I've been planning a top quilt for a thru hike, and I've come up with an interesting idea. Right now, I'm planning to have a light summer quilt and then augment that with my underquilt when it gets really cold. I was planning to do a straight sewn through baffle for the top quilt, as I wasn't too worried about extra heat loss in my summer quilt. I could always put a vapor barrier on above it, and it should perform just fine. Then, I had this idea about the Karo baffles.

I first saw Karo style baffles less than a week ago, as I was searching for diy quilt methods and patterns. This blog was written in 2013. It seemed much extra effort to put in these Karo baffles, and the sew through would be much simpler. I even thought of just swapping out my summer quilt for my winter quilt at by a time or place on the trail. Luckily today I see the DIY Karo top quilt thread here on HF. This thread and the discussion there brought on this thought.

Could one use a Karo baffled quilt for summer temperatures, and then supplement with three ounces of down when the temperature gets lower? Then one could add three more ounces when they are expecting snow. In spring, couldn't the hiker pull out down and mail it home? Granted, I know there are a few roadblocks to this idea. Seam ripping a quilt is not too big of a deal, but it would be a hassle on the trail. Resewing the seam isn't a big deal either, because I imagine that you wouldn't need a huge area open. The ability to redistribute filling as desired is one of the main selling points of the karo.

Could a quilt be designed so that it was easier to access the down? It would need to stay firmly closed, but then be large enough to easily stuff down into it. What if there was a small zipper about the size of a baffle (4 to 5 inches)? The zipper would add extra weight, but I can't think of another easily accessible closure. I'm not so sure that it needs to be easily accessible, as you'd only modify the filling two or three times a year. Perhaps it's as simple as having a slightly larger hem on one baffle, with that becoming the access point. Maybe that hem is rolled or folded in a way that allows easier seam ripping with something like a pocket knife or razor blade. I doubt that anyone would carry a seam ripper onto the trail.

Could this idea work? How would you keep the quilt closed? Would you just sew it back, or would you want a quick access closure?