Cumulus Taiga Quilt

Hey,

In the market for my first quilt and I've been eyeing Cumulus since they seem to strike a good balance between quality and price with their down products. The reason I'm considering the Taiga instead of the standard quilt is basically just that I want a sewn footbox. The vertical baffle design also seem pretty clever to prevent down migration.

Does anyone have experience with this quilt and the design of it? I've seen it been referred to as narrow, but according to their site it shares the same specs as the standard quilt. Cumulus have an option to add 22cm to the width, this may be a wise choice?

I'm also torn between weather I should get the 360 or 250 version. I'm a pretty warm sleeper, my current bag is an 7 year old heavy synthetic from Haglofs with comf +6 and lim +1. This one has been sufficient for me in pretty much any conditions. I've taking it down below freezing a couple of times with a liner, so guess I'm kinda sleeping warm since it's pretty flat and not lofty at all.

Most of my trips are in southern Sweden during spring, summer & fall so the 250 would be an easy choice for them. Temperatures rarely drop below 0 during those drips. But I'm also doing trips in northern Scandinavia and would like to one day do the HRP. On these trips I'm very likely to encounter more difficult weather (more wet and cold temps), but I might be able to make the 250 work?

Last thing, are DWR-treated down and Toray Airtastic upgrades (?) that are worth considering?

Thanks in advance!

I have been looking at the Taiga too, as far as I can tell its roomier inside than it looks and is wider in the footbox than my older style 350. I'm looking to get a custom made one with 900 fill after using an Xlite 300 with 900 down.

Your best bet is to email them and explain your requirements, they are very good with no overselling and they will try and best match your needs with a standard product.

I dont know about their hydrophobic treatments as I have washed in Nikwax to my 350 quilt and the Xlite 300 bag. The Nikwax works very well.

I have a Taiga with 900 down upgrade, I also looked att Airtastic but it was quite expensive for the weight reduction, more so than the down upgrade. I find it to narrow in the upper end except for hammock (that it is designed for). In a hammock it is wide enough for me with a little bit of margin, I am very happy with it. It is a nice good quality quilt that I belive would work well in a tent if made wider than standard width.

First of all, Cumulus makes great products and they have been happy to customize in the past so, as has been mentioned above, it's best to ask them. The width given at the shoulders for the Taiga is a little deceptive (even if involuntarily) because it is the width at the very top where you have two triangular extensions that wrap around the shoulders. I don't have a Taiga but the old Quilt which was virtually identical in overall geometry was 120 cm wide around the lower back which I found a little too narrow. BTW, I think the option on the website is to add to the length rather than the width.

As @Balagan says the old style Cumulus quilts had triangles or wings at the top. See my post on the Cumulus 350 thread on this page https://www.trek-lite.com/index.php?threads/cumulus-quilt-350.4284/page-6 I contacted Cumulus about the new shape: the response was that the width was constant from the top to roughly a point level with the top of the zip, it then tapers in. Obviously since you want a sewn footbox the new style isn't for you.

Toby said:

Hey,

Last thing, are DWR-treated down and Toray Airtastic upgrades (?) that are worth considering?

Thanks in advance!

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I think, after whole outdoor industry switched to C6 type DWR treatment, it's not worth, it'll probably last a season max then you'll have re-treat it with Nikwax. I'd allocate that $$ in 900 down fill or lighter fabric (or both). Full Airtastic 360 is 40g lighter.

If you'll go the higher 900 cui route, you should know you have option to:

• keep standard baffle size 360 bag, but it'll be circa 330gr down inside baffles,
• or keep 360gr of down, the baffles will be made bigger to accomodate down expansion

I think I'd go 900 cui down, full Airtastic, 360gr down (maybe even 380gr to match Nunatak 20' quilt specs)

@Dave V Yeah should probably shoot them another email. I've asked them before about the width and got this answer: "when it comes to the width I recommend you to check what is the girth of your shoulders. I would recommend you to have around 20cm of "free girth" when compared. The Taiga in standard is about 125cm in narrower spot where backs are open."

There's a sharkfin-thing going with the fotbox so that's probably nice space-wise for your feet.

@qy_ Thanks for a report of the width. I've been told that they can widen it by either 10 or 22cm so I'll probably opt for that then.

@Balagan @Bob-W That's misleading for sure, thanks for clarifying it! Then I'll for sure have to widen it by at least 10cm.

@jack4allfriends Hmm those are nice options, I'll have to ask cumulus and see how much extra everything is. Interesting comparison with nunatak, I'm probably more after a 30 quilt so their fill weight is ~350g for an XL arc 30 in standard width (54 inch). Katabatic uses 280g in their L/R palisade. Am I missing something here or why is there such a big difference?

Right now I'm thinking of sticking with 850 down but maybe going with airtastic in a 250 quilt. Some extra width and maybe a few grams of overfill to increase moisture performance may be wise.

I think the most similar specs-wise to Taiga 360 is Nunatak Arc UL 30' size L lenght 187 cm, width 54" 137cm, 330gr down, total weight 530gr

They use lighter base fabric, 900 cui US is our 850 EU cui, they put less down but get limit of -1c(30F), Cumulus limit is -4C but more down. If you after longer version those specs will be a little diff.
Taiga 360 size L is 202cm, 390gr of down, total weight 645gr

In general you get about 25-30gr of same (maybe even better quality european) down from Cumulus for similar specs quilt, but the base fabric is heavier & there are some design differences obviously.

If they can widen it, I'd definitely go for an additional 22cm. The only thing I didn't like about my Cumulus Quilt (old style) is that it was just narrow enough to let in a nice fresh draft if you turned on your side. The closed footbox is sweet if you are looking to maximise warmth.

The 900 down is definitely dwr treated (I have it), but my understanding is that the 850 down is as well, they normally use dwr treated down. This is not very clear from their website. (I didn´t really want dwr treated down but it wasn´t a big deal for me). The down upgrade was 20 Euro that should yeald a 40g weight reduction. I didn´t get the full 40 g weight reduction, I think they overfilled it a bit, but I did get a really nice quilt so no regrets. The Airtastic upgrade would have been 40 Euro for the inner and 40 Euro for the outer shell. This was all for a Taiga 360 last summer.

I asked Cumulus last September about Hydrophobic down. This was their reply . . . . . .

Dear Phil,


Thank your for your e-mail. No, hydrophobic down does not come in standard. The cost of change of down to a hydrophobic one depends on the model and it is 1euro for each 10g. If you are interested in a specific model and would like to oder customized quilt please let me know by e-mail and I can send you the summary along with the details for the payment.


In case of any further questions please contact us and we will be happy to help.


Best regards,

Agata Bluma
Customer service

If you are a warm sleeper (as I am) then the Limit rating is about right in my experience. I have the 150 quilt for summer UK use and it's fine to within a degree C of the stated value. Any variation in how I feel is more down to my condition (wet, tired, hungry or otherwise) than the quilt itself.

In the colder months I'll use the quilt as a wrapper to a summer rated sleeping bag (PHD Minius) and that combination is good for me to -5/-6C. The only "problem" is that it's too warm around 2C whereas bag or quilt on their own are slightly too cold

Edit: just looked at Cumulus' site. It's likely that the temp rating for the Taiga assumes hammock usage along with an under quilt, there's a 4C difference between otherwise identical quilt and Taiga 250 models for example. The distribution of the down may be different to allow for this. I'd check with Cumulus.

ZenTrekker said:

I asked Cumulus last September about Hydrophobic down. This was their reply . . . . . .

Thank your for your e-mail. No, hydrophobic down does not come in standard. The cost of change of down to a hydrophobic one depends on the model and it is 1euro for each 10g. If you are interested in a specific model and would like to oder customized quilt please let me know by e-mail and I can send you the summary along with the details for the payment.

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Ok, so the standard 850 down is not dwr treated as I thought. But my 900 down quilt has sewn in tags specifying hydofobic down (and 900 cuin), so the 900 down I got is dwr treated. I didn´t order it as specifically hydrofobic, just 900.

Bob-W said:

If you are a warm sleeper (as I am) then the Limit rating is about right in my experience. I have the 150 quilt for summer UK use and it's fine to within a degree C of the stated value. Any variation in how I feel is more down to my condition (wet, tired, hungry or otherwise) than the quilt itself.

In the colder months I'll use the quilt as a wrapper to a summer rated sleeping bag (PHD Minius) and that combination is good for me to -5/-6C. The only "problem" is that it's too warm around 2C whereas bag or quilt on their own are slightly too cold

Edit: just looked at Cumulus' site. It's likely that the temp rating for the Taiga assumes hammock usage along with an under quilt, there's a 4C difference between otherwise identical quilt and Taiga 250 models for example. The distribution of the down may be different to allow for this. I'd check with Cumulus.

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I find my Taiga a bit narrow in the footbox to use on top of a sleeping bag or another quilt, I use my EE Revelation for that instead. Otherwise the size of hte footbox of the Taiga is just right to keep warmth without being claustrofobic. As a cold sleeper I agree that the rating should be just about right for a warm sleeper, I need a bit more than the rating.

qy_ said:

Ok, so the standard 850 down is not dwr treated as I thought. But my 900 down quilt has sewn in tags specifying hydofobic down (and 900 cuin), so the 900 down I got is dwr treated. I didn´t order it as specifically hydrofobic, just 900.

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Maybe they have changed their policy. I find Cumulus really helpful if you send hem an email.

Bob-W said:

If you are a warm sleeper (as I am) then the Limit rating is about right in my experience. I have the 150 quilt for summer UK use and it's fine to within a degree C of the stated value. Any variation in how I feel is more down to my condition (wet, tired, hungry or otherwise) than the quilt itself.

In the colder months I'll use the quilt as a wrapper to a summer rated sleeping bag (PHD Minius) and that combination is good for me to -5/-6C. The only "problem" is that it's too warm around 2C whereas bag or quilt on their own are slightly too cold

Edit: just looked at Cumulus' site. It's likely that the temp rating for the Taiga assumes hammock usage along with an under quilt, there's a 4C difference between otherwise identical quilt and Taiga 250 models for example. The distribution of the down may be different to allow for this. I'd check with Cumulus.

Click to expand...

I've got a Cumulus 350 quilt which I use down to around -2˚C with an insulated air-mat. Below that I use a Cumulus Magic 125 down liner bag inside (245grams). Cumulus rate that combo at -5/-6 ˚C limit temperature, which I find about right. So the total weight for my cold weather combo is 820 grams.

For warmer weather I have an old RAB Top-bag (200 grams down) which I've modified into a quilt.

ZenTrekker said:

I've got a Cumulus 350 quilt which I use down to around -2˚C with an insulated air-mat. Below that I use a Cumulus Magic 125 down liner bag inside (245grams). Cumulus rate that combo at -5/-6 ˚C limit temperature, which I find about right. So the total weight for my cold weather combo is 820 grams.

For warmer weather I have an old RAB Top-bag (200 grams down) which I've modified into a quilt.

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My combo comes out at 795g (365 for the quilt, 430 for the bag) but it seems 800g or so is about right (for -5/6 C) given you've the extra weight of one bag's shell material. There's roughly 200g of material in the Cumulus 150 (might be a little more, haven't checked the site). The PHD Minimus 400 is rated to -5C and weighs 670g for example. All these bags/quilts are using 850/900 CUI down and use very similar weight materials so the only way to go lighter would be either lighter material or better quality down - PHD's 1000fp down version of the Minimus 400 is 585g. Of course all these come at a cost

Bob-W said:

My combo comes out at 795g (365 for the quilt, 430 for the bag) but it seems 800g or so is about right (for -5/6 C) given you've the extra weight of one bag's shell material. There's roughly 200g of material in the Cumulus 150 (might be a little more, haven't checked the site). The PHD Minimus 400 is rated to -5C and weighs 670g for example. All these bags/quilts are using 850/900 CUI down and use very similar weight materials so the only way to go lighter would be either lighter material or better quality down - PHD's 1000fp down version of the Minimus 400 is 585g. Of course all these come at a cost

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I find Cumulus excellent value for money. I feel that their temperature ratings (for quilts anyway) are slightly conservative and the weight of my 350 quilt was less than specified on the website. So I'm really pleased. If you compare the weight of something like an Alpkit Pipedream 400 sleeping bag (a staple of the Backpackers club!), it weighs 865 grams for a fill of 400 grams, yes it is rated to a lower temperature but that's beacuse its a bag. My combo contains 475 grams of down and weighs less than the Alpkit, even with two lots of shell material! The best thing is though that I have flexibility in my system.

Alpkit were very good value for money a few years ago but not so much (IMO) these days. I'm not sure if it's just general price rises/currency fluctuations or the cost of setting up their stores being amortised across the product range. They tend to use lower fp down and it shows when comparing with the top end manufacturers like PHD - my Filo jacket weighs quite a bit more and packs much bulkier than my PHD Yukon jacket for example. Of course I'm paying for the "privilege" with the latter.

At one time I was considering getting an Enlightened Equipment quilt, the configured quilt was in the basket and my finger was hovering over the buy button, but for some reason I held off. With the new Cumulus quilt design, which is very close to that of the EE Enigma, the only reason I'd go with the EE option would be for custom colours. I know Cumulus do custom quilts colours and materials if you ask, presumably at some point they will expand their bag creator system over to quilts.

Quality, performance, price: I think Cumulus are currently the sweet spot.

I'm sleeping on a NeoAir Trekker mat (not in a hammock) and I've got a Quilt 250 (old style), and would like a bit more warmth. It's fine down to ~5°C, but below that I find it too cold. I'm a side sleeper, and can get cold quite easily compared to most people.

I'm not sure about the new Quilt 350 style. Being able to use it as a comforter is nice, but not very useful if I get cold feet… So I'm looking at the Taiga 360 instead, but I'm questioning the size of the footbox. Smaller than the previous quilt would be too small for me (especially as I'm not in a hammock), I like to move my feet around ^^ Does anyone have measured the width of the footbox?

bohwaz said:

I'm sleeping on a NeoAir Trekker mat (not in a hammock) and I've got a Quilt 250 (old style), and would like a bit more warmth. It's fine down to ~5°C, but below that I find it too cold. I'm a side sleeper, and can get cold quite easily compared to most people.

I'm not sure about the new Quilt 350 style. Being able to use it as a comforter is nice, but not very useful if I get cold feet… So I'm looking at the Taiga 360 instead, but I'm questioning the size of the footbox. Smaller than the previous quilt would be too small for me (especially as I'm not in a hammock), I like to move my feet around ^^ Does anyone have measured the width of the footbox?

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I am nor sure how you want it measured but since it it is the inner size you are after i turned my Taiga 360 inside out and flattend it before measuring. It is then is 80 cm wide.
Btw my EE Revelation have a footbox similar to the new Cumulus quilt and I have never found it cold.

qy_ said:

I am nor sure how you want it measured but since it it is the inner size you are after i turned my Taiga 360 inside out and flattend it before measuring. It is then is 80 cm wide.
Btw my EE Revelation have a footbox similar to the new Cumulus quilt and I have never found it cold.

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Thanks! And yeah sorry, should have been more precise, I meant the inner size of the footbox. I measured my Quilt 250 inside the footbox and get about 38 cm. Turning it inside out and flattening the footbox like you I measure about 48 cm.

80 cm seems like a lot?

Interesting for zipped footbox, thanks, but that uncertainty and the fact that the new Cumulus quilt has another issue for me: the absence of side baffles preventing the down migrating down the sides doesn't really make want to try that.

bohwaz said:

Thanks! And yeah sorry, should have been more precise, I meant the inner size of the footbox. I measured my Quilt 250 inside the footbox and get about 38 cm. Turning it inside out and flattening the footbox like you I measure about 48 cm.

80 cm seems like a lot?

Interesting for zipped footbox, thanks, but that uncertainty and the fact that the new Cumulus quilt has another issue for me: the absence of side baffles preventing the down migrating down the sides doesn't really make want to try that.

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Sorry I wasn’t thinking... it read 80, as in 80 mm from 400 mm. What I am trying to say is that it isn’t 80 cm, it is 48 cm.
Yes I have also been thinking about those buffles, they are quite wide as well. For me it was easy since it was a quilt for use in hammock I was after.

does anyone here have the taiga with the 22cm+ width option and can comment on how narrow it is?
Is it possible to wrap it easily around you and turn around in it without letting in drafts?

mathijs said:

does anyone here have the taiga with the 22cm+ width option and can comment on how narrow it is?
Is it possible to wrap it easily around you and turn around in it without letting in drafts?

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Just in case no one has a wide Taiga and for what it's worth, when I had plans to have Cumulus make me a custom 350 Quilt, adding 20 cm to the width is what I figured would sort the draft issue. In the end, I seized an opportunity on a different quilt so I never got to find out if it was sufficient.