Helen E
Ultralighter
Hi all
I'm new to backpacking and new to quilts but delighted with my 2018 cumulus 350 and would welcome advice from you more knowledgeable folk here on which cumulus quilt I might buy to accompany it:
a) in summer on its own (the primary use) in the highlands and lowlands of Southern England
b) potentially layered with the 350, with a silk base layer and down jacket etc as needed, for temperatures down to about -5 deg C.
Can any cumulus quilt 150/250/350 users offer me advice from their experience?
(I'm a 5ft 5in cold side sleeper with a women's neoair xlite and a good but very heavy synthetic mummy bag for really cold temperatures. I prefer down to synthetic for the usual weight/compressibility issues.)
I've read the threads on layering and on the 350 and what I understand is that:
- putting the two down quilts together can reduce the comfort/extreme temperatures significantly
- it's good for the top quilt to be lighter and larger and water resistant to deal with condensation (I'd be in a double-walled shelter) and to avoid compressing the lower quilt
- a winter sleeping mat might be needed (if so, recommendations?)
I'm planning to customise the quilt with more water-resistant pertex on the upper layer and with hydrophobic down, so I could potentially get it made wider as well for some weight and cost penalty. Any thoughts on how much bigger the 150/250 might ideally be for use on top of the 350 in cooler conditions?
Finally, I considered the cumulus Magic but the comfort temperature is high and I don't like sleeping bags much - prefer the wiggle room of quilts. However, what isn't clear is whether the zipped magic will unzip all the way round the foot and could therefore be used as a very lightweight quilt. Any magic owners out there who can let me know if it does, and how they get on with it generally?
Many thanks in advance for any thoughts you can offer and for being such a friendly forum!
Helen
I'm new to backpacking and new to quilts but delighted with my 2018 cumulus 350 and would welcome advice from you more knowledgeable folk here on which cumulus quilt I might buy to accompany it:
a) in summer on its own (the primary use) in the highlands and lowlands of Southern England
b) potentially layered with the 350, with a silk base layer and down jacket etc as needed, for temperatures down to about -5 deg C.
Can any cumulus quilt 150/250/350 users offer me advice from their experience?
(I'm a 5ft 5in cold side sleeper with a women's neoair xlite and a good but very heavy synthetic mummy bag for really cold temperatures. I prefer down to synthetic for the usual weight/compressibility issues.)
I've read the threads on layering and on the 350 and what I understand is that:
- putting the two down quilts together can reduce the comfort/extreme temperatures significantly
- it's good for the top quilt to be lighter and larger and water resistant to deal with condensation (I'd be in a double-walled shelter) and to avoid compressing the lower quilt
- a winter sleeping mat might be needed (if so, recommendations?)
I'm planning to customise the quilt with more water-resistant pertex on the upper layer and with hydrophobic down, so I could potentially get it made wider as well for some weight and cost penalty. Any thoughts on how much bigger the 150/250 might ideally be for use on top of the 350 in cooler conditions?
Finally, I considered the cumulus Magic but the comfort temperature is high and I don't like sleeping bags much - prefer the wiggle room of quilts. However, what isn't clear is whether the zipped magic will unzip all the way round the foot and could therefore be used as a very lightweight quilt. Any magic owners out there who can let me know if it does, and how they get on with it generally?
Many thanks in advance for any thoughts you can offer and for being such a friendly forum!
Helen