Enlightened Equipment Revelation APEX

The EE Revelation Apex synthetic quilt is an excellent part of my UL sleeping kit. It is warm, comfortable, and performs well even in damp climates. This quilt also compresses quite well so it doesn't take up tons of room in my pack. Furthermore, it is only 20 ounces (the long/wide version).

After quite a few years of backpacking with a down quilt, I recently decided to get an ultralight synthetic quilt for those outings in damp or humid conditions. I heard good things about Enlightened Equipment's quilts, so I got the Revelation Apex quilt when it was on sale last year. The quilt came packaged nicely with a stuff sack and a larger storage bag. I could tell right away from handling this quilt that it is well-made.

Because I'm just over 6' tall, I purchased the long/wide version of the Revelation quilt. The long/wide is just perfect for my size. It is long enough that I can use it to cover my head on cooler nights. And it's wide enough that I can roll over in it without exposing air gaps on the sides.

I ordered the 40-degree quilt which weighs 20 ounces. It uses 10D nylon and, of course, synthetic Climashield Apex insulation. I used this quilt last week in the Midwest on a 35-degree night. I was pleasantly surprised that it functioned pretty well under the temp rating.

I was slightly chilly, but using a thin/light liner and by wearing socks, I made it through the night just fine. I only had shorts and a t-shirt on that night, but I did have a puffy and a beanie handy just in case. I didn't have to wear the jacket or the beanie. Granted, any colder and I would have needed more clothing on. All that to say: the 40-degree temp rating, in my experience, is very accurate. 

The Revelation quilt has a zippered footbox that you can unzip if you want to use it like a blanket. I use it as a blanket on nights above 50 degrees or so. There are also clips along the sides of the quilt so you can use attachment straps to cinch it to your sleeping pad on cooler nights. Here are a few pics of the quilt in action:

I haven't used this quilt in super rainy weather yet. However, I can say it performs well on humid nights. At first it doesn't feel like it'll provide warmth, but after a few minutes it is super cozy.  Paired with a liner, I find this quilt to be very comfortable.

The only negative aspect of this quilt is that since there are no baffles on it, it puffs out like a balloon when stuffing it into the sack. It's hard to explain, but there are no stitches that go length- or width-wise through the quilt and into the insulation. It's like the insulation is only connected to the nylon around the edges. I think this design is on purpose—fewer stitches on the nylon is perhaps a plus. And I suppose down quilts need baffles stitched in to keep the down spread out. 

All in all, this Revelation Apex quilt is a legit super light synthetic quilt. It will be going on many of my backpacking trips this summer and beyond. I'll take my down quilt for cooler trips, but this Revelation is my go-to for warmer backpacking adventures.

Background

I've used this quilt in cooler weather in the shoulder season and have tested it quite a bit.

Revelation APEX 20 and 40 degree Fahrenheit quilts.
40-degree quilt: Good winter top layer so far.
20-degree quilt: F.O.B. (fresh out of box), but looking forward to using it soon.

Background

The Revelation APEX is Enlightened Equipment's Revelation quilt that uses CLIMASHIELD APEX synthetic insulation, instead of down. The Revelation APEX was previously branded by EE as the Prodigy. Other Trailspace members have written reviews about both the Revelation down quilt and the Prodigy that I suggest reading in conjunction with this review.

Revelation APEX 40 degree Fahrenheit.

I customized my order as follows:

• Regular 6-foot length
• Wide 58-inch width
• 20D orange outside fabric across entire surface.
• 10D green inside fabric

I purchased this quilt during Enlightened Equipment's November pre-holiday discount sales event. Since it is 40 degree rated, my original intention was to wait and use it during the warm season. However, for the winter I've been layering it over a 20 degree sleeping bag, and then placing both in a bivy sack. So far so good. 

One night it only got down to the mid-30s F and I woke up thinking I has having heat stroke—so it definitely adds warmth. My bivy sack has a non-breathable fabric in the foot box and this quilt has done a good job preventing internal condensation from reaching my sleeping bag. I also like that this quilt has a drawstring in its foot box so I can adjust how much ventilation my feet get.

Revelation APEX 20 degree Fahrenheit.

I customized my order as follows:

• Regular 6-foot length
• Regular 54-inch width
• 10D navy blue outside fabric across center.
• 20D light blue "weather resistant stripes" across outside top and bottom.
• 10D yellow inside fabric

Impressed by my winter outings with my orange 40-degree version, I decided to order a 20-degree version to use instead of my sleeping bag. It's F.O.B. (fresh out of box), but hope to get out with it soon.  Will provide updated review in the future.

Downsides

The only downside of each version I've noticed thus far is that the inside fabric is quite billowy and can easily get caught in the zipper and snaps if you are not mindful. It would be nice for the manufacturer to add another stitch line about 1 inch in from each long edge to keep the inside fabric away from the zipper and snaps.

Pictures

40 deg F version. Hanging up in a trail shelter:

40 deg F version. Wrapped around a sleeping bag, getting ready to go into bivy sack:

40 deg F version. The quilt's drawstring foot box allows me to adjust how much of my sleeping bag's foot box (grey thing peaking out) is ventilated:

20 deg F version. Showing the lighter blue "20D weather resistant" stripes across top and bottom with thinner 10D material across the center:

20 deg F version. Zipper and snaps along long outer edges:

Both versions. Billowy inside fabric has potential to get caught in zipper and snaps if you are not careful:

Both versions. A large cotton storage bag was included with each order. The bottom has hand marked specs of the order. The back of the bag has washing instructions for the quilt:




Both versions. Nylon stuff sack is included too: