This is a review of 20°F Down TopQuilts.
Over the past two years, I've owned and had extensive use of each of the following 20° Top Quilts:
- UnderGroundQuilts (UGQ) Flight Jacket 20° w 2 oz overstuff in footbox
- HammockGear Burrow 20°
- Warbonnet Mamba 20°
- EnLIGHTened Equipment (EE) RevelationX 20°
At the moment, I've sold all except the UGQ Flight Jacket. So, unfortunately, my comments about the others are based on my recollections from times past.
1) All had a sewn (mummy-style) footbox except the EE RevelationX, which had a drawstring foot closure.
2) Overall Warmth. All basically kept me adequately warm. But see below comments about footboxes and baffles.
3) Foot warmth. I had suspicions that the drawstring footbox of the EE RevelationX was responsible for unnecessarily cold feet a bit too often. In my opinion, some sort of sewn footbox is really a necessity for low temperature top quilts. I wouldn't buy another low-temp top quilt with a drawstring footbox. That said, my one and only 40° top quilt is an EnLIGHTened Equipment with a drawstring -- and it has performed adequately well. But I use it in the summer -- when the temps aren't anywhere near as cold. Both UGQ and HammockGear are willing to concentrate overstuff in the footbox area in order to better ensure cozy feet. I judge this to be a desirable option.
4) Baffles. The EE RevelationX used KAROstep baffles. I didn't like them. I felt like the down was moving around, leaving cold spots. Note that the current EE Revelation does NOT have KAROstep baffles, so this criticism does not apply to it.
The other three all had "conventional" horizontal baffles that seemed to get the job done. I believe that the UGQ FlightJacket baffles are narrower than the other makes. This should (and, I believe, does) mean that the down is both of a more consistent thickness and less likely to move - both highly desirable qualities.
5) Material. All the materials seemed to be adequately downproof (though all occasionally "leaked" down). All were quite soft and comfortable to touch. The Flight Jacket's "illume15" material is kind of crinkly-feeling. At first, I didn't like it, preferring the more "buttery" feel of the others. But it grew on me. Now I LOVE the feel of the UGQ Flight Jacket's "illume15" material.
Frankly, all of these had material that felt so nice that I would sometimes just run my hand over the inside fabric as I was laying in my hammock. Why? Just because it felt nice!
6) Neck Closure. I like the neck closure of the UGQ Flight Jacket better than some of the others. Easy to use. I like that the shock cord is front and center (not necessarily true for all other makes). As I recall, the WB Mamba had a tie (instead of a snap) at the back of the neck and the drawstring/shockcord was similarly located at the back of the neck -- both features I didn't like as much as the alternative (i.e., using a snap at the back of the neck and having the drawstring/shockcord front and center).
7) Customer Service. It will come as no surprise to anybody that all four of the vendors are incredibly nice folks and give uniformly outstanding customer service. Our cottage vendors are absolutely the best!
Overall, as I said, I sold all of them except the UGQ Flight Jacket. So I clearly like it better than the others. All the vendors make quality products, but for 20° topquilts, based on the ones that I've tried, the UGQ Flight Jacket is my clear favorite.
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