MityLite

I’ve been a fan of Western Mountaineering bags for 20 years now. Made in USA, and they have a bunch of models to choose from. Currently, my main BWCA bag is the MityLite. 40F bag rating. It unzips all the way to be used as a quilt. In the shoulder seasons, I use the Alpinlite 20F bag. My Alpinlite is 20 years old and as good as new, the MityLite is 10 and also still perfect.

I call my WM my "magic bag," never been cold in it.

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.

Western Mountaineering makes a 30 degree F bag that's like a pound and packs down super small. It's amazing

I did a winter trip in Maine where I combined a 30° down sleeping bag from Western Mountaineering with a MLD Spirit 30° synthetic quilt and was insanely toasty just wearing base layers. This is often a warmer, lighter, and cheaper option than just buying one winter bag I also used a Xtherm