EE Enigma 0 Degree Quilt – The Rotisserie Sleeper

Note: I paid full price for this quilt and am reviewing with no benefits, just enjoyment of being a nerd 🙂

So I was looking for a light/ultra light sleep system. I was sick of being cold in the sub alpine. I was sick of waking up all tangled in the night facing the back of my mummy bag or constantly having to pull up my ZPacks bag as it would shimmy down to my hips. I was intrigued by quilts. That was my headspace when I contacted Enlightened Equipment for information regarding a new sleeping bag or quilt.

First and foremost, I have to give a huge shout out to Jacob at Enlightened Equipment. I asked a ton of questions and he was happy to really drill down and give me piece of mind.

Things he told me (summarized):

As of November 2017 they include a 5% overstuff, so cold sleepers unite!
I asked if 950 of the same rating would be any warmer at all, he assured me no, just way more compressibility and lighter for us gram weenies.
I asked about dead spots. I tolerate my ZPacks 20 degree bag especially for summer, but I never truly loved it. Some folks mention it may be due to the baffle direction being horizontal, as it sometimes gets dead spots where I feel cold air coming through as the down shifts and moves. Jacob mentions that however it does happen with all down products they do try to limit it with their baffle design. He also linked me to their Distributing Down link which provides tips on how to mitigate.
Finally, I am a rotisserie sleeper. This means I roll front to side to back all night making most mummy bags a hot mess of tangled and twistedness. Jacob recommended I upsize to a regular despite fitting in a Slim. Also the bags cinch around your nose based on the height, so he recommended a regular length to be able to really hunker down at 5’6.

Considering it is a ton of money to spend on a sleeping bag, I was really pleasantly welcoming to all the fantastic support and reassurance he provided.

The EE Enigma 0 degree 950 quilt in regular width arrived and weighed in at 23.1oz with the straps. I found this wonderful YouTube link from Enlightened Equipment on how to strap in for the night. The quilt has a closed footbox, and no zipper. There are two male female type straps on the quilt one for a strap that is a loop around your mat that can be adjusted and another that is a U. I ordered some additional straps for a few dollars after learning I preferred the loop type strap and wanting two of them. I wish they shipped stock with two of the loop type straps…

There are some snaps around the collar and a draw string at the top of the quilt to really cinch you in.

I paired this quilt with the Neoair X-Therm sleeping mat. It is a 4 season mat at 16oz that has an R value of a whopping 5.7. With a quilt you sleep directly on the mat so having a warm mat is vital. I have purchased an Enlightened Equipment mat cover that weighs only 1.5oz and is extremely silky smooth, to prevent sticking to the mat, and sweating on the mat dirt and grime.

I have taken this quilt out a handful of times so far, and have been plenty warm. I took it recently to around 6-10 degrees Celsius 40-50F, and actually had to remove clothing layers during the night as I was too warm. The nice thing about the quilt is you can pop open a draft or loosen how cinched the straps are or just use it like a blanket sans straps.

Earlier in the shoulder season I took it out around freezing temperatures, and just wore a normal base layer no puffy and felt no issues with temperature. I did have the quilt cinched fairly tight with the straps for that evening as we were next to a lake.

Overall this quilt is a huge winner in my books, it lofts huge, is soft to the touch and Enlightened Equipment are a class act company. I will be taking it into the High Sierra for 12 days this fall and look forward to running it through its paces in the sub alpine.

Happy hiking!

April 14, 2018 0

New Year – New Plans!

As the 2017 year comes to a close, and we are full on into the dead of winter, I feel it is time to reflect on a few things, and maybe check in and see what we have in store for 2018. Do you ever stop and think “Holy Crap, its 2018… Y2K was 18 years ago!!??” I do 😛

So… what have I been up to while we wait for hiking season to begin again? Well my last hike was around the Thanksgiving weekend (the Canadian one, late October), we were graced with about 8″ of snow while camping. Our plans to summit Mt John Carter were squashed, so move that adventure to next year’s bucket list. This is the photo when we first arrived at our tent pad in Kokanee Glacier Park. We still had a fun time in the snow; it’s always fun to do some colder weather camping!

We also managed to do some nice local day hikes, as the shoulder season was upon us.

But now, as temperatures are commonly hitting around 1°F/-17°C over the various mountain passes, it’s ski season! I picked up a pair of on-piste ski’s and boots for $50 in the classifieds – perfectly fine shape to learn on! Me, enjoying some time on the hill:

Looking into the new year, I have a few big plans in the works. I’m going to try my hand at getting a Wonderland Trail Permit for later in the summer/early fall. Also, I am looking at hiking the Chilkoot Trail in three days in late summer. This trail connects Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. I have already scheduled one half-marathon for the end of May, and probably will do another one later in the summer, as well as a 10K trail run. I look forward to providing posts surrounding planning to the bigger hikes.

In the gear front, I have gotten some pretty awesome stuff over the past month! I cannot *wait* to have a few nights in my new tent to review the Six Moon Design Lunar Solo – this tent will be my first single wall and the price point is really decent!

I also bit the bullet and just ordered an Enlightened Equipment Enigma Quilt for 0F (I had a -20F bag, and a 20F bag – felt I was missing that middle range). This bag is my first quilt ever and I look forward to reviewing it after several nights.

Happy New Year and Happy Hiking!

Let me know what you have planned for 2018!

December 27, 2017 0

Review – ZPacks 20F Sleeping Bag

8107010760023923089-account_id=1 — My bag and I basking in the sun in Peru!

I got the ZPack 20F bag after a trip to New Zealand with my Kelty 30 degree synthetic bag. I was cold. I typically travel solo so don’t share a tent, also women tend to sleep colder then guys… especially in a two person tent! I was so done with my sleeping bag and had recently been reading about through hiking and knew there were a lot of good ultra light gear out there.

I ordered my ZPacks 20F bag when living in Seattle, I knew I needed this bag before my hiking trip circuiting the Cordillera Huayhaush mountain range in Peru. I would be at altitude and it would be cooler at night. I emailed them asking if they would be able to send me one before my departure (about 3-4 weeks out). ZPacks replied within the day and said they would definitely be able to, fantastic customer service!

The bag shipped fairly quickly and I was amazed with how tiny it was. The bag is approximately 16 oz. The material is thin but it is easy to get in and out of the ultra light stuff sack it comes with. I am amazed at how tiny it becomes. For multi day hikes, I do not use the stuff sack and just throw my sleep system in the bottom of my pack in a trash liner and let everything just squish it down.

Going from a standard REI/MEC sleeping bag, to an ultra light option was my first ‘taste’ of how awesome some of this gear could be! (Cue sound of cash registers ding ding ding good bye money).

This bag is not your traditional mummy bag. There is no hood portion to the bag and when you tighten the drawstring, it brings it in (for me), around my eyes… but I am shorter at 5’6″. I found at first it was a bit tricky to get used to. In mummy bags I always toss and turn and then wake up with the back of the hear part covering my face and just in general feeling uncomfortable and tangled. I did not feel that way with the ZPacks bag. I would try to sleep with the zipper under me but if it twisted or whatever I was no worse for wear. In the summer I stick my feet in the foot box area of the bag and use it like a quilt. I find I am perfectly toasty.

I do use a liner – ultimately I regret not going with the 10F bag. I think the rating must be for mostly men or folks who don’t sleep as cold as I do. I am considering emailing them to see if I could get more fill added but not sure if it can be done. The added benefit of the liner is for stink management, I hate when sleeping bag’s smell terrible, liners can be washed easily with my regular hiking clothes.

One thing I did procure recently for my upcoming 10-12 day solo circuit hike, was GooseFeet Gear Down balaclava and booties. I am hoping this will solve my heat issues as well make me really happy. I will review both of those in the future as it is mid summer right now.

June 29, 2017 1

Gear List 1.0 – The Big Three

The big three. Pack, Shelter, Sleeping Bag. The evolution of how these items change is, in my experience, due to uncomfortable trips.

I used to have this Kelty synthetic sleeping bag, however I froze my ass off in New Zealand during December 2014 when it snowed on us in the mountains. First thing I did was sell it on Gear Trade (great site if you are in the U.S, unfortunately after moving back to Canada I don’t get the luxury of this site).

I researched and researched and went with a 20 degree ZPack bag I am fairly happy with this bag, though I wish I did the 10 degree version. I also found a 0 degree REI bag on craigslist that had been used once for 100 dollars. I haven’t actually used it yet as my 20F was fine for Rainier and Peru, however I did give it to my husband once when we went camping and he died of over heating 🙂 but I digress. The ZPack’s bag is super light and fits so small. I will do a full review on it soon.

My first tent that wasn’t a piece of crap Canadian Tire monster car camping tent was a four season Terra Nova I got on Craigslist for 100 dollars. It has an issue where the inside of the fly sticks to itself and you have to gently peel it open for it to be spread out, but other then that, the price was a steal. I am in love with free standing tents at this point in my backpacking adventures. I know one day I will get a solo ultra light tent but currently free standing is my luxury, as I don’t have the extra cash for a super duper tent.

I sometimes backpack with friends that visit, as I live in the mountains, so I went with the MSR Hubba Hubba NX. I was really on the fence between it and the Big Agnes Copper Creek UL2 but in the store I made a snap judgement by the feel of the MSR material, it just felt stronger and more durable. I liked the two doors/vestibules and room to store my gear inside.

Packs – At one point I had 5 packs. I have recently downsized that list. A Deuter 35L, Deuter ACT 65+10 and a ULA Circuit pack. The ULA is by far my favourite of the three, and I will do a review of it at a later time. Shaving off the weight, and looking super rad!

June 29, 2017 0