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M.a.v
147
Sep 29, 2017
I bit on this to experiment with when I head back to the Whites (and maybe Maine as well) next year to help a buddy on the AT. Any chance of adding a top quilt to the catalogue? I need to update mine to something a bit warmer. 20F would be my preference, but I think anything 15-25F would work for me. I'm using a 40F now and it got a little cold in Maine (despite having a 20F under-quilt, a top cover, & low slung rainfly with doors to keep out wind) in mid-Oct. when I was finishing up my thru-hike a couple of years ago. If something like that is in the works and this beanie is as good as advertised I'd entertain a TQ from BRG instead of a HG Burrow 20F to match my UQ...using a similarly lightweight fabric (like Argon 67) the 950fp down should be a noticeable amount lighter than HGs comparable quilt.
P.S.: How hard is it gonna be to cut off that "signature"?...you gotta know half the folks buying these are cutting off that dead-weight? That's an extra peanut I can carry for a snack! I jest, but yeah, it's absolutely getting cut off post-haste.
M.a.vWe made some ultra sweet Top Quilts one season. Used some of our really light 10 material, 950 fill and small baffles to create just the right loft. We called it the "Traveler" and had a built in stuff sack/pillow you could fold it into itself or use as a foot pocket when open. The materials and labor costs were just too high for it to be anything but a Limited Edition piece at around $250 each. People say they want the sweetest gear around with the top specs but they don't usually want to pay for it. ;) They'd rather pay less for some overseas made junk like the Rumpl using heavy 20d fabric and garbage 600fp down. My guys here in the shop aren't cheap either since I try to pay a living wage so when we spend a few hours on a piece that really adds up to a price not consistent with the cheap stuff getting made overseas or in bulk over here with cheap materials.
Maybe we will make some more up sometime. I've still got one and it's pretty sweet.
As for the label, it's total weight is 0.1 grams, barely... You can remove it with a stitch ripper. You lose a good clip point though. After you've cut the stitches and pulled the label off trim the thread off the outer face of the hat close to the fabric and then carefully pull them back into the hat with any down that may poke out. Massage the fabric with your fingers to close the stitch holes and hit it with an iron on low heat to really make them disappear.
But you did get me interested in its weight compared to a peanut... Total weight of a label is 0.1 grams. Total weight of a peanut I had laying around for the crows was 3.5 grams in total. The shell weighed a total of 0.7g and the two nuts were 1.3 and 1.5 grams each. So my recommendation would be to leave the label affixed for a 0.1g weight penalty and shell a single peanut before you hit the trail putting you 0.6g in the plus ;)
M.a.v
147
Sep 30, 2017
BlackRockThank you for the reply, BRG. Honestly I think $250 is a bargain (if it's in the 20F neighborhood anyway) and I would be all over it if offered again. The 20F Burrow from HammockGear uses 850fp down and is only $1 less, so yeah, I'd be in like sin. Using lightweight 10D ripstop (like the Argon 67 HG uses) it should be under the 1lb mark that I'm shooting for. Any chance in getting another Limited Ed. piece made sometime before spring? If so I would definitely be all over it!
I'm insulted by the accusation that I might carry a peanut shell! :P At 0.1g maybe I can let it hang for a little advertisement.
M.a.vYou crack me up M.a.v!!!
I did accuse you of carrying the peanut shells... :)
I found some old images of our Traveler. We did two versions over a couple years. One was 60" long and 36" wide. 10d fabric and only 900 fill, but weight was only 6oz for the narrow version. We then made one that was closer to 50" wide and around 70" long with the 950 fill and still 10d and weighed 8.5oz if I remember right. So well under a pound for weight. It may not be as close to the 20* mark as you'd like though. The first quilt went for $200 and the second one was $250 but that didn't barely cover costs.
We could always build one to spec based on what you guys wanted but we'd need at least 200 people interested and willing to buy one. Thing is we'd need to order up roughly 1000 yards of material and at least a couple bags of down. So we are talking a solid 10k into it just for materials to make a couple hundred quilts that would have to probably sell at $300 for a large size at like 50x70 inches.
This is a set of images from our first "Traveler" top quilt we did about 5 years ago. It's around 36" x 60" in dimensions at a weight of only 6oz.
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Sewn into the quilt was a second layer of quilt that made up a 4x4 panel square used to store the quilt.
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Mostly folded into the quilt you can see it makes a nice pillow and has a couple straps built in for rolling it.
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Fully rolled up and stored the pillow becomes a pretty small roll about the size of a nalgene but a bit taller. People loved these, but they just weren't cost effective when compared to all the other stuff sold on the market. The guys from HammockGear make some really nice stuff thats quality and I'd probably go with one of those.
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M.a.v
147
Sep 30, 2017
BlackRockWow, that is a really impressive design. Hopefully some other folks might chime in and permit a drop on one of these. That way you could have a guaranteed sales base to make a run of them and at least test the waters to see if it would be worth full production. I think the fill weight/warmth rating was the problem with previous sales, as I think most folks in the hiking/backpacking category want at least a 30F quilt (along with a minimum size about the same as the later version), which would bump the price a bit, but almost certainly increase the market as well.
HexCowboy
117
Dec 12, 2017
BlackRockI would pay $250 @BlackRock for one to keep the wife warm. Ordering one of these now for her....warm wife means more camping and snowboarding, and fun after. :)