Katabatic Gear

Katabatic's pad-attachment system is the thing the rest of the quilt world copies, and the Flex is the model built around it: the quilt clips to two cords that run under the pad, and it can slide and roll with you while the edges stay sealed. That is the whole answer to the standard complaint about quilts. The Flex adds a zippered footbox to the formula so the same quilt opens flat into a blanket on a warm night, at the cost of an ounce or so over the sewn-footbox Alsek. Katabatic publishes single-side loft (2.75 inches here) and exact fill weights per size, but no lab rating.

Best for: Quilt sceptics — the attachment system is the reason to try one

Same temperature and nearly the same fill as the Flex 22, with a sewn footbox instead of a zipped one. That saves about six-tenths of an ounce and a litre and a half of packed volume, and removes the only moving part on the quilt. If you have never wanted to open a quilt flat — and most people who own one never do — the Alsek is the better of the two.

Best for: Three-season backpacking where the quilt never needs to open flat

Katabatic's three-season quilt, and the one most of its customers should probably buy: 30 °F, a sewn differential-cut footbox, 19.8 ounces and a 4.5-litre packed size. The footbox is closed rather than zippered, which is lighter, warmer and smaller-packing than the Flex — the price is that it cannot become a blanket. For summer and shoulder-season trips in the mountain west it is the quilt that shows up most often on gear lists, and the loft figure (2.25 inches per side) is published so the rating has something behind it.

Best for: Summer and shoulder-season trips in dry mountain country