Winter Top Quilts

[sideshowraheem]

After lots of research I turn to the expert hive mind that is HammockForums. I'm in the market for a new winter TQ and had a few questions.

Am I worrying to much about down shift? I always hated having to shift down or having down shift on me in my sleeping bag days. I just want to stay in place! With that in mind should avoid companies that make big long tubes of down? Or does the baffle construction largely mitigate down shift for most manufacturers?

I already have a super nice custom Diamondback TQ rated to 20F. I had some thoughts that I could just get a synthetic quilt to use as an overbag of sorts. Save some money and I exhale to my hearts content on the thing and get condensation all over it without worrying to much. Has anyone ever taken this approach before? Pros/Cons?

As far as expected temps go I live in MN, and I've winter camped down to -20F or so. Id like to get there one day but for now my warmest UQ is only a 0, though Id imagine I could stack those pretty easily as well.

[elstoked]

I wouldn’t worry too much about down shift. Stick to top brands like Enlightenment Equipment, Cumulus, UGQ, Warbonnet, Nunatek or Hammock Gear and you should be fine.

Stacking a synthetic top quilt on top of down works well. I’ve never done it in a hammock but I did it several times on the ground. WB 50°F top quilt + EE Enigma Apex 30°F synthetic quilt gets me down to 10°F. More than I’ll ever need.

[Grey Mouse]

Now I'm no expert on down shifting but here's my two cents. I use a Ghost Pepper 0°F TQ from George. In the two years that I have had it I have never had an issue of the down shifting with his zig zag pattern on the baffles. The same goes for my 0°F Carolina Reaper. I have had some slight mitigation with straight baffle quilts that are rated for 20°F made by other manufacturers but it was easy enough to solve while still in the hammock. I always store mine in a bag at home, never keep it compressed for more than a day. fluff it gently once it is placed inside or on the hammock, and occasionally give it a rub down the baffle back and forth if I am in doubt (very rare). My wife and best friend have similar quilts from George and to my knowledge have never had an issue with down shift. I'm sure that it could happen but our mileage has been great. I do not have any experience with synthetic quilts.

[gunner76]

Two of my favorite TQs are RevX TQ's made by EE using Karo step baffles which allow one to move the down around as needed. Before you go looking for them they are no longer offered by EE.

[Phantom Grappler]

I’m wondering if quilts with enough down or even some overstuffing are less likely to have down migration—and less likely to have empty spots with little or no down——because there is so much down that there is nowhere for down to migrate to—-because it bumps into other down that’s already there.

I’m not sure if anyone can get what I’m saying.

And then if you see what I’m saying, would you agree with the idea, or no? What do you think?

Possibly with too much down overstuffing there is a point of diminishing ability to insulate and maybe greatly reduced insulation because the down is packed too tight to insulate as well.

Please share your thoughts. It’s good to have many minds with different ideas.

[Grey Mouse]

All of our LL winter quilts have maximum down (up +4oz/quilt). I do agree with the idea that extra down may help but would also think that baffle design and size would have a larger effect of reducing migration than overstuffing. Perhaps a good baffle design with overstuffing is the most effective ? There has got to be a point to where too much down is diminishing the insulative value within a certain size of baffle. The down needs air in order to insulate well and less air means less insulative properties within the down.

[sideshowraheem]

I have read that overstuffing to an extent can help keep down from shifting, but if you overstuff to much it can actually compress down a bit and be counterproductive.

I have looked at those Loco Libre top quilts with the chevron baffles to keep down from shifting and might consider those as well.

[Shug]

I think the Warbonnet DiamondBack does a great job of keeping the down in plave. The diamond pattern on top is designed to do that actually.
From Warbonnet Website:
The Diamondback uses our unique Constriction-Point Baffle pattern that uses a series of constrictions in the baffle pattern to isolate both halves of the quilt. The baffle wall height remains the same, but the width of each baffle abruptly merges to a constriction point, effectively breaking a single 6-foot long baffle into two 3-foot baffles, resulting in one of the shortest effective baffle lengths in the industry. A shorter baffle means the down has less room to shift so it will take you less time to fluff and even out the down before each use. The down in the upper part of the quilt stays in the upper part and vice versa. Down can be manually forced through the constrictions but it will not pass through on it’s own, this means the distribution of down between the lower vs. upper chambers can be manipulated by the customer if desired. Since the upper and lower chambers are filled independently of each other, overfill can be installed into either the upper or lower chambers or split evenly between them.
Shug

[Sheener]

I was just looking at the Warbonnet Diamond Back, can anyone tell me what the temperature rating "Scandinavian" means? It is listed after 10F/-12C and 0F/-17C, so am I correct in assuming it is rated lower than 0F/-17C? Also known as hella cold (get the hot chocolate ready STAT!).

[sideshowraheem]

I actually have a Diamondback for my 20F quilt! That thing is awesome and my go to quilt. Highly recommended for folks. I may end up getting a 0F version too.