This is my review of the Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt. This is the quilt that I used on my 2015 Thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. It’s probably my favorite piece of gear I used on the trail and would recommend it to anyone.
What’s the Difference Between a Backpacking Quilt and a Regular Sleeping Bag?
The main differences are that a quilt doesn’t have a hood and it can be opened up completely like a regular quilt or cinched down using the buckles when it gets colder.
What’s The Benefit Of A Quilt Over A Sleeping Bag?
The two biggest benefits are – Weight savings and Versatility.
When you lay in a regular sleeping bag you compress all of the down underneath you, canceling out all of its insulating properties. A quilt removes the down and shell material that would be there, cuts out the hood and thus saves quite a lot of weight. Being able to open the quilt fully or cinch it down enables you to use the quilt however best fits you and the situation, making it more versatile.
Enlightened Equipment Revelation on the Appalachian Trail
When you order from Enlightened Equipment you can fully customize your quilt. I chose a 20-degree Fahrenheit, -6 degree celsius quilt, that uses Downtek waterproof down. I chose the standard shell material that’s extremely lightweight and opted for having water-resistant strips at the top and bottom of the quilt. The water-resistant strips and the Downtek down prevented my quilt from getting wet a single time on the trail. You can also choose between a number of different sizes, colors and what temperature rating you want your quilt to be.
Enlightened Equipment Revelation on the Appalachian Trail
I think the Enlightened Equipment Revelation was the perfect solution for the Appalachian Trail. In the cold winter temperatures I could cinch it down tight and with some clothes on I was warm enough down to well below freezing. In the heat of summer, I slept in a pair of shorts on top of the quilt and could pull it over me in the night and be able to vent my legs out to the side, etc.
The best thing is it’s lightweight, It weighs around 19 oz or 540 grams which is extremely light compared to a lot of off the shelf sleeping bags. The Revelation packs down extremely small, although I didn’t store mine in a compression sack I just used a trash compactor bag to waterproof the inside of my backpack.
Some of my go-to Quilts & Sleeping Bags – Including an Enlightened Equipment Revelation in the Middle
I used the Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt every night on the Appalachian Trail and it shows no signs of wear. You would think that by using such lightweight materials that there would be a trade-off in durability but no, it held up really well. Of course, by the end of the trail, it smelt pretty bad. It had lost some of its loft but after following the cleaning procedures on their website its almost like brand new and will serve me for years to come.
The quilt isn’t cheap, however, the total price was around 300 dollars all in all but I think that’s a really wise investment for a long-distance hike and if you spend a lot of time outdoors. You get what you pay for at the end of the day.
If you want to know more leave me a comment below and check out the Enlightened Equipment revelation HERE
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For an in-depth guide to selecting a sleep system in 2020 checkout this article
Here’s my video review of the Revelation
Thanks for stopping by, PIE
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