Sea to Summit Ultralight: ultralight quilt

Showing posts with label ultralight quilt. Show all posts

Winter Quilt with a Custom Trapezoidal Baffled Footbox.

Last year I got tired of sitting out the entire winter then having to struggle to get my 'trail legs' the next summer. I decided to get out and enjoy the backcountry in the winter. . . but the last time I camped in the snow I was a Boyscout and my memories include freezing all night in a canvas A-frame tent.

After hearing about the easy way to the snow via the tram to Mt. San Jacinto I was determined to get out in the winter. I figured that if I could do a few nights in the local mountains I would be ready for a real snowshoe trip in the High Sierra. I would need a much warmer quilt if I wanted to actually stay warm and enjoy the cold winter temperatures.

It was time to make a Winter Quilt with a Custom Trapezoidal Baffled Footbox.

Custom Quilt with No Cold Spots!

There is nothing worse than being woken up in the middle of the night by the cold because the down in my quilt has migrated to the sides.

My latest "ultimate quilt". Finally no more cold spots.

Cross Country Loop Around Mt. Darwin via Haeckel Col & Darwin Col

After finishing a section of the Sierra High Route a few weeks ago I met a guy named Donn while hiking out through Sabrina Basin. We talked nutrition, gear, exercise, footwear and world politics while hiking a few miles to the parking lot. I rarely meet somebody who shares so many similar common interests, including a passion for cross country backpacking in the High Sierra.

I couldn’t believe it when he showed me a map of the cross country passes he had been scouting out for the past week. They were the same passes that I had been researching all winter. We decided to take one last trip of the season together, weather permitting.

During the next few weeks we had to delay the trip due to the mid October storm, but we lucked out and took advantage of an unusually warm break in the weather last week.

We started out by acclimating at Midnight Lake the first day. It's only a few miles to Midnight Lake from the Sabrina Lake TH so I was able to leave home in the morning and still get there in time to have dinner at the lake.

Sabrina Basin Trail Head.

Wearable Quilt

The quilt described below can be used as a sleeping bag or a warm puffy jacket, which is nice!

I am new to making my own gear and just recently started sewing on an old 1930's era Singer. I have learned a lot and been encouraged by the posts on Backpackinglight.com. Although I added some stuff myself for this quilt I mainly followed the directions on Thru-Hiker and Jamie Shorts website. For any other new-b MYOG people out there I would definitely encourage you to give it a shot.

Some basics on the materials: The shell material is SevenD from TiGoat, the baffles are 0.31 oz/sqyd cuben from Zpacks and the Omni-tape and plastic hardware are from Quest or Zpacks. The down is 900 f/p from Thru Hiker.

The baffles are 1.5". I overstuffed by 30% much like the Zpacks quilts. The loft turned out to be about 1.75".

The quilt is 78" long and is tapered to 50" at the top/neck, 56" at the widest and 38" at the foot. There is 1/16" shock cord with mini cord locks around the collar to gather the quilt around the neck without being too tight or uncomfortable. The top baffle is overstuffed to about 2.75" of loft.

The footbox is created using omni-tape along the ends and about 24" along the sides. I tapered the foot end to create a trapezoidal footbox similar to a Katabatic quilt.

The head hole is sewn into the middle baffle using 0.31 oz/sqyd cuben and omni-tape.

The total weight is 16 ozs and includes 9.9 ozs of down without the removable trapezoidal footbox. With the removable trapezoidal footbox the total weight is 16.7 ozs which includes an additional 6 grams of 900 f/p down. I have used this quilt down to 25 degrees in the High Sierra and slept like a baby. I was wearing silk long johns and a lightweight Black Rock down vest.