The Best Ultralight Backpacking Quilts (2026): Zenbivy, REI

3 hours ago 5

Less is less, don’t fto anyone person you otherwise. This is particularly existent erstwhile you’re carrying everything you request to unrecorded for a week connected your back, which brings america to the backpacking quilt: It’s a sleeping bag, but less. In galore cases, a backpacking quilt is each you need, and I’ve travel to similar them amended than sleeping bags for each but the coldest of trips.

These quilts are not similar the ones your grandma gave you. Backpacking quilts are made of nylon and filled with down similar a accepted sleeping bag, but they prevarication implicit you similar a quilt, alternatively than wrapping you up the mode a sleeping container would. The payment is twofold: A quilt is lighter, meaning little value to transportation successful your pack, and successful the close conditions, you conscionable mightiness slumber amended too.

WIRED Top Picks:

For Ultralight Summer Trips: Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt (40 degree)
The Best Sleep System: Zenbivy Light Quilt
The Best Budget Quilt: REI Magma Trail 30
Best Quilt for the Long Haul: Feathered Friends Flicker UL

Why Is a Quilt Better Than a Sleeping Bag?

I person a full nonfiction devoted to answering this question, but the abbreviated mentation is that it’s conscionable arsenic warm, and weighs less. The subject down the archetypal assertion is basal physics. When you prevarication down successful a sleeping bag, the value of your assemblage forces astir of the down capable disconnected to the sides. The down near nether you is truthful small and truthful compacted (by your lying connected it) that you’re not getting immoderate existent insulation from it. Why, the logic goes, transportation astir value you’re not using?

Quilts get escaped of the bottommost furniture of a sleeping bag, and prevarication implicit you similar the quilt connected your furniture astatine home. Quilts typically measurement little than sleeping bags and battalion down smaller, making them precise fashionable with backpackers trying to trim value and prevention space.

When Is a Sleeping Bag Better Than a Quilt?

When it’s truly cold. The occupation with quilts is drafts (they don’t wrapper astir you truthful they’re prone to letting successful acold air) and their deficiency of hoods. Drafts aren’t a large woody successful the summertime erstwhile astir of america backpack, which is wherefore I similar them much than sleeping bags astir of the time. That said, erstwhile I caput retired skiing oregon snowshoeing successful the depths of winter, I bring a subzero sleeping bag.

After years of testing, I’ve recovered conscionable astir immoderate quilt good for summertime use. For shoulder-season trips wherever temps whitethorn dip beneath freezing, I inactive usage a quilt, but I usage a Zenbivy, which keeps retired drafts amended than different quilts acknowledgment to the further expanse and broadside baffles. Any clip I deliberation temps volition dip beneath 20°F, I bring a sleeping bag.

If They’ve Less Material, Why Are Quilts More Expensive?

Quilts are sometimes—but not always—more costly than a accepted lightweight sleeping bag. Why are we paying much for less? In astir cases, the reply is down-fill power. Cheaper sleeping bags often usage 650 down fill, whereas astir quilts are successful the 800 to 1,000 fill-power range, which makes them somewhat pricier. That said, determination are immoderate large lower-priced down quilts, similar REI’s Magma Quilt (see below).

The Best Quilt for Ultralight Summer Trips

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

Enlightened Equipment

Revelation Quilt (40°F)

For summertime trips, erstwhile I privation to spell arsenic airy arsenic possible, Enlightened Equipment’s Revelation Quilt is my apical pick. I person the 40°F version, which weighs conscionable 19 ounces. Unlike galore manufacturers, Enlightened Equipment does not bash a dual temp standing of comfortableness and lower/extreme limit. Instead it picks a fig successful betwixt and recommends connected its website that astir radical “use a quilt 10 degrees warmer than the lowest expected temperatures.” My acquisition with the Revelation suggests this proposal is solid. I’ve recovered the Revelation keeps maine lukewarm down to astir freezing, provided I americium wearing a basal layer. If it’s immoderate colder than that, I’ll slumber successful a puffy overgarment arsenic well, but successful summer, adjacent successful the mountains, this is seldom going to beryllium necessary.

The Revelation has the quality to prevarication wholly level connected warmer nights, which is however I typically usage it. The ft container has a 20-inch zipper and drawstring, which let you to adjacent it down to make a bully choky (read warm) abstraction astatine your feet erstwhile you request it. There are besides straps that signifier a loop and wrapper astir your sleeping pad to support the Revelation successful place. The straps are separate, which is bully due to the fact that fractional the clip I don’t usage them, but it does marque losing past thing of a risk. They’re besides a spot antithetic from different systems I’ve tested successful that they loop astir your pad (rather than conscionable under) and past you clip the Revelation to them. I don’t similar sleeping connected the strap, truthful I usage these straps “wrong” and conscionable enactment them nether my pad, ignoring the loop feature, and it works great. On warmer nights I don’t fuss with the straps astatine all—quilts are astir flexibility aft all.

The Revelation is disposable successful an astir endless array of configurations, with temp ratings from 50°F down to 0°F. You tin besides get antithetic lengths (short, regular, long) and antithetic widths (wide, regular), and take betwixt 850-fill-power and 950-fill-power down. A draught collar is disposable connected bags rated beneath 30°F. I tested the 40°F exemplary with 850 capable power, which weighs 19 ounces and costs $370. It’s besides worthy noting that determination is an enactment to physique a wholly custom, made-in-the-US Revelation utilizing your nonstop dimensions and capable powerfulness and cloth colour preferences.

The Best Sleep System for Shoulder Season Trips

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

When the somesthesia dips beneath freezing, I crook to Zenbivy’s assorted slumber systems. In my cervix of the woods, freezing temps tin widen into June and commencement up successful aboriginal September truthful I walk a batch of clip successful Zenbivy quilts. I’ve tested each exemplary the institution makes and portion of the quality of the Zenbivy strategy is you tin premix and lucifer antithetic quilts and sheets according to what works champion for you. My favourite combo is the Light Quilt (convertible version, which opens flat), paired with the fractional sheet/hood from the Ultralight Bed. I similar the 10°F mentation of both. This ends up the astir versatile, lightweight combo for the temperatures I thin to brushwood (using the fractional expanse saves maine 6 ounces implicit the full). That said, if I were backpacking mostly successful the mountainous West oregon successful warmer climates, I’d spell with the 25°F option.

My last tip, thing I discovered by mishap done my ain laziness, is that if you fasten down lone 1 broadside of your quilt, it’s overmuch much similar sleeping successful a furniture astatine home. This works champion successful the Zenbivy system, but I’ve done it with different quilts arsenic well. You won’t privation to bash it connected the coldest of nights, but it’s what I bash the remainder of the time.

Read Entire Article