Synthetic insulation???

[jeffjenn]

Trying to decide what insulation I want to try for my underquilt. Looking for a quilt good to around 40 degrees, but will rarely (if ever) see less than 50.

Out of these options which one would you go with:

Climashield XP---4oz @ 10.95yd
Primaloft Sport---4oz @ 8.75yd
Primaloft One---3oz @ 11.95yd....or.....5oz @ 16.95yd

If I'm out of the ballpark with these weights let me know. Also I see a little info here on Climashield, but almost none on Primaloft is there a reason for this? How about the ability to compress each of these, is one better than the other?

[Schneiderlein]

For what it's worth, the 5oz Climashield XP is rated good to 20 F on the thru-hiker site. From personal experience, this is not too far off as a top quilt. But the amount of insulation different people need varies a lot. If you are a cold sleeper, the 5oz XP might only get you to 30 or 35 degrees. On the quest outfitters site, two layers of 3oz Primaloft (similar CLO as 5oz XP) are recommended to 35 F based on their customer feedback.

I had a poll here a while ago that I did not really get much feedback on. I was trying to figure out how much more bottom insulation you need vs. top insulation. I did not get any conclusive results, but now that I have made both top and bottom quilts, I know that I need more bottom insulation than top insulation. If you are the same way, you might want to go for more insulation rather than less.

I do not have much data to back this up, but in my limited experience, it seems that when I reach the temperature limit of my under quilt, additional layers of clothing do not help very much and I have to resort to a pad. OTOH, I can easily squeeze an extra 15 F or more out of a top quilt with additional clothing. Based on this, and the ease of venting an under quilt when it is warm, I would design the under quilt for the lower end of the expected range. The down under quilt I made works equally well at 25 F and at 60 F with a slight adjustment in the suspension.

I am not sure about the difference in compressibility of different synthetic insulations, but I can say that the bulk of the Climashield XP quilt I made is the primary reason that I switched to down.

Good luck on your project!

[Cannibal]

Climashield XP.

I used 4 layers of it for an underquilt (3/4 length) and made it through single digit temps and LOTS of rainy nights. I love it!

It did get wet, a few times, but kept me warm enough to see the sunrise. Lightweight for synthetic and warm; two things me like. It is bulky, but worth the extra space IMO.

[warbonnetguy]

Climashield XP.

I used 4 layers of it for an underquilt (3/4 length) and made it through single digit temps and LOTS of rainy nights. I love it!

It did get wet, a few times, but kept me warm enough to see the sunrise. Lightweight for synthetic and warm; two things me like. It is bulky, but worth the extra space IMO.

cannibal's uq has layers of the 2.5 oz xp. layers are removeable, but the 4 layer combo equates to 10 oz/yd

depending on the effiency of the design you use, you could go with somewhere between 4-6 oz/yd for your desired temp range.

[Preacha Man]

I really like the Climashield, when you get it, it doesn't look like it will keep you warm, but I have never been cold with it. My 5oz quilt kept me warm to 16*, and I am a cold sleeper. for 45* I would use 2.5oz Climashield, it would be very thin, but very good. I have never worked with the 2.5oz, only the 3.7oz and 5oz. The 3.7oz is rated to 32*, so the 2.5oz Climashield should work great for you, and be very light.

Dwight

P.S. Climahshield is a little lighter per temp rating than Primaloft, that is why most people use Clmashield rather than Primaloft.

[warbonnetguy]

oops, i was thinking you wanted to go colder than that. 3-4 oz/yd would be a good weight. uq's aren't going to be as warm as a similar weighted top quilt.

maybe cannibal will chime in since he's been using the xp in an uq on a regular basis recently.