Eagles Nest Outfitters Ember Underquilt

Summary

Returned it the same day I got it.

First, if you looked at the review with the video, let me say the unit I got no longer has the shock cords running along the length of the sides. The only connection points are the two ends.

I bought this because I won Trailspace's contest in January and got a $500 gift card to Backcountry.com (Thank you, Trailspace!!!!!). I needed an underquilt for my hammock, and Backcountry only sells the Ember. 

I was warned by MANY folks on Hammockforums.net not to buy it, but I had the gift card.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that the Ember had the feel of one of my kid's $15 Walmart sleeping bags. It just felt cheap—but at $174 it cost a lot.

I set my hammock with the Ember up after work, and I was further disappointed. An UQ is suppose to hug up against the bottom of the hammock to trap warmth. Unfortunately, there were so many gaps—gaps I couldn't tighten up—that the Ember was full of cold spots. I was uncomfortable laying in my 60°F garage. There's no way I'd take this out on a cold night.

I packed it right back up and contacted Backcountry about exchanging it for something else. Very disappointed, but I had been warned.

Here's my review of Eagles Nest Outfitters "Ember" underquilt.

Part I:

Part II:

Enjoy!

The Ember from ENO is awesome and I've gotten to use it quite a bit over the past 2 months. I've owned other underquilts that were cheaper but just didn't perform like I needed on a cold night in the mountains. So for this winter I decided to not let cost be the deciding factor for my next underquilt purchase.

There were definitely more expensive underquilts, but I like Eagles Nest Outfitters as a company and know their products to be good quality. I think with the Ember you get what you pay for: an underquilt that is simple to set up but most importantly keeps you warm and dry.

Most recently after getting almost a foot of snow a few days before, I went camping in Pisgah National Forest, one night the lowest temp was 26 degrees. While I was dressed warmly in fleece, no jacket though, the Ember kept me toasty and dry the entire night and the following two nights as well. Absolutely recommend this product.