldn't have been watching TV when stuffing it. I have a feeling it was the latter.

I think for me the quilt may not be the way forward for cold winter camping. I just toss and turn too much and spend so much time adjusting and making sure I don't roll the quilt. I may add a strip to the bag to enclose it and keep it hoodless as my down hat worked a treat.

Round two:

I was going to sell the quilt and start over but instead I decided to sew on some 'exstensions' and just treat it as a prototype to be remade sometime next year. I shaped the extensions to cut down on weight and also to give it a more shaped looked when closed.

Used it this weekend and temps hit -2C and I was warm all night in less clothes. Woke up at 2am and took off my socks and thermal bottoms. Woke up at 6am and put both back on as I wasn't cold but just wasn't really warm any more.

When I got up at 7am I felt good, neither sweating nor freezing, but was aware that if temps had gone to -5C or lower I probably would have needed another layer. The main problem I think was the frost on the inside and outside of my bivvy.

So always listen to the warning not to make your quilt to small! But the prototype should see me through this winter with some new thermals at Christmas!

Just in case anyone has bookmarked this for future reference he's an update on the quilts performance.

Used it last night and temp on my thermometer hit -8C/17F, it felt colder though when I got out. Felt fine all night. Purposely slept slightly cool to try and minimize condensation in my bivvy. When I got up to answer nature around 4am I left on my fleece because I couldn't be asked. Apart from that here's the details of what I slept in and on.

Alpkit Hunka bivvy, CCF full length mat on top of Multimat Adv compact

Wool socks, pajama bottoms (thermals dirty), Polyester short sleeve shirt, micro fleece long sleeve cycling top, buff, fleece beanie, down hood

Hi Rob,

Yes; I had this bookmarked. Nice job and well done.

You mentioned – Quote: “I think for me the quilt may not be the way forward for cold winter camping. I just toss and turn too much and spend so much time adjusting and making sure I don't roll the quilt. I may add a strip to the bag to enclose it and keep it hoodless as my down hat worked a treat.”

I don't move that much, but I'm a side-sleeper and that’s why I’m curious: What’s your opinion about quilts after these Trials (with these temps.) – I’m assuming now it’s still a quilt after you added the extensions (or did you enclose it, as you said you wanted to do).

I definitely think you should try the concept of a "hooded" quilt (similar to that described by Roger Caffin in this site or the Ray-Way Quilt gorget).

After years of using a conventional bag that way, I finally made my own quilt and the results exceeded my expectations. Sure it needs some adjustment, but this is MYOG!

@theflyingdutchman - Encantado de leerte aquí también además de en Madteam ;-)

Henk I didn't enclose it but left it a quilt. I'll never use a bag again unless I go to the top of Everest of similar. Although I toss and turn the main problem was that the quilt was just to small to start.
This one has served as a great experiment for a winter quilt. When I make a lighter replacement next year I'll do a few things different. It's widest point will be at the shoulders, so 'arc' shaped like a Nunatak. It'll have a draft stopping collar. The footbox will sewn on properly rather than the quicker way I did, it creates a cold spot. Lastly, it will be a differential cut to keep the down from compressing.

Hi Rob, Thanks for your answer; this confirms my idea of mi Cocoon PRO 90 being too small as well. I’m a pretty large guy – 1.90 and 100 kg (≈ 6.3ft and 220 lbs) – and after trying the Cocoon in temps. as low as around freezing -even though I complemented it with clothing-, I thought quilts wouldn’t be for me. When I turn around to sleep on the other side, it would leave a gap and even though -when using a bag- I turn around inside the bag, with a quilt it didn’t work. So yes, my Cocoon will be too narrow for me.

I’m quite busy with a few other projects (new pack, tarp, rain gear, etc. – for which I already bought Cuben), but when I’ll finish these, I might think about making a down quilt – taking the Cocoon measurements as a starting point, but with a wider cut.

One more question (if you don't mind): you say your lighter replacement will have a draft stopping collar – What’s the point if your quilt isn’t hooded? Can’t you have the top of the quilt snuggled (chinched??) around your neck properly?

Once again, thanks.

@masanchez – Me gusta beber de muchas fuentes – para aprender, comparar y contrastar, tener perspectiva y como fuente de inspiración :).

Yeah I can cinch the top of the quilt closed. However, I find it best not to cinch it really tight or else it's hard to turn and often the collar snap comes undone. My idea is to do something similar to Katabatic gear's quilts.
http://katabaticgear.com/shop/sawatch-sleeping-bag/
I think this would allow you to turn and still cut out drafts.

Rob,

Are you using metal snaps on the "collar" of your quilt?

I used them in the past on my first top quilt and had trouble with them releasing too easily.

On my most recent quilt I used the size #24 resin/plastic variety from Kamsnaps. These really hold well until you decide to pull them apart. :-)

Since they are resin/plastic there are no corrosion issues. I also "perceive" them to be lighter since they aren't metal. I haven't weighed them so on this point I could be full of hot air but hot air is very light. :-)

Party On,

Newton

Hi Rob: Yes, I do get the idea now (and agree). Nothing like a picture to express what one wants to say (better than a thousand words). You wouldn’t have to cinch the drawcord in your example (Katabatic) very tightly to have the collar doing its work properly. I like your idea.