I want to make a down top quilt for cold weather and I'm wondering is ther such a thing as to much loft. At what piont are you just adding weight and
money without ganning much wormth.
I want to make a down top quilt for cold weather and I'm wondering is ther such a thing as to much loft. At what piont are you just adding weight and
money without ganning much wormth.
Here's a chart that may help?
http://www.dream-hammock.com/DownLoftTemp.html
As loft increases so will the warmth and weight, but you really only need enough to keep you warm in the area where you plan to hang. For example, ~3" of single sided loft will keep you warm to 20 deg. If all you need is 20deg protection and you have 5" of loft, your quilt is warmer & heavier than it needs to be. Hope that answers your question.
Ryan
There's quite a difference in the loft of a bag/quilt that's fresh from the dryer, compared with one that's been used a few days in damp conditions (and the damp will come from your body, not just rain/humidity).
Having some 'extra' down IMO can help keep the loft where you want it, in real-world conditions.
That said, for me there are few things worse than an over-warm quilt/duvet/sleeping bag, since I end up sweaty inside, hanging my arms and legs outside the insulation trying to cool off a bit. I absolutely cannot get a good night's sleep indoors with a duvet. YMMV.
Getting your hands on some sleeping bags (you can layer them and measure the loft) and doing some experiments will be the best way of knowing how much loft you need for a given set of temperatures. For a top quilt, a sleeping bag will give you the loft data you need.
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