Elemental Hammocks Topquilt Review

[sabinajiles]

I recently decided to get a 3 season synthetic topquilt. I found the Elemental Hammock web site and Facebook page and the pictures of their quilts looked good and the price was very reasonable so I decided to give them a try. I ordered a 40 degree quilt for the price of $139 plus shipping. Lead time was quoted as 4-5 weeks. I ordered on May 30 and received it today, a couple days less than 4 weeks. The quilt is constructed with a 1 oz Hyper D shell and Apex Climashield 3.6 oz insulation and is 55"x78". The quilt with the included stuff sack weighs 21.5 oz and packs to about the size of a volleyball although it will stuff a lot tighter, down to about the size of a loaf of bread.

The quality of the quilt is excellent. All the seams are straight and no broken or loose threads. Absolutely no complaints or nitpicks about the workmanship. The Hyper D 1.0 has a nice feel to it and appears it will be acceptably durable. The quilt uses a length of shock cord for a drawstring to close the foot end and three heavy ribbon ties to close the footbox. There is no taper in the quilt and the footbox is quite roomy when closed. The ties and draw cord are sufficient for a warmer weather quilt and I have no problem with this method of closure for a 3 season quilt but for their colder rated quilts, I believe they would be well served to offer a zippered or sewn footbox. A very small gripe is they only included one cord lock on one end of the draw string on the foot end. the other end of the cord is tied to a sewn in loop. It works but having a cord lock on each end would make closing the footbox a little easier. I can, and will, untie the end tied to the loop and put another cord lock on it but including another one would have been a very minor expense.

Overall, I am very pleased with this quilt and wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I needed one. I have owned an Enlightened Equipment 40 degree Apex 3.6 quilt for years and have been very happy with it. I am sure this quilt will function just as well for my use and it cost quite a bit less. It will pair quite well with the Loco Libre Cayenne Pepper Apex 3.6 3/4 length underquilt which I already had, for a nice 3 season quilt set for damp conditions.

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[sabinajiles]

It's been so hot here, I haven't wanted to sleep outside but I finally got a chance to use this quilt and it and am perfectly happy with it's performance for summer camping. The 3.6 Apex Climashield is really to warm for me for summer sleeping so I did not tie up the foot box at all. I believe I will have no issues using this quilt to 40 degrees, maybe a bit less, but I am a warm sleeper. I will say that if the manufacturer tapered the foot end of the quilt and offered snaps instead of the ties to close it, it would be more user friendly, and lighter.