I am contemplating a summer weight quilt to fit a particular niche need I have.

It is to be very light weight and synthetic. I am considering the following;

Option #1
1.1 oz nylon with 1.8 oz primaloft sport

or

Option #2
Momentum 90 with 2.5 oz climashield

It appears from the comments on the forum and supplier notes that the primaloft sport comes with a scrim but does it need to be sewn with the scrim (and then removed)?

I am not concerned with having to quilt it every 24" but was concerned the primaloft needs quilting much closer.

The approx size will be 84" x 60". This is a scout project I will be making with my daughter and I was concerned about the durability of the Momentum 90. I live in a warm climate so low temps are not my concern. This is to replace her 3lb Sierra Designs bag for summer camping use.

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks very much in advance for your comments.

Carl,

Do you have either the 2.5 oz Climashield or the 1.8 oz primaloft sport on hand?
Unless you know a supplier who still has some I do not think the 2.5 oz Climashield is available anymore.

I used the 3.7 oz Climashield Combat with .9 oz Intrepid in my 35 degree top quilt and used no quilting at all.

Below is some info copied and pasted from OWFInc's website.

Climashield Polyester Continuous Filament: (From the makers of Polarguard)
Continuous filament insulations stretch, are warm even if wet, can be washed, are naturally durable, and don't require a scrim or quilting in manufacturing.

CS 3.3 HL 73" 3.3 oz 1/2-1" loft white
CS 6.0 HL 64" 6.0 oz 1-2" loft white
CS 9.4 HL 60" 9.4 oz 2-3" loft white
CS 11.7 HL 60" 11.7 oz 2-3 1/2" loft white

Next is some info copied and pasted from MLD's website.

ClimaShield Apex

New for 2010

ClimaShield APEX is the most thermally efficient synthetic quilt insulation avialable. It drapes, compresses and recovers very well and Does Not Requiring Through Stitching- that eliminates sewn through areas and prevents cold spots. Many other synthetic insulations require sewing of the insulation to the bag shell (you can see the many horizontal seams on the outside and/or inside of the shell) to prevent shifting or tearing. Apex is a modern continuous long staple type of insulation and does not need quilting in this type quilt and retains all of it's thermal clo value. - Some synthetic insulations made for small panels in clothing that that test good clo ratings loose much of that thermal efficiency by quilting to stabilized the fragile insulation matrix - Sewn through insulations generally can not recover as well to multiple tight compressions over time.

Now just to confuse the issue here is some info copied and pasted from Thru-Hiker's site.

2.5 oz/sq yd Climashield APEX

Climashield APEX continuous filament insulation is a great choice when you want something highly durable, efficient, and easy to work with. It excells in applications having large panels such as a quilt because it does not require much quilting.

Personally I would go with the 2.5 oz Apex and no quilting. I used the Intrepid .9 oz breathable nylon from OWFInc. and was very pleased with it. The 2.5 APEX Spirit Quilt on MLD's website is rated at 45 degrees.

Your finished weight could be as low as 19 to 24 ounces. 84" x 60" is a fairly large quilt.

Good luck with your quilt.

Party On,

Newton

I was leaning towards the Climashield Apex from Thru-hiker (no I haven't purchased it yet) because of the quilting aspect. Thanks for the comments on that.

I am making the quilt large so that it could be used for multiple things (not just camping) and I wanted to allow it to fit over two people if necessary.

I had considered making a slimmed down version (like 36" x 72") that could just be used like a top sheet but will probably go with the larger size for more flexibility. I'm not going to sew a foot box or add any zippers. Just going with a big flat rectangle to get maximum flexibility.

Thanks. PS: any trouble sewing the .9 oz fabric (puckering or anything)?

Carl,

"PS: any trouble sewing the .9 oz fabric (puckering or anything)"?

The .9 oz fabric didn't really present any major challenges as far as sewing with it.

If you've sewn lightweight rip stop nylon before you'll see many of the same traits involved in 1.3 sinylon. The .9 oz breathable rip stop is slippery and very light. When I was cutting it out on my table it had a tendency to want to slide off the table.

Start the seams by hand for the first few stitches, slowly let the machine advance the material at first until there is enough material behind the presser foot for you to grasp it. Hold a sight tension on the material before and after the presser foot as you sew to avoid puckering. Don't pull the material through the machine. Let the machine do the advancing of the material. Just keep the material taut as the feed dogs advance it through the machine.

I use a fairly high presser foot setting. As far as thread tension goes try a few small pieces and adjust the tension until the stitching looks identical on both sides of the sewn material.

Even though it looks like it would cause trouble when you stitch the cover to the insulation keep the .9 oz cover material on top and the insulation down next to the feed dogs of the machine. If the insulation is on top and the nylon is on the bottom the presser foot will get insulation fibers "hung up" on it. Also the nylon will bunch up when the insulation is caught up on the presser foot. If you keep the nylon on top and the insulation on the bottom it will go much smoother and easier for you. I learned this the hard way.;-)

Good luck with your quilt project.

Party On,

Newton

Edited by Newton on 04/26/2011 07:13:37 MDT.

Hi guys

I am planning to make a quilt good for sub-32 degrees, using a fill like Climashield Apex.

Can you direct me to a good design/pattern I could use for this project?

Andrew