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  1. #1
    New Member Slick's Avatar
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    Enlightened Equipment Epiphany Initial Review

    This is my initial review of the Enlightened Equipment Epiphany Top Quilt

    I just got my EE Epiphany top quilt in a couple of weeks ago.

    First, I have to say it was a pleasure doing business with Tim. I couldn’t have asked for better communication.

    After I placed my order Tim emailed me to let me know that a couple of people have reported baffle failures in this quilt model. I suspect they were stuffing their quilts too fast, but at any rate, he wanted to let me know that he was going to ship me a slightly different configuration to help alleviate that. It involves more nylon at the foot to let air in and out faster and a flap to cover the nylon rather than the inflation tube. That’s a good thought, but one thing I really like about this quilt is the inflation tube. I can seal that off to control loft (more on that shortly). After a couple of emails, he ended up making me a hybrid that both packs a bit easier and still has the inflation tube that I wanted. I couldn’t ask for more.

    A few specs:
    I ordered a 6 foot, regular, half taper, 20 degree quilt.

    I found mine to be exactly 72” long by 50” wide at the top and 39” wide at the bottom, and begins tapering at exactly the half way mark. That’s slightly smaller than spec, which is 78” long, by 52” wide at the top and 40” wide at the foot. I’m not complaining, though. I’ve slept under it very comfortably. The estimated weight according to the EE website is 18.5 oz. Mine tips the scales at exactly 488 grams, or 17.21 oz. I can’t complain about that, either.

    I haven’t measured loft because, as I alluded to above, I can control that with the inflation tube. The claimed 2.75” max loft is certainly within its range.

    Performance:
    I’ve only had this quilt out for two nights so far, in the mid 40’s. That’s well above its rated 20 degrees, so I’ll have to get back to you on how it does when it’s closer to its lower limit. However, the warmer temps are just as interesting to me. This is an expensive quilt, so I want to be able to use it as much as possible. To that end, I was able to close the inflation tube before the quilt was completely lofted to effectively reduce its rating. I slept only slightly warm for those two nights, even though my quilt is rated for less than half the temperature encountered. I was really surprisingly comfortable! I expected to be clammier, given that the temperature was more than twice the quilt’s rating, plus the vapor barrier effect. The inherent ease of venting a quilt is all that was needed to stay cool enough. I know the drawstring foot box isn’t the most efficient, but I like it a lot. In even warmer weather I’ll leave it open and vent the quilt even more. In colder temps, I think it closes up tight enough to be very effective.

    Quality:
    I’ve been all the way around the quilt looking at each hem and seam. I haven’t found any flaws. I’m very happy with the quality of construction. As well, the design shows a great deal of thought. Mine is not custom. I’m not even sure that Tim is making custom quilts these days. But I wouldn’t have asked for anything to be different, anyway. In fact, I chose not to ask for anything different. I liked the specs and l like the end result. I can’t really say anything more than that.

    I would have appreciated it if it had come with a stuff sack. If you make your own, be careful. I made a stuff sack from cuben left over from another project that weighs in at 6 grams. It’s 4” by 6.5” by 14”, to fit one of my backpacks perfectly. I mentioned at the start that I thought others were probably stuffing their quilts too fast. I do have to be patient stuffing my quilt into this bag. It’s not fast. But I knew that when I ordered a quilt made of cuben fiber. It does fit easily, if slowly. I could compress it more, but don’t have any need to.

    Bottom line:
    I do recommend EE quilts. I love my cuben Epiphany so far, as it has exceeded by expectations.
    Ryan

    With our powers combined... we should be able to get these hammocks out of the dirt.

  2. #2
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    Nice review

    Enjoyed your review. Few questions. In What temp range do you expect to use this? It is cuben on both sides, how does that feel against your skin? Do you think moisture will work it's way through the seems into the quilt? Can it be rigged as an under quilt and how do you think it would work in that configuration?

    Thanks,

    S

  3. #3
    Senior Member MarshLaw303's Avatar
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    something of note. The cuben will soften greatly with use to the point it becomes very comfortable and soft. After a few stipped stuffing and so on they get nice and soft.

    -Tim

  4. #4
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    Slick,

    The EE website states is can be used as an underquilt. What do you think?

  5. #5
    New Member Slick's Avatar
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    Sidwinder:

    The temps I expect to use this in are from the mid-teens to the mid 50's. Above that I'm not sure I could be comfortable. I really do think it's flexible enough to work throughout that range. I'll report back as it gets colder. Next month I'm going out with my son for a couple of nights w/o shelter. We’re going to make our shelter each night. That won’t help me stay warm, so I’m counting on this quilt! I’ll let you know how it goes.

    I got the .33 oz. cuben. Very light! Durability is something to consider. I’m not worried about that because I did consider it. I’m careful with my gear, so I think I can get away with it. It feels better on the skin than I thought it would. I think the light cuben helps that. It’s softer. I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised with the how comfortable it is. I slept the first night with a nylon sleeping bag liner (converted to a quilt liner) between me and the Epiphany. The second night I didn’t use it and was more comfortable. The nylon was fine; it just slid around and got bunched up. As Tim noted, the cuben will soften with use. Knowing that, I “worked it over” before my trip and did get it to soften up some before I’d even used it. It still has some softening to do, but that’ll come with use now.

    As for moisture, I’m not worried about it from normal use. If it was in the rain, directly, maybe that would be an issue.

    Sidewinder and Doodad:

    The EE web site notes that it can be hung under you. You’ll have to come up with your own suspension. Having said that, it’s got loops all the way up each side, so you could run a bit of shock cord around it very easily and I bet it would do the job. As luck would have it, I happen to have enough shock cord lying around to do that. If you’re interested, I’ll rig it up and take a couple of pics for you.

    Glad you found the review helpful, by the way.
    Ryan

    With our powers combined... we should be able to get these hammocks out of the dirt.

  6. #6
    New Member Slick's Avatar
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    I should also share that I heard from Tim on the size discrepancy that I originally noted. It seems that I may have accidently received a 5’6” version. I’m not hung up on the mistake; it happens.

    What I wanted to give Tim credit for was his offer to make it right by swapping it out for me if I wanted. I don’t yet know if I’m going to take him up on that. I need to think about it tonight.

    But since I noted originally that the size was a bit off, I wanted to follow up with his response.

    Again, I can’t ask for more. Thanks, Tim!
    Ryan

    With our powers combined... we should be able to get these hammocks out of the dirt.

  7. #7
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    If you do rig it beneath, pics would help. Thanks.

  8. #8
    New Member Slick's Avatar
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    Photos added to Gallery

    Doodad:
    I've added a few shots of my Epiphany hanging under my HH. I put a couple of backpacks in my hammock... that helped, but it doesn't fill it out quite like I do, of course.

    Also, I spent about a minute (no kidding) working out how to hang it. You could probably do better if you spent a little more time on it. I noticed that it helped a LOT to gather the ends of the shock cord at the ridge line. Dutch sells hooks specifically for this.

    I also used the head and food draw-strings that are build in to gather the ends. That worked very well.

    Hope the photos help out.

    http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...p?i=19036&c=13
    http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...p?i=19035&c=13
    http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...p?i=19034&c=13
    Ryan

    With our powers combined... we should be able to get these hammocks out of the dirt.

  9. #9
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    Very nice! Thanks for the reply and pictures. Which under quilt(s) do you pair it with? I know that with ripstop materials down quilts can be washed/cleaned any idea how this would work with this quilt?

    S

  10. #10
    New Member Slick's Avatar
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    I think when it comes time to clean this one, I'll just use a damp cloth. Maybe a little soap on the cloth if needed. I won't put it in the wash, that's for sure!

    So far, I've only paired it with a HH Super Shelter. That's all I have at the moment. I am very close on a DIY UQ, though. It's also cuben and down. I'll post more on that when it's done.
    Ryan

    With our powers combined... we should be able to get these hammocks out of the dirt.

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