Question regarding overfill

[Silverpalm2x]

What does overfill do?

Looking at an economy 20° with no overfill. For a more winter colder temps.

I have a synthetic “summer” quilt that I can comfortably use to 40°F with an extra blanket sleeping in shorts and t shirt.

Would a 20° be too warm? What does overfill get me?

I have a 20° incubator Underquilt for cold nights.

Any advice this weekend would be appreciated since I want to take advantage of the sale. With some birthday money in my pocket

[cmc4free]

Overfill won't make a 20° quilt into a 10° (for example). The temp rating is a function of the loft, the thickness of the quilt. This is determined by the cut of the fabric shells and internal baffling more so than the fill itself. Assuming you buy from a vendor who puts in enough down to properly loft the shell of the quilt in the first place (and HG is, for sure), overfill will basically act as a buffer helping to ensure your 20° quilt doesn't perform more like a 30° or 40° if things are less than ideal. Moisture retention on a multi-day trip, the down losing some performance after a lot of use and taking on some of your human funk, or just having your down migrated to the wrong areas of the quilt are a few examples of those less than ideal situations for which overfill can be helpful.

[SvenGolly]

What does overfill do?

The answer, via the HammockGear.com website (and 8m sure most quilt vendors would have similar answers on their sites):

https://hammockgear.com/what-is-overfill/

“Overfill is extra down that we can add to our quilts for you, if you'd like it. More than anything, overfill helps minimize down movement within the quilt. As a manufacturer of ultralight gear, our quilts are designed to be filled with the industry standard amount of high quality down to keep you comfortably warm. Each chamber of our quilts is baffled, so the height of the loft is fixed, dependent upon the temperature rating. By adding extra fill to each chamber, the loft doesn't change, but the down already in each chamber isn't able to move as much.

“Overfill also helps keep the loft of the down within the quilt over time. The oils within your skin and the constant compression and expansion of down can cause down to lose its loft over time. By adding overfill to your quilt, you are increasing the longevity of your quilt over time.”


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[Silverpalm2x]

Thanks I eventually found this on their website.

I guess the other question is is it worth the extra money?

[FLTurtle]

Depends on your use case. I would imagine if you were doing a long distance thru hike, using the gear daily I would look at the overfill option due to the constant use, compression, expansion and body oils impacting the loft. Otherwise, I'd save the money or go to a lower rated temp.

[Phantom Grappler]

Too much overfill can reduce insulation, because the tiny air spaces can become compressed so much—they disappear or become smaller.
It’s these tiny air spaces in the down that give us insulation.

I asked for 10% additional overfill in addition to vendor’s 10% overfill for a total of 20% overfill.
This was to prevent excessive down migration—leading to completely empty places in baffles.

With as much extra overfill as I got—there is no where for down to migrate to—unless there is some clumping caused by moisture and extreme conditions. No empty spaces here!

In hindsight, I should have listened to my vendor and got just his 10% overfill.

One other problem with too much down in baffles—the top quilt has a hard time laying down close to my body—The top quilt can suspend itself in an arch above me. Then it has to heat up all that air that is between me and top quilt.

Good luck

Don’t be trying Phantom advance techniques for staying warm.
Wear red shirts
Self hypnosis
Divining the secret of life to activate brain cells in overdrive
Dreaming of a tropical island for the night

[cougarmeat]

To emphasize - the overstuff is for mitigating some of the shifting of down. But you may want to shift the down to one area (more to the center or toward the sides) on occasion. I don't want to imply that a quilt needs overstuff to be effective. For me, I was new to quilts and it was more of a Linus security blanket issue.

The loft gives you the R-factor (comfort rating). If you want a warmer rating, get a warmer-rated quilt, or supplement with a UQP or Tarp with doors.

[Shug]

It is a quilts version of leaving no room for cream.
Shug

[Crazytown3]

The only quilt I had overstuffed was my 0F UQ, which I had overstuffed with 1 ounce, just to help mitigate down migration on those cold, cold nights. Everything else I have is just the stock fill. Works great.

[stormcrow]

It is a quilts version of leaving no room for cream.
Shug

I couldn't have said it better myself, old friend.