Mountain Laurel Designs Spirit Quilt 28°

Summary

Synthetic fill over quilt that does the job.

I purchased a Mountain Laurel Designs Spirit quilt to be used with my hammock. I purchased the 28° quilt and have only recently had a chance to use it, as the temperatures are now dropping here in the Northeast.

I purchased the synthetic fill because I am also looking for it to replace a 30° sleeping bag that I use when I do have to use a tent and the chances of it getting wet are greater in the tent. Therefore this has an advantage over down in this case.

The quality and craftmanship are flawless. It is not as compressible as down, but that is the tradeoff.  This quilt can be made pretty small compared to any of the comparable synthetic sleeping bags I have.

I have used it several times in the high 30° range and it performed well. My last use, when I went to bed it was 30° out. I slept well until just before dawn and then woke up a slight bit cold. Checking the thermometer it was 22° out.  My quilt is rated at 28°. So I would say MLD's rating is pretty much on the mark! I am not a warm sleeper either.

My experience with most of my sleeping equipment until I dove into the cottage industry products to lighten my load, was that it was rare to be comfortable at the temps the equipment was rated for. Not true with this quilt. It worked perfect right down to its rating and actually went a little below.

12/29/2012 - Addition to the initial review.

Until now I have used the quilt just draped over me, but it does have a buckle that can be connected in the back to pull the sides in. This in conjunction with the fact that the top can be cinched down just like the foot.  I hesitated to use this as I have some claustrophobic issues.

I have never been able to use a mummy bag, bivy sack and until I had my Hennessey Hammock modified with top zipper entry (see 2QZQ) - I occasionally would wake up in my hammock and have to exit (the bottom) in the middle of the night for a few minutes as I would wake and get anxious from being enclosed.  Well I gave the Spirit quilt a run with both the back buckled and the top cinched up (which sort of makes it like a mummy bag) and to my surprise, I slept well throughout the night. I started on my back and was able to turn to each side easily without any cold spots.  

This may not work for everyone who tends to be claustrophobic, but it did for me.