
NEMO
NEMO Pulse Quilt
No citable owner-review average published for this one, so no stars.
1000-fill down is the highest fill power available at any price, and the Pulse is the only item in this catalogue that uses it. The result is a 2.3-litre packed volume — smaller than a one-litre bottle and a bit — and 18 ounces for a quilt with a published ISO lower limit of 23 °F. It is also $550, which is the most expensive quilt here, and it is the only quilt in the catalogue with a lab figure attached. Whether 1000-fill is worth the money over 900 is the sort of question a spreadsheet answers better than a salesperson does; the honest answer is that the last hundred points of fill power buys about an ounce.
Label against lab
NEMO publishes an ISO 23537 lower limit of 23 °F but no comfort figure. The comfort rating typically runs ten to twelve degrees warmer than the limit, so plan around the low thirties rather than the number on the label. Comfort against limit
At that temperature the pairing table wants at least an R 4 pad underneath it.
Size run
One product, 2 sizes. The headline numbers on this page describe the Regular.
| Size | Weight | Approx. price | Length | Shoulder girth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | 1 lb 2 oz | ~$550 | — | — |
| Long | 1 lb 5 oz | ~$600 | — | — |
Specifications
Highlights
Features
- ISO or EN rated
- Hydrophobic down
- RDS down
- Pad attachment straps
- Recycled fabric
What it does well
- 1000-fill down, the highest grade in production, and the only use of it in this catalogue.
- 2.3 litres packed, less than half the volume of most 20-degree quilts.
- 18 ounces with a published ISO lower limit of 23 °F — almost no quilt publishes any lab figure at all.
- 10-denier recycled shell, and the whole thing is designed for NEMO's take-back and recycling programme.
What it costs you
- $550 makes it the most expensive quilt here by $60, and the gain over 900-fill is roughly one ounce.
- The pad attachment is designed around NEMO's own pads and is fussier with other brands' baffle shapes.
- 10-denier shell on a $550 quilt means a snagged branch is an expensive afternoon.
- Two sizes only, no width options, and no overfill — the cottage makers all offer both.
- As with NEMO's bags, the comfort figure is not published, only the limit.
Those two lists are drawn from NEMO’s published specifications and from reviews that measured them. They are not owner sentiment — anything owners said appears under its own heading below.
What owners say
No owner discussion has been collected for the NEMO Pulse Quilt yet. The pros and cons above come from NEMO’s published specifications and from reviews that measured them — nothing on this page claims owners said anything. How that works.
NEMO Pulse Quilt, head to head
Others in the same band
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Best for: People who cannot decide between a quilt and a bag
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Best for: Side sleepers who move all night and want nothing pinning them
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Best for: Quilt sceptics — the attachment system is the reason to try one
Full spec sheet