trail days sale at jacksrbetter.com

Yes- the sale goes on until May 20.

Also look forward to upcoming reviews of many JRB products. And from what I hear, there is some cool new stuff coming from JRB that will be at Trail Days. Exciting news from a great company!

Doug

You guys are killing me.
First, you point out the sale with the awesome price on the no sniveller.
Then, you say new products, making me think if I buy the no sniveller, a self cleaning 3 ounce 15 degree quilt will come out.
What am I supposed to do with this?

Buy what you like today -- then buy whatever's better that coming out soon! :)

Actually, it's not all bad -- there's always Ebay for unloading old gear to make room for new.

Sorry- that was a horrible teaser. The No Sniveler is not up for a change from what I know...

Buy away!

According to the web site:

Six other quilts - the No Sniveller (regulars and longs), the Stealth (regulars and longs), and the Old Rag Mtn (regulars and longs) received a small but effective product improvement - the addition of a tie at the top of the foot box to prevent accidental opening and to serve as a belt closure on the wearable models. Additionally, the foot box on long models has been lengthened by four inches.

Although I have had good results with my JRB quilt, the closure at the top of the foot box issue became apparant to me, upon my first use. I will be first in line if a upgrade program is offered. To repeat, good product, with which I am satified,

The website seems to imply those changes are already in place for 2007, unless I'm mistaken.

The tie is on the NS I got last month

This is -really- tempting except that it is heavier than my current sleeping bag. I know some people just prefer sleeping under a quilt rather than sleeping bag, which is obviously cool. That said, every time I go after the quilt thing I look at the weight and my sleeping bag, which is lighter and cheaper, stays in my pack.

I know this may be sacrelidge here but what is the point? If you convince me I'll put my money where my big mouth is and order one. This is indeed a great sale! Convince me! :)

What kind of sleeping bag do you have?

ALCON,

All the 2007 changes cited in our 2007 News letter to existing quilts were implemented before the end of 2006...

James, most of the UL community picking up the No Sniveller save weight by eliminating an insulation article....Since it is a great serape....So dropping pack weight is a real benefit, even for those increasing from say 16 to 20 oz when they drop 10-24 oz for a jacket from the pack....Also, on the ground the 30* rating is extremely conservative for a quilt approaching 2.5 inches of thickness....Many report use well into the 20s and some report use into the teens with clothing (YMMV)....For three years, now the resale value on this quilt runs 80-85 percent with sale post lengths in hours normally.... Point, there are folks who have bought preowned No Sniveller for more than this sale price.

FWIW, This sale is a test broadening of the great deals we offer during Trail Days.... It will not be repeated until next year.

Remember I'm biased... just posting to clarify the news letter issue (there are no changes forthcoming on this great quilt) and answer James.

Pan

I got myself a no sniveller and will be using at Big Bend NP next weekend. What a great deal, I cannot wait until it shows up.
JT

I am beginning to see the logic here. I'll run a few (simple) numbers but it might be that there is less benifit in warmer temps and at cooler temps might save a lot of weight. I have a WM MegaLite for colder weather and it weighs 24 oz (it's an excellent bag). My other bag is a Marmot Atom and it weighs 16 oz on the box but I think it weighed a few more than this when I weighed it at home (18 oz rings a bell). My insulation layer I carry is a MontBell down inner jacket at 7.6 oz (size large). It sounds like the math might work out here.

I have been looking at the top quilt approach for a while now, waiting for the right time to jump in and try it out. The flexibility of the No Sniveller approach really appeals to me. I am also the type of person who needs freedom of movement during sleep, and the constriction from my mummy bag has always bothered me. I just took the plunge and purchased one of these, and am really excited! And I also picked up the 2oz down hood, which is also 20% off. I was not as keen on the down sleeves, which to me seemed less useful for the added weight. I like the fact that this quilt will serve me through a wider range of temps and you can get by with less gear in your closet. From where I'm sitting with my MH Phantom 32 bag at 21 oz, I save an ounce and appear to get a lot more loft for the weight, and possibly get by with a lighter insulated jacket for those cold nights.

Edited by drewboy on 05/14/2007 17:13:33 MDT.

How late in the day on the 20th will JRB accept orders at the sale price?

It may seem like a silly question...but I'm using my new Hennessey for the first time that weekend and won't return home until late afternoon/early evening on the 20th. I don't really want to order any accessories for the hammock until I've used it in the field (even though I fully expect to love it).

OK, you people didn't convince me but the bit on the resale value did. I ordered one and I plan on trying it out. If I don't like it the cost of my experiment should me fairly small. I am impressed with the testimonials of people that own this product so we shall see...

David,

No matter how you solve your bottom insulation issue I urge you to hang and test your planned system at home before you potentially spend a miserable night or two somewhere where you may not have a bail out plan.

Pan

I agree completely. For this trip:

Bailout Plan = Gatewood Cape + CCF pad

I'll start with the hammock + CCF. If I have to I can go-to-ground with the Gatewood Cape which I have a lot of experience with. I'll be using a Marmot 30* bag as a quilt.

This is a short weekend trip so the minimal extra weight isn't a real concern. Also, the forecast calls for a low of 54* and no precip (always subject to change in the midwest).

>using my new Hennessey for the first time
>ll start with the hammock + CCF


Most any CCF pad (I'm partial to the Gossamer Gear ThinLight in Wide or Wide/Long) will get you through the night at your predicted temp. I'm comfortable with a sleeping pad to about +45F (or a bit lower depending on clothing). You may have some condensation underneath you, so a top quilt will work a bit better than a sleeping bag.

I have the JRB Nest, which is the same as the No Sniveller except for a different slit design. The Nest is designed to match the Hennessy Hammock entrance slit, but I've only ever installed it that way once, and I had some cold drafts come though the slit when I moved around. Since I use the Nest underneath the hammock in winter, most of the time I just close the Nest's slit and slide the under-quilt to the side to enter, the same as you would have to do with the No Sniveller. (I have a thick synthetic top quilt for the winter.) I'm thinking of buying a JRB Old Rag Mtn for next winter.

In warmer weather (freezing or above), I generally use the Nest as a top quilt and the Hennessy Hammock SuperShelter under-pad and under-cover combination for my under-insulation. (These have the same weight and bulk as the Nest, though.) As a top quilt, the Nest and No Sniveller are equivalent.

I think that after you've spent a night or two trying to keep an in-hammock pad properly arranged you will understand the popularity of slung insulation. A hint on using the pad: roll it about 1/3 of the way up, place it in the hammock with the roll at the bottom of the slit, sit on it, lay back, lift your legs, and unroll it. Once you figure out how much to roll, this is a straightfoward way to get it arranged underneath you. This is much easier with a top quilt than a sleeping bag.

An option which I haven't tried extensively is to sling a thin sleeping pad underneath the hammock using a JRB Weather Shield bottom cover (9.5 oz). It's more convenient than having the pad in the hammock but I'm not sure how well it works in a breeze or if the comfortable temperature range is the same as using the pad in-hammock. I need to do more testing. Using a sleeping pad does allow the simple option of going to ground with the Gatewood Cape or pitching the hammock as a bivy, and a pad/Weather Shield is significantly lighter and cheaper than Hennessy's under-pad/under-cover solution. (The Hennessy under-pad is open-cell foam so it's useless as a ground sleeping pad.)

Edited by Otter on 05/13/2007 16:24:37 MDT.