In my multitude of years backpacking and thru-hiking, one in all my largest gear qualms has been my sleep setup — notably, the sleeping bag vs. quilt debate.
Whereas I’ve all the time admired the load financial savings of quilts, I discovered them to be too drafty and unreliable for my sleep fashion (see: aspect sleeper who by no means stops shifting all through the night time). A part of me has yearned to cozy up within the consolation of a conventional sleeping bag, however I’ve additionally despised their lack of versatility on hotter nights.
So, once I found that Feathered Mates makes a hybrid sleeping bag and quilt for these in-betweeners who haven’t discovered a lot luck with both college of sleep insulation, I instantly entrusted 35 nights of sleep on the Colorado Path to the Flicker Ultralight Quilt Down Sleeping Bag.
On a path recognized for its wild temperature swings, the Flicker turned out to be the bag of my goals (actually — I slept like a child on this cozy, versatile vestibule).
Feathered Mates Flicker Ultralight Quilt Sleeping Bag At a Look
Candy goals, courtesy of the comfortable Flicker I retired to every night time on the Colorado Path.
MSRP: $529
Weight: 25.2 oz (common) / 26.2 oz (lengthy)
Fill Energy: 950+ Goose Down
Temperature Score: 20°F / -6°C
Dimensions: 62″ shoulder / 48″ hip / 39″ footbox
Supplies: Pertex Endurance UL shell, 15 denier ripstop nylon lining, 950+ goose down fill
Supposed Use
Designed as a hybrid, this sleep system provides you the perfect of each worlds: the flexibility of a quilt for hotter nights and the complete enclosure of a mummy bag when temperatures dip. It’s aimed toward thru-hikers, backpackers, and anybody needing a light-weight but versatile sleep system able to adapting to fluctuating situations.
Circumstance of Overview
I full-sent my gear check of the Flicker UL on a 500-mile thru-hike of the Colorado Path this August and September, the place I skilled temperatures everywhere in the gradient. Beginning in a dry warmth wave and ending in frost-covered mornings, the Flicker was examined in temperatures from the low 60s in Denver to mid-20s within the alpine. I used the Flicker in each quilt and sleeping bag mode, dealing with all the things from heat nights to chilly, rain-soaked situations.
The bottom temperature I skilled was round 26°F whereas sleeping in base layers and a puffy jacket.
Feathered Mates Flicker Ultralight Quilt Sleeping Bag Options
Hybrid Design
The Flicker’s standout function is its versatile nature, permitting it to operate each as a quilt and a sleeping bag. On hotter nights, you may unzip it absolutely and drape it over your self as a down quilt. Or zip it up and cinch the footbox tight for extra heat and fewer drafts on cooler nights.
Although it doesn’t have a hood, I opted for a wool hat-and-hood combo. I additionally discovered there to be loads of house length-wise to comfortably snuggle into bag mode, in addition to sufficient materials width-wise to wrap round myself in quilt mode.
Cinchable Footbox
Equally to a quilt design, the Flicker incorporates a backside drawcord, permitting you to create a comfortable footbox for max heat retention. Leaving no holes for drafts to seep via, this function actually brings the mother bag phantasm collectively for colder nights of tenting.
Custom-made Heat with Steady Baffles
Feathered Mates designed the bag’s down-filled chambers with steady baffles, permitting you to shift or focus the down the place you want it most. Whether or not you favor extra insulation to your torso or toes, this function provides a pleasant private contact.
Draft Collar
This quilt/sleeping bag additionally features a draft collar with two simply accessible drawcords to lure warmth. Though it lacks a hood, the draft collar does a wonderful job of blocking out chilly air, particularly when nestling down into the bag’s further materials.
Full with a draft collar, snaps, and drawstrings, the shortage of a hood was unnoticeable because of the Flicker’s further options.
Feathered Mates Flicker Ultralight Quilt Sleeping Bag Professionals
The Renaissance Man of Sleeping Luggage (or Quilts?)
The Flicker excels in adaptability. The Colorado Path is thought for insane temperature fluctuations from day after day and section to section. I wanted a bag that was as much as the check. What may vent effectively via scorching August evenings in Denver’s excessive desert, then maintain me cozy in frigid, frost-coated September nights within the San Juan alpine?
This hybrid mannequin seamlessly transitioned between quilt and sleeping bag mode; merely unzip and lay the blanket flat, or zip and cinch the footbox and draft collar for a mummy bag really feel. I used it as a full quilt in 60°F lows and was equally snug when temperatures dropped into the mid-20s in sleeping bag mode.
The Flicker in quilt mode. That includes a full-length zipper, it’s a simple swap to remodel it again right into a sleeping bag.
True to Temperature
Seattle-based Feathered Mates is thought for his or her dependable temperature scores, so I used to be keen to place this one to the check, particularly contemplating the upper ranges of loftiness and room for drafts with a quilt/bag combo. Pushing the temperature scores on this bag proved to be a comparatively snug expertise. I examined the 20°F bag and stayed heat in temperatures as little as the mid-20s with the assistance of base layers, a puffy jacket, and a wool hat.
The footbox cinched tightly sufficient to stop any chilly air from sneaking in and the draft collar successfully maintained my physique warmth contained in the bag. On particularly chilly or moist nights, I additionally discovered consolation in using the bag’s further materials as a makeshift hood, as there was loads of room to hunker down into the bag.
After spending almost half of my thru-hike in sub-freezing temperatures, I can verify that the Feathered Mates 950+ down performs as promised and the 20°F score feels reliable.
Condensation-Proof
After a month of various situations on the Colorado Path, the Flicker held up exceptionally effectively. Not solely is the Pertex Endurance cloth sturdy, however I used to be impressed with its moisture resistance, maintaining the down dry and lofty all through moist nights.
I thru-hiked in a ridiculously wet August. Regardless of repeated publicity to condensation from my soggy, single-wall tent that threateningly dripped over my bag all night time, the down by no means soaked via.
Light-weight … For a Sleeping Bag
At 25 ounces, this professional might depend upon the way you categorize the Flicker: sleeping bag or quilt. Seeing as how I used this hybrid mannequin as a sleeping bag for a big chunk of my thru-hike, I’d argue that the Flicker is impressively mild for a sleeping bag (albeit heavy by quilt requirements).
For these searching for an ultralight sleeping bag or adaptable possibility that received’t compromise on heat, this bag strikes the supreme stability.
Feathered Mates Flicker Ultralight Quilt Sleeping Bag Cons
Zipper Warmth Loss
One main draw back to a full-length zipper is that it could lose appreciable warmth in colder situations. Whereas further materials over the zipper and a cinched draft collar assist mitigate drafts, I did discover chilly air seeping via the zipper on my coldest nights.
Tucking the middle zipper beneath my physique once I slept (relatively than as a high or aspect zipper) helped treatment this. My sleeping pad thankfully has a excessive R-value, which assisted in balancing out the inflow of chilly air from the zipper with the physique warmth retained from my pad.
Not All Quilts Are Made Equal
For the aim of this assessment, as I discussed above, I largely take into account the Flicker a sleeping bag with the advantages of being convertible right into a quilt. That stated, for those who plan to make use of the Flicker primarily as a quilt, please observe that there’s no pad attachment system to safe it to a sleeping pad.
As a result of extra materials required for it to transform right into a sleeping bag, I discovered the quilt lots large for my physique measurement, which rendered this a non-issue for me. After I wanted extra heat, I merely switched to sleeping bag mode.
Heavy For a Quilt
Once more, relying on the way you view the Flicker, its 25-ounce pack weight could possibly be a professional or a con. For a quilt, it’s actually on the heavier aspect. Because it features primarily like a sleeping bag, nevertheless, I discovered the load to be cheap for its added options and heat.
General Worth
Although I primarily slept within the Flicker as a sleeping bag, I appeared ahead to shuffling round camp in my cozy down blanket!
My largest concern earlier than testing the Feathered Mates Flicker Ultralight Quilt Sleeping Bag was that its hybrid standing would compromise its capability to do something exceptionally effectively. A jack of all trades, grasp of none. I used to be fortunately mistaken on this assumption.
The Flicker excels in adaptability, permitting customers to make the most of one sleeping bag that performs effectively in a variety of situations. Its dependable heat and sturdiness additionally make it a high contender for thru-hikers wanting just one bag to get them via a long-distance hike with variable situations, such because the Colorado Path or Pacific Crest Path.
Whereas I’d take into account the Flicker to be primarily a sleeping bag with the additional benefit of quilt mode, this bag may undoubtedly compete with a number of the greatest ultralight sleeping baggage in the marketplace — boasting a function that few have.
Store the Feathered Mates Flicker UL Quilt Sleeping Bag
Comparable Merchandise
Zpacks Traditional Sleeping Bag
MSRP: Beginning at $419
Weight: Beginning at 16.6 oz
Enlightened Gear Enigma Sleeping Quilt
MSRP: $430
Weight: 21.19 oz
Western Mountaineering UltraLite Sleeping Bag
MSRP: $600
Weight: 28 oz
The Feathered Mates Flicker was donated for function of assessment
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