I made one! IX, Fleece, Ripstop

[thegreatjesse]

My ladyfriend had two pieces of fleece left over from a Christmas gift, and I stole them to make gear. The fleece inner lining measured 52" x 70", and the ripstop shell was 60" x 72". I used 2 layers of IX as the insulation (man does this stuff rock!), the outermost layer darted on the short sides by 2", and the innermost darted by 4". The bottom section (gray in the pictures) was a home-base shaped piece of fleece, ripstop, and a single layer of IX, differentially cut similarly to the body. The quilt reaches just over my nose, and wraps completely around me if I need it to. I'm hesitant to add loops to secure it in this position, because I don't anticipate needing to seal up, and I plan to continue to use a sleeping bag in the winter months.

Here, look:




The quilt fit (somewhat uncomfortably) in an eVent compression sack from Sea to Summit - the sack I usually keep my Marmot MB 15* bag in. I would surely prefer to stow the quilt in a stuff sack, as IX just does not compress well. The final weight was 36.2 oz. The entire project took less than 4 hours, start to finish, and I'm really pleased with the results. While the quilt is a bit heavier than I'd like (namely, because of the fleece), I plan on carrying it exclusively in the warmer months, and as an addition to my SB in the winter.

[Peg-Leg]

Good job. Looks very warm. The fleece should eliminate the tendancy of the IX to make your skin feel clamy.

Nice quilt.

[BLUEFIN 774]

That is a great home made quilt , it looks excellent.

[exup]

How is the IX? Is it fabric like or foam like? Can it be stuffed or does it need rolled?

I love these quilts you guys are making.

[thegreatjesse]

How is the IX? Is it fabric like or foam like? Can it be stuffed or does it need rolled?

Thanks for the kind words! IX is great stuff - super lightweight, incredibly versatile, and WARM. I guess it would be more like a foam, with a layer of thin fabric stitched to each side. I won't pretend to understand how it works, but it surely does. Packing it is the biggest issue I've encountered. I've seen people suggest rolling it, but I tried that and it just seemed too bulky, and it is tough to get a rolled up quilt into a stuff sack. I just stuff it loosely and pack it low.

[DuctTape]

Very nice. I like the footbox. The one I made doesn't have a sewn footbox and i only used 1 layer of IX. I think you will be very surprised just how warm this quilt will be. I know I continue to be impressed with my single layer-IX/fleece quilt. I'd like to hear how yours performs because then a comparison to mine will give us a rough idea of how much the extra IX layer does for performance.

Again, nice job!

[thegreatjesse]

Just a kind of update - I fell asleep under this thing on my couch last night and woke up soaked in sweat. I'm a warm sleeper, and my apartment was probably around 64*, so I'm going to assume that I should never use this above 55*. I think DuctTape was right, this thing is going to be a lot warmer than I had anticipated. I made it to be used as a summer quilt but I'd be willing to bet it will work very well as a 3S quilt.

[GvilleDave]

I made a similar IX TQ and closed off the footbox in a somewhat similar manner and found it caused condensation as well. I am going to modify moine to vetilate the footbox and hopefully reduce or elliminate the condensation.

Nice job BTW! That looks and sounds very warm!

[thegreatjesse]

I'd like to ventilate mine as well, but I'm afraid that cutting a hole in the bottom and adding a drawstring would shorten the length of the quilt by too much, and leave me with a cold chin. I made a second top-quilt with 2 layers of IX and 1.1 oz ripstop inner and outer shells, and it seems much less clammy than the fleece/IX, but I didn't add any method to ventilate it either. Any suggestions as to how to ventilate an already-finished-but-clammy topquilt, preferably without shortening the overall length?