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Rating: 5 / 5
Quality:
The sewing is very neatly done, I have not looked super close at the fabric but from a casual glance I don't see any blemishes. Nice soft hand.
Fit:
I have a 6'6" wide.
I am 6'5" with size 11 feet and it was plenty long for me, even with the footbox closed I had plenty of length to pull over my shoulders and up over my ears.
I also have plenty of foot room, don't even come close to compressing the down with my feet.
The WIDE is very roomy, I would compare it to XL or even XXL in jacket shoulder width.
Loft:
Average loft is very high (for such a light bag).
I have a 40 degree quilt with 30% overstuff. Even with the overfill, some of the compartments end up a slightly low on down. I think this is because the Karo compartments are so large and this is such a 'thin' loft for that size compartment, so the down slides to one side; and also due to some down migrating between baffles.
On the other hand, the benefit of the Karo baffles is that it allows you to adjust the down to where you want it, and I assume making the boxes smaller, would raise both price and weight.
Temperature:
The way I see it, the rating should be for the lowest outside temp an average person is comfortable inside a tent wearing light baselayers. Wind, humidity and sleeping outside will all require a warmer bag.
For me personally, I would rate this bag at ~45F. The manufacturer rates it as ~35F, and backs this up with personal experience.
I know I am a cold 'sitter' and stander. I wear more clothes than many when standing around outside. I have little comparison for sleeping as almost all my sleeping bags have been from a cottage maker, but I suspect I might sleep cold as well.
Unfortunately I have never tried a CE rated bag to see how I compare to the CE standard.
I am happy with this bag's warmth. I wanted a very light summer quilt. Many nights here in the midwest are quite warm and there is not much you can do about a quilt that's to thick. On the other hand I always wear warm clothing in camp if it's cool, and plan on wearing that to bed too, as it gets colder I simply add warmer clothing.
Quilt vs bag:
For me this was the first time using a true quilt. I have several sleeping bags with full zippers that I use in quilt mode when it's warm, but in cold weather I zip them up.
This quilt forms a sleepingbag-like enclosure for the bottom legs. The fully opening bottom with drawcord will be a bit colder than an true enclosed footbox, as there is no drafttube.
If you are using this style quilt in truly cold weather, you could stuff a a small down pillow down there, or use very puffy down booties. Mine is a warm weather quilt, so not concerned about that.
For me, there is enough width in the WIDE to wrap underneath me a fair bit, combined with the elastic cords there were no drafts at all. The only difference with a bag being that if you move around, you might have some temporary draft as you roll over. A breathable bivy would be a good idea in cold or exposed situations.
I did struggle a bit one night to keep my butt warm, sleeping on my side. I think in my attempt to stay warm, I was pulling the quilt to tight, compressing the down. This is more likely to happen with a quilt than a sleeping bag, because you are actively trying to tuck it under you.
A wider sleeping pad would help too. I was using a Neoair and those are quite narrow. When I shared the quilt together with my daughter, we had two pads tied together, this extra pad width really helps prevent drafts, without having to resort to tucking the quilt in so snug.
The versatility of a quilt is wonderfull. On a recent trip with my wife we used these quilts with light down clothing at about 28F, and were more than warm enough. A few days later it was about 55F and we opened up the quilts and were still comfortable without overheating.
Edited by Tjaard on 10/22/2012 14:41:26 MDT.
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