Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt Review

Quilt-curious, but a little turned off by the price of entry? The Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt may be a good choice for you to dip your toes into quilt-life, without completely blowing your trip budget. The 800+ down and 10D fabric is performant, yet durable enough for many seasons of use. The generous width and length, as well as the draft collar around the neck and spacious footbox will keep you comfortable while getting your shuteye. There's lighter options out there, but they'll cost twice as much. For all but the most hardcore ULers, the StormLoft should be seriously considered, especially if you're looking for a three season quilt and run a bit colder than your trail buddies.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The 15 degree limit rating of the Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt is attained using the 16.23 ounces of Outdoor Vitals own HyperDry hydrophobic 800+ down fill - more than half of the full weight of the quilt itself. The hybrid baffle design: continuous vertical baffles on the top and continuous horizontal baffles on the bottom, plus a draft collar near the neck keeps all this down where you want it. The generous foot box did a fine job at keeping our feet toasty. The included pad straps do a good job at stopping drafts from escaping from the side of the quilt. And of course, if temperatures climb, you can loosen the draft collar and pad straps to utilize the quilt more like a blanket.

To use this quilt at such a low temperature - well below freezing, we would suggest getting a good sleeping pad with at least an R value of 3 - and upwards of 5 if you can find one, as well as employing a suitable down hood/balaclava as your head will be sticking out of the quilt itself and exposed to the elements around it. The approx. 76" length of the quilt does allow one to burrow into the quilt completely if temps go much colder than expected, even for the our 5' 11" tester.

Weight

We weighed the Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt at 27.8 ounces - a few ounces more than the manufacturer's stated weight. The 800+ fill power, along with the 10D fabric used throughout keeps this quilt's weight down to ultralight levels when looking at its 15F limit rating, while still being quite durable for long-term usage on a thru-hike.

There's not a whole lot of extra fat to be trimmed from the StormLoft, but it does measure generously in both width and length compared to its ultralight brethren, being especially wide at the shoulders, before tapering down at the hips.

Comfort

The 71" width and 76" length of the Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt fit our main 5'11", 190lb tester surprisingly well, given that they were near the 6' stated size limit for the regular-sized quilt. We especially enjoyed the roomy toebox, which kept our feet extra warm, and the included draft collar. We just wish the draft collar's cinch strap wasn't front and center, as it had a tendency to rest on our face while snoozing. Pad attachment straps worked well enough and kept drafts at bay.

Versatility

The Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt makes a great three-season backpacking quilt for those who run a little cold. Being a quilt, it can also be easily opened up and be utilized as a blanket when temps do get warmer, allowing you to make use of this quilt comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. But we wouldn't suggest this quilt for truly wintry nights out, as 15F is truly the limit and not the comfort rating.

Packability is quite good for such a warm quilt. The included stuff sack measures 7.5" x 10", although there's room to compress it further if one desires. The charitable footbox doesn't have a way to stick your feet out the end, so it's not the best quilt to use if you like to be wrapped up burrito-style in the early morning while making coffee and breaky. This footbox may also make it difficult to get your feet out if you decide to use the quilt in a hammock.

Both the HyperDry hydrophobically treated down and the VitalDry shell fabric are water resistant, so if the weather does turn wet, your quilt will fare well to resist wetting out, and this will help the quilt dry out faster before packing it up.

Features

The Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt has a multitude of features we come to expect from a top-tier quilt, like the hybrid baffle design and oodles of down fill, as we highlighted when talking about its weight. Complementary to this is the additional draft collar which really helps with keeping warm air from escaping from the top of the quilt. This draft collar can be cinched to comfortably fit tight around the neck, although we were a bit perturbed to find that the cinch is the middle of the quilt, with the end easily falling onto our face while we slept - we prefer to see cinches out to the sides to prevent this problem.

The quilt is generously sized at the shoulders, and smoothly tapers to the hips - what Outdoor Vitals calls a, "mummy" shape. The footbox is especially roomy and able to keep our feet extra toasty, even when we employ our shortest pad with the Stormloft. The quilt itself can be attached to your sleeping pad by a pair of conventional pad straps which do work well in keeping drafts from escaping. The strap attachment points on the quilt itself can be snapped together to put the quilt into "sleeping bag mode", although you won't be very sealed, and air will be able to pass through the area between the attachment points.

Should You Buy the Outdoor Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt?

We think the Stormloft is a solid choice for those looking to get into ultralight backpacking, and using a quilt instead of a sleeping bag in general. The temperature rating limit gives you a little flub room while you dial in the rest of your sleep system for three season backing, the materials are quality, and the quilt is durable enough to be used for many seasons in the future. It may not be the lightest quilt out there or pack down the smallest, but it's a solid, middle of the road choice to get you out the door, and sleeping soundly underneath a panorama of stars.

What Other Ultralight Sleeping Bags Should You Consider?

Not many other sleeping bags in our reviews are rated for temps as low as the Stormloft, but have a look at the Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20, a great buy for the features it packs; and the ZPacks Classic: another solid choice for when the temps start to dip. We suggest utilizing both of these choices with an additional balaclava.