Quilt / Insulation

APEX 2.5 oz/yd² quilts

The reason

To start my foray into MYOG, and trick myself into thinking I was ready for ultralight, I made two quilts using Climashield APEX 2.5 oz/yd² insulation. This page keeps both finished builds together so their shapes, design and contstruction choices, and real-world use can be compared directly.

The two designs

Design 01 - My quilt

I wanted a versatile summer quilt that was light, comfortable, and utilized PFAS-free fabrics.

I had never sewn, but my mother owned a quilting shop growing up in the first floor of our house. I wanted to start with a pattern

Design 02 - Brenna's quilt

This quilt

Double-sewn around the entire perimeter. Added psychological confidence in the rigidity, and helped finish some uglier seams out better.

Comparison

Warmth - 50° F (10° C) easily. I think this is useable to 40° F (4.4° C) with a good layering system.

Comfort - I think the second design is more comfortable at the footbox, because of the increased insulation being "fluffier".

Durability - Having used my quilt on two different continents and both sides of America, it is holding up fantastic. Durability was a concern, but the Argon67 is a bomber fabric when you aren't abbrating or poking holes. The double sewn seams are holding up great, and will likely outlive the fabric itself.

Materials and measurements

Real World Use

This thing has been through the ringer. It quickly displaced my trusty Nemo Nocturne 30° and introduced me to the world of quilts.

It has traveled with me all across the Red River Gorge, to Olympic National Forest, Big South Fork, the Sheltowee Trace, across the Atlantic to Kenya and Loita Hills Conservancy, and in general travel. I have tested it across a 4 season Kentucky condition range, using it as a top quilt over an APEX 5.0oz/yd² at 15° F (-9.4° C) before windchill.

What I would change

Hardware Choices -

Cordage - Initially installed really thick pink stretchy paracord, which I replaced with a few options until landing on this 1.5mm(?) nylon cord I got from my local outfitter J&H. I like having the rigid cord - I trust it more than an equally thin stretchy cord, but I will be looking for some to try out.

Pad fixture system - In retrospect, as the ZenBivy and other system began focusing on draft collars along the side of the pad, I should have positioned some tab directly into the quilt (or a Kam snap!) to make this easier. This is readily frankensteined on, and my next little project I intend to try and fix this one!

Footbox - The footbox could be improved for comfort. The zipper could be covered internally with a zipper flap of some sort, as long as it doesn't interfere with zipping.

Weight - For the lightest configuration, I could have ditched the zipper and done a snap based system or sewn footbox. Lots of pros and cons to either approach. Would a #3 zipper work here? I'd be dubious, but likely yes.

At first, I thought quilt sleeping implied I would WANT the open bottom, like a square blanket. This is almost, if not literally never the case. Even in the summer having the feet covered feels better. I think a sewn footbox works fine for me, but it is nice to use it as a jacket with the open bottom! Could you replace your jacket with a quilt jacket and kind of save weight and split function? The design would need some more adaptation, I think.