Mick f D " Your not quite correct regarding my quilt Derek. I couldn't squeeze in another person. It isn't a rectangular quilt, but a tapered, or as Nunatak describes it, an Arc shaped quilt. Jacks r Better make traditional rectangular quilts. The sewn in footbox is too small for another pair of legs. The quilt tapers out from the footbox to maximum width (55" not 57") at about waist level.
It isn't wide enough to completely encircle me.
The Nunatak website shows the design quite clearly."

Mick I had a look at the Nuntac site. It says the extra width over the nuntac ghost is for layering. 9" seems a lot of extra shoulder width. Mind you In our bag if we wore our rab nutrino jackets, and did not spoon, I think that would take up all the spare room even with the elastics loose.
Your synthetic insulated trousers have got me thinking, but with the pound now so weak American stuff is very expensive. British gear does not seem to include light synthetic insulated trousers.

Hi Derek.
It was the Montbell UL Down Inner pants i carry, not synthetic. The synthetic version is the UL Thermawrap pants.
55" is maybe wide if you are thin and skinny. I'm a 42" chest with quite wide shoulders. The extra width over the Ghost is needed if you are a side sleeper. The Ghost is better suited to a back sleeper who doesn't move around much. ANY quilt is suited to layering, as the down never gets compressed.
Before i ordered the quilt, i cut a sheet to the different dimensions, and the narrower Ghost would have been too narrow for me.

The whole point of the quilt is comfort, Derek. I don't want to be lying there with no extra room. If a quilt is too narrow for you, you WILL get draughts when you turn. :)

Eddie,

I have been using a Golite Ultra quilt/bag for over a year now and find it is really versatile and above all warm and comfy.

One of my pet hates of sleeping bags is that they are very restrictive. I know that this is part of how they help keep you warm by minimising "dead space" but for me it makes me feel claustrophobic. Besides which, my wife tells me that in the night i toss and turn worse than Michael Flatley on acid. When I use a sleeping bag this gets in the way of my nightime "movements" and I dont get that great a rest.

Since I have switched to the quilt/bag, my sleep have improved quite a bit. I know the ultra isnt a true quilt as it has a small foot box but the straps on the two long edges of the quilt allow it to be open or as closed as I wish. It also allows a mat to be placed in the quilt and the quilt can then be adjusted to fit how you want

I have toyed with getting a full quilt but for now the Golite does it all because it can open up but still retain some element of control on slippage by adjustment of the straps

Backpack Brewer,

Welcome to one of the smallest niches on the TGO forum.

The Golite Ultra is a 'true' quilt as far as this thread is concerned. I have three quilts and they all have enclosed footboxes like that of your Ultra. Although there are quilts available that open completely flat, they're even rarer than the type under discussion, so I wasn't really expecting to hear from an owner of one.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Your opinions and experiences seem to mirror those of US quilt users, who were my only frame of reference up until now.

It seems that a telephone box will be too small for the inaugural Quilt Users of Britain gathering, but a church hall would be way too big. How about a potting shed?

I don't know about having a meet in a 'potting shed' Eddy. I know of a few old wooden sheds in the highlands though. I'll bring the 'pot', and you can bring the munchies.
A large bag of Twiglets and chilli peanuts for me! ;)

How are you getting on with your quilt/quilts Eddie?

I see that the Golite Ultra is becoming more readily available in this country with several online shops (and one high street shop) starting to sell them. Not all down (oops) to me but several people on OM have bought the ultra since I started extolling its virtues so the popularity is spreading

I've always placed a premium on a comfortable night's sleep, but only got around to trying a quilt last summer. I generally sleep quite warm and on my side, usually partially curled up, and tend to turn a lot during the night. Sleeping bags, winter or summer, tend to be too hot and awkward to regulate the temperature in, and of course the lighter they are the less room they have, particularly around the upper torso (I tend to get my hands in a praying position and put them under my cheek).

So, I pushed the boat out and got a Montbell thermal sheet last summer.
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Zipped up at the limit of it's temperature range I found it to be next to useless without a fair bit of upper body clothing on. If it was longer this would be less of an issue, but bear in mind that I'm only 5 feet 9. I'm sure it has it uses zipped, as a means of beefing up another bag in colder weather.

As a quilt on the other hand, it proved a real revelation. There is plenty of room for tossing and turning and temperature is easy to regulate by throwing it back or snuggling/curling up as needed. Base and mid layers that would be carried anyway considerably extend the useability of the sheet. Additionally he 'wasted' material and down from it not being a pad hugging type quilt is minimal and can still be pressed into service if you are cold, unlike that on the bottom of a sleeping bag.

I'm preaching to the choir here I know, but as I say, to me it was quite a revelation. Too bad I'll have to get my money's worth out of my winter bag for a few more years yet!

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Awright rodders. :)

I've ben thinking of getting one of the Montbell Thermal Sheets myself.
I would remove the zip and sew in a footbox. Looks like it would make
an excellent summer quilt for around 300g. :)

MfD,

I've never slept so comfortably in summer before and can highly recommend it. Too bad about the price.