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Quilt Selection Guide

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What quilt should I buy?

FOR USE AS AN UNDER QUILT

What Temperature Range Do You Expect To Encounter?

              In our standard sized quilts we make quilts in three temperature categories; summer quilts, three season quilts, and winter quilts.  Our summer quilts are a sew through design and are comfortable down to about 40° to 45°.  Our three season quilts have a two inch baffle, are overstuffed to achieve 2.5 inches of loft, and are comfortable down to about 25° to 30°.  Our winter quilts have a three inch baffle, are overstuffed to achieve 3.5 inches of loft, and are comfortable down to about 10° to 15°.

              Our Mt Washington design is dual differentially cut and has radial cut baffles so that loft is maximized.  Our Mt Washington 3 has 2 inch baffles and is comfortable down to about 20°.  Our Mt Washington 4 has 3 inch baffles and is comfortable down to about 0°.

What Hammock Do You Use?

                            If you have any of the Hennessy model hammocks, we recommend either the Nest or the Winter Nest depending on the temperature range you expect to encounter.  The Nest models have a slit in the quilt that marries to the bottom entry slit of the Hennessy hammocks and so retains the convenience of the bottom entry slit.  However, all of the JRB standard family (48” wide models) and the JRB Mt Washington family of quilts will also fit a Hennessy hammock.

                            If you use a Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock, for the best performance, we recommend either of the Mt Washington models depending on the temperature range you expect to encounter.  Any of our standard quilts will fit the hammock too, but we recommend the rectangular quilts, the Shenandoah, the Hudson River, or the Old Rag Mtn.

                            If you use any of the other gathered end hammocks (Eagles Nest, Clark, Speer, Claytor, Warbonnet, etc.), either the Mt Washington Style or any of our regular length standard quilts will work on these hammocks. 

FOR USE AS A TOP QUILT

What Temperature Range Do You Expect To Encounter?

              In our standard sized quilts we make quilts in three temperature categories; summer quilts, three season quilts, and winter quilts.  Our summer quilts are a sew through design and are comfortable down to about 40° to 45°.  Our three season quilts have a two inch baffle, are overstuffed to achieve 2.5 inches of loft, and are comfortable down to about 25° to 30°.  Our winter quilts have a three inch baffle, are overstuffed to achieve 3.5 inches of loft, and are comfortable down to about 10° to 15°.

How Tall Are You?

                            Our standard quilts come in two lengths, regular (78 inches) and long (86 inches).  Anyone over 5’-10” should purchase a long model.

Do You Camp On The Ground Or In A Hammock?

                            For ground campers the width of the quilt becomes important to be able to keep the quilt tucked in on both sides to eliminate drafts.  Relatively trim, back or stomach sleepers achieve good results with our 48 inch wide standard quilts.  At 48 inches, the standard quilts work well in a hammock but can be a little narrow for someone sleeping on the ground; especially a restless sleeper or side sleeper.  To address the additional tuck issue we recommend adding Full Length Omni-Tape to our standard quilts and using Quilt Wings to add seven inches of material to each side of the quilt.

Alternatively, the Sierra Series quilts, designed with the ground sleeper in mind, are made slightly larger in the top half of the quilt (52 inches) and taper to a narrower foot box (42 inches).  A second alternative is to buy one of our Family of Large quilts which are 62 inches wide.

Special Features

                            A number of our quilts have a head hole in the center of the quilt that enables wearing the quilt like a serape or poncho.  This works well on chilly mornings while fixing coffee and breakfast, and in the evenings after the sun goes down.

COUPLES QUILT

Large Family Quilts

For those that insist on a single quilt for two people, Jacks ‘R’ Better makes the Family of Large Quilts, the Mt Rogers (three season), and the Katahdin (winter Both are nominally 86 inches long by 62 inches wide.  When used as a couples quilt we recommend the addition of JRB Quilt Wings to provide an additional 7 inches of material on each lateral edge for “tucking”.  The combined weight of a Mt Rogers quilt with wings is 32 ounces.

Two Individual Quilts

In our opinion, a better alternative, and our preferred recommendation for couples is that both individuals have their own standard size quilt and add the Full Length Omni-Tape modification to each so that the two quilts can be married together.  This alternative offers a number of benefits.

Safety – Should you become separated for any reason, each individual has a standalone capability.

Comfort – Everyone has different sleep patterns and habits.  Women typically sleep colder than men.  Each individual can have a seasonal bag suited to their metabolism.  For example, the male partner can use a three season quilt while the female partner can have a winter quilt.

Comfort 2 – This alternative provides a total width of 94 inches when two bags are married together.  While there are times you may want to “spoon” and cuddle and this much width is unnecessary, being able to lie sprawled out a few inches apart definitely has merit on warm nights or longer trips.  There shouldn’t be any wrestling for covers! 

Comfort 3 – Women are typically shorter than men.  The two individuals can use different length quilts.

Comfort 4 – Each individual has a quilt in their pack to distribute weight proportionately and provide a soft base to the pack load.

Flexibility – This option allows for the individuals to take trips together or separately and still use their quilt.  When camping together you can form individual foot boxes, a single large foot box, or no foot box at all.