The Mountain Laurel Designs “Spirit 28° Quilt“, my first synthetic sleeping quilt, has proven to be an exceptional piece of hiking gear. The quality of build, the attention to details, the type of fabric used, and of course the ClimaShield APEX, all make the Spirit quilt my quilt of choice.
Last year when I decided to make the move away from using goose/duck down products I knew that the selection of synthetic quilts to pick from was going to be small. I also knew that I would not even bother looking. The amount of hikers I truly respect that have given the MLD Spirit quilt the highest praise that can be given, just made the decision for me. I was not disappointed. Exceptional, truly exceptional.
The Decision To Buy:
For the last few years I have been a diehard – well over 500 nights – user and evangelist of the Montbell U.L. Super Spiral Hugger sleeping bag (now called the ‘Down Hugger’). However I made the decision to do away with as many animal / goose/duck down products as I could, and thus the down sleeping bags just had to go – so I sold all three of the MB sleeping bags that I had.
So as I mentioned above, when it came time to purchase a synthetic quilt, there was one, and only one, on my list to buy – the “Mountain Laurel Designs ‘Spirit’ 28° Quilt“.
The expertise of those who make gear at MLD are very likely the best within the American cottage industry. Add to that the fact that Ron Bell, the owner of MLD, probably invests more time into research and quality-control of fabric than anybody else in the industry. Further add to these facts the proven track record of some hikers I very much respect that have spoken very highly of it. Plus looking at the price point of the MLD quilts one is very impressive. All of these factors really had me doing zero research into other synthetic quilts that might have been on the market. It was a simple decision.
The Spirit Quilts come in three different temps, 28° 38° and 48° – and because I was buying right at the coldest time of the year I went with the 28° – which, hindsight being what it is, I probably could have gone with the 38° because the ClimaShield APEX that is within them retains heat in a way unlike any goose or duck down sleeping quilt/bag that I have ever used.
The ClimaShield APEX also means the quilt does not suffer cold spots – something I had come to loathe with every goose/duck down sleeping bag I have owned.
Fabric:
When I ordered mine MLD had just started shipping their quilts in a new 10d fabric. It is amazingly soft, does not appear to suffer any thread stitch pulling, nor any degradation. I performed a standard puddle test when I got the quilt and it performed far beyond expectations. For being only 10d it is a highly impressive fabric. You can read more about it on the MLD Fabric Mojo page.
Footbox:
All of the MLD Spirit quilts are able to be full opened – think a standard rectangle blanket like on your bed at home- due to having a velcro closure and a cordage+plug closure at the very end.
This is really nice because it allows maximum versatility. Is it cold outside? Close it all the way up and bask in the warmness of the ClimaShield APEX. Is it a bit too warm out? Open up the leg velcro to vent out some heat. It is too hot for any footbox at all? Fully open it up and have an at-home blanket style sleep. Versatility at its best.
It uses “Omni Tape” velcro – which means it does not stick to no-see-um mesh and a lot of other fabrics that we hikers use. That is good!! The Omni Tape does enjoy sticking to silk and, for me, that is a bit of a bummer because I prefer to sleep in Thermasilk tops and bottoms, versus using a silk liner. A number of times, when I have had the velcro loose to help vent the footbox, the Omni Tape has latched onto my silk bottoms. I would much rather have the velcro tape than a zipper and you can custom order the quilt without the velcro – perhaps you could have them add an extra snap button or two instead – which is what I plan on asking for when I order a 38° quilt.
Poncho Head Slot:
The 48° and the 38° versions of the quilt offer a ‘Poncho Head Slot’ option. It allows you to poke your head through a slot in the quilt and use it as a poncho.
This type of feature has been around for years on other quilts, so it was really nice to see MLD introduce this in the 2015 version of their quilts.
The 28° does not have the poncho hood slot option. The reason being, as I have been told from Ron Bell, owner of MLD, is that “the 28° is a bit too thick for the poncho hood slot. Additionally the thickness of the 28°, with a hood slot, would bleed heat too much for the intended temps. Resolving that would require some door contraption to seal it – perhaps with a loft plug {such as the foot box uses} or something.” When I inquired if the poncho hood slot has velcro or some other method of closure, I was informed: “there is no velcro on the poncho hood slot, rather the edges overlap each other and snap closed“. All in all, totally understandable issue.
The advantage of going with the poncho head slot, for some hikers, is not having to carry the additional weight of a thermal jacket. By using your quilt as a poncho you can save yourself the however-many-grams/ounces that your thermal jacket would normally weight. Plus, it means less pack volume bulk – a key aspect when using very small volume backpacks. I remember a few years ago reading a “2.4 pound AT” setup which utilized this technique.
Take it a step further and combine together the MLD Spirit Quilt (with the poncho head slot option) and a MLD CF Poncho and you would have yourself one very streamlined setup – and a massive savings in bulk and weight over a traditional quilt+thermal+tarp+rain jacket setup. Shawn “Pepper” Forry used this technique on his unsupported FKT of the Colorado trail. I might also add that he used both the MLD Spirit Quilt AND the MLD CF Poncho on his epic ‘Winter PCT‘ adventure, along with Justin “Trauma” Lichter.
The Poncho Hood Slot option is the leading reason I am wanting to buy a 48° version of the Spirit quilt. I think the ability to use the quilt in poncho mode, and not have to carry the weight of a dedicated synth jacket, is a decision that just makes sense in many situations.
Synthetic ClimaShield APEX:
In the world of quilt/sleeping bag insulations, there are pretty much only two options: (1) Goose/Duck down. (2) ClimaShield APEX (Synthetic).
It is not my intent to get into why a person should select one or the other. I made the choice to move away from animal down for almost every reason that is out there.
The two biggest reasons are:
First, I live in an area of the world that is usually very wet. The Redwood forest of Northern California has a very high amount of fog and rain. Condensation is a way of life here. Choosing to use a single wall shelter over a double wall shelter, results in an increase of condensation build up inside my shelters every morning. This water, the condensation, night after night after night, leads to pretty much all of my gear getting wet after a few days, no matter how much I try to protect it. Making the switch to a synthetic quilt just made sense given how much animal down suffers performance loss after getting damp/wet.
Secondly, are the issue of cold spots. When it comes to animal down quilts/bags, almost everybody on the market uses a standard ‘sewn through’ technique – and this results in cold spots. This can usually be resolved by using a box baffle, or a vertical baffle, technique. However, they are very few of such style quilts in the world of ultralight (and below) hiking. Some companies are coming up with new methods of using the traditional stitch-through method, but in the end, animal down is still going to shuffle – and when that happens, you end up with cold spots.. and cold spots suck. So the best way to resolve this is, of course, have less stitching. The best way to accomplish that: use an insulator that comes in a big square piece, which can just be slide into one huge baffle, instead of dozens, or dozens of dozens. If you want to reduce cold spots, going with a synthetic sleeping bag/quilt is your best option.
The lowest temperatures I have been able to get into while using the MLD Spirit Quilt 28° is F16° and I am sure I could have pushed that a few more degrees if the temperature had dropped, as I was wearing a standard base layer along with the MLD APEX Balaclava, a Montbell Thermawrap Guide, a pair of Feathered Friends Down Booties, and a pair of Black Rock Gear Foldback Mitts. With that setup there is a good chance I could have gotten down into the single digits, though I have to be honest and say “comfortable” at single digits is just not something I consider to be… well, comfortable. Downright bloody cold in my opinion. This hiker does not like being in anywhere near that cold of weather. But, obviously, doable with the right gear.
One of the very unexpected qualities of the ClimaShield APEX has been that it seems to retains heat significantly longer than animal down. You know those cold mornings when you have to leave the comfort of your nice warm quilt at 2am to go water a tree. You now how a lot of times when you get back into your quilt most of the heat inside has been lost – yeah, I hate that too. The logic behind that is very simple. Animal down heat is a result of trapped released body heat. Movement and a lack of constant released body heat causes the warm air to be lost. With this ClimaShield APEX, however, it takes significantly longer for that trapped body heat to be lost. There have been times when I would be away for my warmed quilt for 10-15 minutes (sigh, sometimes it is more than just watering a tree that happens at 2am, eh) and low and behold, the quilt was still warm. Something that never happened with any animal down bag I have owned, even zero-degree bags. This whole aspect of the synthetic insulation has been a rather interesting revelation to me. The same thing happens with the Montbell Thermawrap Guide jacket, when compared to every single animal down jacket I have owned. So yes, animal down might be able to compress a slightly bit better, and it might be lighter on the scale, but when I look at a checkbox of pros/vs/cons of animal down and synthetic insulation, there are more pros on the side of synthetic insulation.
Compression:
I have to be honest and say that I really do not know how this ClimaShield APEX will hold up over time when being compressed, as I have not used it long enough to have it start to break down.
What I can say is that over the course of 600+ days out on the trail I went through two (2) animal down sleeping bags. With the first bag 100% of the down had to be replaced. The second time 60% of the down was replaced by the manufacturer, after the other 40% was “revived”, whatever that means. In both bags all of the animal down was 800fp and I used a Sea to Summit eVENT Compression Dry Sack 100% of the time.
There has been a long and often meaningless internet debate over compressing synthetic gear (and animal down for that fact too) and I have always stayed out of that whole issue – I just do not care about it enough to get involved. Experience and time on the trail tells you something very clear: All gear breaks down when used. If you don’t want that to happen, stay home.
I have attached a photograph to show how the 28° quilt compresses down – be it good or bad (probably bad) for the longevity/durability of the quilt – so folks can at least see what the volume bulk size of the 28° quilt can be. Note that I am using the Sea to Summit “Ultra-Sil” eVENT Compression Dry Sacks, an updated and lighter version of the original S2S eVENT compression dry sack.
I will have to admit that the ClimaShield APEX is able to compress significantly better/smaller than what I was expecting it too. It does compress down smaller than what my two MBULSS#3 (30°) bags ever did, and about the same as the MBULSS#1 (a 15° bag) that I used in colder conditions.
While at home I just throw the quilt, in blanket mode, onto a bed in a second bedroom.
In Closing:
There was a time when I thought hikers that used synthetic hiking gear had no clue what they were really doing. I was so wrong. Everything about what I have learned and experienced using synthetic hiking gear, from the Mountain Laurel Designs ‘Spirit’ 28° Quilt, the MLD APEX Balaclava, the Montbell Thermawrap Guide, Montbell Thermawrap UL Jacket, the Montbell Thermawrap UL Pants, and more, has just further confirmed to me that the decision I made last year to make the switch was a brilliant decision.
The versatility, the weight, the price, the durability, and the quality of craftsmanship, all speak to the reason why so many hikers I respect have given the Mountain Laurel Designs ‘Spirit’ Quilt the high praise that they have. To throw my name into the group of hikers that have used and love the Spirit quilt is something I can do without any hesitation at all. My next quilt will be another MLD Spirit, probably the 48° for summer/shoulder season hiking. I, unquestionably and without any hesitation, recommend the Mountain Laurel Designs ‘Spirit’ Quilts.
Thanks for reading,
+John Abela
HikeLighter.Com
In accordance of USA Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255: I hereby declare that at the time this article is published that I am a sponsored hiker of Black Rock Gear, Montbell US, Suluk46, Sun Precautions.