For a long time I was unsure about hiking quilts. There was no real rationale behind my concerns, but the idea of straying from a tried and tested sleeping bag just felt like an unnecessary risk. Luckily enough, I had the opportunity to test out a quilt for We Are Explorers a few years ago, and that became the perfect chance to test my fears without making a financial investment. I took the risk of using that quilt during my eleven day ride on the Hunt 1000 route and happily enough my fears proved unfounded and I quickly became a quilt convert.
Fast forward a few years and I have now been testing out the Neve Gear Waratah hiking quilt on some of my recent bikepacking and hiking trips in and around Canberra.
What I Like About Hiking Quilts
Before diving in to talking about the Waratah quilt, I thought I’d begin by sharing some of the things I like about camping quilts (although it must be said that these are things that the Waratah does particularly well too).
First up, I love the extra room and freedom of movement that you afforded by a quilt. Sure you can unzip a sleeping bag, but hiking quilts, or at least the ones I’ve tried, provide heaps more room for movement, especially around the hips and shoulders. As sleeping quilts attach around your sleeping mat, you often have the full width of your mat to move around on under the quilt. This means you can roll around freely under the quilt, without becoming twisted.
Secondly, using a quilt while camping helps me feel more cosy and comfortable, similar to how I feel in my bed at home. I can’t imagine many of us could say the same about the experience of using a sleeping bag!
Finally, I like the way that the footbed of the Waratah quilt, and others, can either be zipped up warm and snug on colder nights, or left completely open at the bottom on warmer nights. This again adds to the feeling of freedom and space when compared to a sleeping bag.
What I Don’t Like About Quilts
This section is going to be much shorter than the above, but there are a couple of things I dislike about using quilts. Perhaps the main thing I dislike about using a quilt is that I now need to pack a fitted sheet for my mat for when camping with the a quilt. I guess I don’t technically ‘have’ to pack a sheet, but it’s pretty unpleasant to sleep directly on top of your sleeping pad, especially in summer when you have more skin out. This might not be an issue for a lot of people as you might like using a sleeping bag liner when camping, but personally I feel like using a sleeping bag liner with a sleeping quilt takes away from the freedom of the quilt experience.
Having just moaned about needing to pack a fitted sheet, I’d like to point out that taking a fitted sheet now feels like a bit of a guilty pleasure that I indulge in even when using a sleeping bag! The fitted sheet further enhances the feeling of being in my bed at home, making me more comfortable when camping. The fitted sheet also holds the pillow in place and acts like a pillow case, again luxuriating the camping experience.
One tiny further dislike I have of the quilt camping experience is that it’s that tiny bit more complicated to set up camp with a quilt, as compared to a sleeping bag. While the sleeping bag comes out of its bag and gets tossed onto the mat, the quilt needs a bit of crawling around on hands and knees to attach the straps around the mat. Again, not a huge complaint, but a slight niggle nonetheless.
The Neve Gear Waratah Quilt
Made by Australian brand Neve Gear – pronounced Neeve – the Waratah is an ultralight hiking quilt that features 850FP RDS certified duck down. I chose the -8 degrees Celsius model as I much prefer camping outside of the summer months and it gets cold around Canberra.
The Waratah quilt has an ‘anti-draught’ attachment system which I’ll admit confused me at first. But after double checking how to use it, I can see now how it makes sense. With the straps attaching at points that are inset from the edges, this helps keep the draughts out as it’s less likely for the sides of the quilt to rise up as you move around because there’s more quilt real estate tucked under your sides. Neve Gear have also considered their down distribution, adding extra down in the footbed to keep your feet warm, overstuffed torso baffles and a down filled collar. These downy extras certainly help keep you cosy in bed and the soft collar is particularly noticeable – at least I found it so.
A 10D Nylon Taffeta fabric choice provides the dual benefits of being lightweight and soft on the skin. I remember calling out to my camping buddy the first night I used the quilt to compliment how soft it felt. I’ve already mentioned the footbox earlier, but just in case you skimmed that part I’ll mention again that the footbox has a 1/4 length zip that can either be zipped up for extra warmth, or left open.
Tested in the Field
I’ve used the Neve Gear Waratah Quilt on a number of camping trips and in a range of temperatures and I have to say that I’ve been impressed with it. Much like the fitted sheet that I’ve grown to love, using a camping quilt feels like a luxury experience each time and it’s definitely a pleasant experience sliding into bed and pulling up the quilt after a day’s hiking or biking. As a side-sleeper that likes to read before going to sleep, it’s much easier to do so when using a quilt than in a sleeping bag, and I also enjoy the extra room and freedom of movement as I roll from side to side during the night.
Even with the extra size that comes with a warm quilt (or sleeping bag), I’ve been impressed with how well the Waratah packs down into a hiking pack or saddlebag, and it’s certainly not too big to take on a lightweight adventure. I may still take out a sleeping bag every now and again, but the camping quilt has also become a firm favourite and this one from Neve Gear is a great option.
The -8 rated version that I have is priced at $399 which makes it excellent value compared to some of the bigger names out there. Neve Gear also have a -2 rated sleeping quilt, and they also come in three different height sizes.
Check out the Neve Gear Waratah Hiking Quilt Here
I’ve also written a review of the fitted sheet that I use, it’s published over on We Are Explorers and you can check it out here.