For anyone considering a EE quilt....

I just saw this post on the hammock forums, and since I am considering another quilt for one of my kids it was relevant news to me....and maybe to others here...

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=9bf497c2297bc4d952755df854b8d4ae&t=62128

Darn... Good to know he is at least being pretty straight forward about it. Now I have to decide if I want to buy one for my wife while the prices are lower.

Glad I got mine, I wondered how he did it. Im also getting one for my son.

Sorry to say that my experience with these quilts wasn't so good. I ordered the 20* Revolution. First problem, it wasn't a 20* quilt. I was very cold on a 40* night-measured with a thermometer- with two layers of clothing. I know, it's subjective. Second problem, the open baffle design allowed the down to migrate to the edges of the quilt every time I rolled over effectively lowering the temp. rating of the quilt. I was absolutely freezing one night at 25* wearing my expedition cross-country ski clothing and thermal underwear. Third problem, Tim would not refund postage (even after acknowledging it was not the temp. rating quilt I ordered). Quote from Tim Marshall: "Quilt came in today no reason not to refund. I'm very surprised by how flat it is. I thought is was a 40* quilt. I'm gonna check it out and see if I can see why. I've never seen this before they're always puffing up all over." Tim never offered an explanation, nor did he offer a refund for postage. But he did write me a check for the price of the quilt and he offered me an undisclosed discount on my next order. He does not make all these quilts himself, he hires friends and neighbors. Quality control is obviously lacking. Fourth, the draw string at the top of the quilt pulls to the middle and I found it very annoying to have the excess cord in my face.

I felt good for purchasing from a cottage industry producing a niche product-I'll do it again. I also believe that those businesses must meet the same standards of quality and integrity as any business.

Shop wisely.

There are always exceptions in quality with any hand made product and Tim does "farm" out the sewing to ladies in his region, but personaly I prefer that to farming the work out to China!

I can't comment on the open baffle design, and who knows, the new models may have improvements in the baffles. I do know my quilt is a 30 degree and it's super light, warm and puffy.

One other thing I love about this quilt, at over 50" wide and 80" long there is over 4100 square inches of surface area. Divide the total weight (21oz) by 4100 and you get a weight of .04oz per square inch, which is why the quilt feels to me like laying under silky warm cloud. It's hard to appreciate until you try it.

If you haven't looked at Hammock Gear quilts you should. We own a lot of them and they backup their products if you have any problems.

http://www.hammockgear.com/

There are several things I like about quilts in general and Tim's design in particular: the freedom to toss and turn without getting tied in knots, the weight, the taper cut and the adjustable foot pocket.

Tim mentioned that the next models will have an improved baffle system. They need it. I've never had a sleeping bag with an open baffle design. I think he uses that style to make it easier to fill the bag, just dump the down in one end, sew it and shake it. Maybe an efficient way to fill a quilt, but the down migrates to the edges as I toss and turn, leaving little or no insulation on top of me, where I need it. The less down you start with, the more it can migrate. He told me the overstuff option would help with the migration problem. Tim offered to add the overstuff amount at no additional charge, but I was convinced that I didn't receive the correct amount of fill in the first place so I decided to get a refund and start over.

EE has sold hundreds of quilts and I believe mine was one of the very few that slipped through quality control. Who wouldn't be disappointed?

Just to be clear, I'm not railing against EE quilts. The topic came up and I thought it was appropriate to share what I learned, and my opinions.

I'm considering getting his synthetic quilt next spring.

Get one before the price increas 1/1/13

I wish I could. ha. Well, I might be able too but I got some things higher up the list.

Thanks for sharing llamero.

It is good to know the good and the bad. There was an ee quilt improvement thread on bpl, where Tim requested ideas/suggestions for improvements. He said he has had a small group of people (he mentioned particulars of who this happens too) that have a problem with down shifting in his quilts. I have never had a problem with mine but he mentioned he is working on a change in the baffle design to eliminate this problem some users have.

Another suggestion from that thread was to have the pull cord off to the side. Tim ran with the idea and made one two, but decided he didn't like the design and abandoned it. It is something you might be able to request if you wanted to give Tim another try.

Did you weigh the bag? That should tell you if you got the right amount of down or not.

I just finished making a quilt out of some gore fabric and 750 down. Used trapezoidal baffles.

Its a 3 layer quilt. Regular nylon baffled and down inserted and sewn closed, with a continoius piece of goretex over the top with some velcro tabs sewn on the inside. I'll give it a try soon and let know how works.

No BZH, I didn't weigh the quilt. Good idea, but I don't have scales accurate enough. I took his word that it was correct.
Tim and I talked about the draw cord and baffles. If I get another EE quilt I will tape small pieces of hook and loop material to the outside of the quilt and to the cord. Maybe that will keep it out of my face.

Pics???????