Revelation Sleeping Quilt

I have both an EE Revelation 20F and EE Revelation Apex 20F. The synthetic (Apex) takes up noticeably more room in my pack. But I don't really notice the minimal weight difference. Only time I take the synthetic is when I am heading out to the coast since it is always moist air there - day in and day out. Down just doesn't keep you as warm under those conditions. For trips where there might be rain I don't really consider taking the synthetic. I can be pretty cautious about unpacking the down quilt from my pack without exposing it directly to the rain. If it is going to be raining the entire time then I'll take synthetic because it is pretty much the same as being on the coast. Another thing I've found helpful is, if you can find a very thin fleece blanket to lay over your down quilt when you know you are going to face condensation that might end up soaking your quilt it really can help with moisture management. I have one that is just barely big enough to cover my quilt and is about 100 weight (gsm?) synthetic fleece. It catches the condensation from rubbing your quilt on the tent walls or it dripping on your quilt. And the synthetic does a great job at causing it to evaporate. The combination of the down quilt + the fleece still weight less than an apex quilt alone. And I only take it when I know there will be condensation.

Just depends on when/where you are hiking. My EE revelation 20 was fine for the entire PCT, I didn’t wear my puffy with it until I was in Washington in September. Personally it was plenty warm and I only had a couple cold nights near the end of my hike and that was likely due to the decrease in loft from dirt/oil and general wetness after 2000 miles.

I have an EE Revelation 850 & an EE Enigma 950. Both 20°, 10D inner and outer. I haven’t had any problems with drafts or down leakage in either but the 850 fill is significantly warmer and doesn’t have issues with down migrating. I will soon be selling the 950 because it just isn’t warm enough.

As a cold sleeper I found EE quilts to run very cold. My Revelation 20 with overfill is basically a comfort 45/50. Replaced it with a Nunatak 15 and it’s been night and day.

There’s a lot of quilts that cost less that are better than EE. Sell some gift cards on one of the gift card exchanges, do some research, and get a better quilt. EE made good, affordable quilts years ago and are still riding the hype with a mediocre quilt at exorbitant prices. See r/ultralight If you’re really stuck on getting something with those REI gift cards. Sux it up and get a sleeping bag by Western Mountaineering. A 30F sleeping bag by WM is going to be warmer than a 20F quilt from EE. Some brands to check out: hammock gear, hang tight (cheap good ETSY), Katabatic, Nunatak, Feathered Friends, Loco Libre, Zpacks, warbonnet, gryphon gear, UGQ, cumulus, Neve Warath Have fun!

EE hasn’t fixed the issues at all. Not sure where you heard they did, but here are the top 5 complaints you’ll see in the community: 1. Drafts sneak in around shoulders, sides, and neck—EE’s pad straps often fail to seal fully for side sleepers or restless movers, creating cold spots. 2. Temperature ratings feel optimistic—a 20°F quilt frequently performs closer to 25–30°F comfort in real conditions due to drafts and shifting down. 3. Down migration and clumping—U-shaped baffles let down shift over time, leading to uneven loft and cold spots that require frequent fluffing. 4. Fragile fabrics—lightweight 7D/10D shells snag, tear, or leak feathers more easily with heavy use compared to premium competitors. 5. Poor moisture handling—down loses loft quickly if damp from condensation or sweat, with no strong hydrophobic treatment standard. I agree, WM is probably overkill for the AT once warm weather hits. But, so is an EE 20F revelation. However, if the only place you’re shopping is REI, and you’re doing a thru hike starting March to mid-April, a 30F WM is going to be better than a 20F EE on all the metrics above. If you’re able to shop somewhere else besides REI, for the same money, a Katabatic Flex 30 is going to outperform an EE 20F revelation in every key metric. All the brands I listed will outperform EE for the same or less money. When you buy EE, you’re paying a premium for the brand name without accompanying performance. The only time I would consider EE for a quilt is if I needed a synthetic quilt in the 40-50F range for summer fast packing. But, that’s not an AT thru hike thing. And the synthetic climashield apex insulation solves all the issues EE has with down. This is because apex is one continuous sheet of insulation that cannot migrate like down to create cold spots. That said, I would still be wary of their temp rating even for a synthetic quilt.

But how many experienced backpackers would buy any EE quilt at this point, after experiencing the way they lose loft so quickly (because of down distribution issues from the minimal fill) and after comparing real-world experience to their temperature ratings. Seems like a bargain until you use it for a while. Just one example.

Absolutely, as long as it is working for you, I agree. I was getting colder and colder with my previous Revelation, and the daily effort required to redistribute the down to avoid cold spots became too much of an annoyance. Since then, I've picked up a couple of quilts from other manufacturers for different use cases, and I honestly think that the step up in quality and usability is pretty dramatic. I would be hard pressed to consider an EE quilt at this point; I just don't see them as competitive.

My experience with the EE quilts has not been so great. They require a lot of effort to redistribute the down to recover loft. If you are looking to get more than 50 nights or so, I'd probably look elsewhere. I actually really like my ZPacks classic sleeping bag that I converted to a quilt by adding snaps. It allows me to zip up the bottom completely on a cold night.

You could try a [down quilt](https://enlightenedequipment.com/revelation-sleeping-quilt/?srsltid=AfmBOopiNO6CtqwO5lptrUIXrCyrhwXNxd1ssXLk3fpKa27Q2AFqa_Iu), those don't restrict like mummy bags but will never be as warm. Also others have mentioned make sure your sleeping pad is sufficient. This is a huge factor and often overlooked. Also this may sound counter intuitive but if you have too many layers that can also make you cold. (I'm no scientist so I could just be talking out of my ass but this is my personal experience) I don't recall the exact science behind it, but something along the lines of you're expecting the thick blanket to be the main insulator, and if your body heat can't reach the blanket, you can't heat it up so the blanket could be trapping cooler air in. Or not distributing heat properly since say your atom AR might be trapping the heat in for your chest, but the heat radiating from the legs isn't sufficient to heat the blanket. If you truly think your blanket should be warm enough, try ditching the jacket and see if that helps. I know this from backpacking a lot, but my down quilt might insulate better than your blanket 🤷