This is a short summary review of the 3 season Barnaby Top quilts I ordered from Underquilts.com. My goal was two quilts that are versatile, strong and warm. Turns out I got that in spades.
I had an old winter down sleeping bag and a down comforter that were falling apart so I decided to re-purpose the down into these new shells. I ordered both in Coyote brown ripstop models, ultralight fabrics didn’t make sense in my case since the down I was using was mid-grade (probably 600FP) and would not be super light.
I asked if he could make them 'cold' 3 season quilts with slightly taller baffles I tend to be a cold sleeper so the goal was a little more warmth in a 3 season quilt without going crazy on the overstuff. He said 'no problem' and even recalculated how much down I would need.
The shells arrived to me in Canada quickly and I set to work stuffing the first one. The shells each weighed 10oz on my scale, no flaws anywhere that I could see and the stitching put mine to shame.
I stuffed the first quilt with 25oz of my mystery duck down. Because of my eagerness I ended up overstuffing this first quilt a fair bit, but since it was not bursting at the seams I decided to leave it. You can see the 'puff' difference between them in photo 2). I used the plumbing T and shopvac method to transfer the down and it worked really well with almost no spill. Sewing was easy, the only thing to watch is to make sure to line the baffles up, then sew a rolled hem and add desired doodads. I decided to add a small drawstring sleeve at the head for no real reason but it looks good. I took it for a spin at a winter overnight (forgot the camera wouldn’t you know). With a light shirt on I found it kept me toasty to the low of -10C (14F). I was pleased because the previous fall I froze at 28F in my so called 14F rated synthetic bag.
I stuffed the second shell with about 22 oz of down so I can use it for warmer conditions and the thicker one for cooler weather– then use both together as a winter bag. I added a head end drawstring collar with a small draft tube. It is pretty small but it does seem to help when I cinch the neck closed.
I sewed both as convertible quilts with Velcro footboxes so they can also be an underquilt or opened flat. I am adding corner loops and ties to attach to a ground pad.
I like to make gear but Dave's shells are such a great option I could not resist. He is great to deal with and gets top ratings. I think this is a great way to reuse old down and see more projects like this in the future. Thanks Dave
Cheers
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