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Quilts have been a popular choice amongst American backpackers for years but took longer to gain popularity in the UK. We have seen a significant increase in quilt sales and enquiries over the past couple of years.

There are clear pros and cons of a quilt vs. a sleeping bag, read our article here ‘Why choose a backpacking quilt?’

As a long-term user of mummy sleeping bags, it was time to stop putting off trying a quilt to find out if the concept worked for me.

Sierra Designs Nitro 800 35 Degree Quilt seemed an ideal option to put quilts to the test with its reasonable price point making it a great choice for first-time quilt users.

It was originally supposed to be used on the 2020 TGO Challenge but sadly Covid-19 got in the way of that. Instead, once lockdowns were relaxed, I got the chance to walk the Dales High Way and took the Nitro 800 35 to see if quilts were for me.

The first experience of the Nitro quilt was locked down at home back in March 2020. Lockdown had ruled out wild camping but desperate to give it a go I spent a couple of nights trying it out on the living room floor.

I liked the concept of a quilt but I found that my arms were struggling to stay on a 20” mat when I was on my back. A sleeping bag holds your arms inside and stops them from falling off the mat. With no attachment to the mat like some quilts, the Nitro quilt does let your arms fall off the mat.

I bought the new 2020 Regular Wide version of the Thermarest Neoair Xlite for the Dales High Way and no more issues with arms falling off the mat with the additional width! The Nitro quilt is certainly wide enough to use on the wider mat.

I tend to be a light sleeper and wake up early, especially when camping. When testing the Nitro quilt, I slept for the longest I can remember in years, over 10 hours one night. I was going to sleep when the sun went down at 8 pm and had to set an alarm! That told me everything I needed to know about the comfort of quilts, it was so much like your duvet at home.

Combined with a 25-inch mat, I found the Nitro 800 quilt to be a near-perfect sleeping solution for me in early Summer and Autumn temperatures. The coldest it got to at night was probably around 5C and I was warm enough in just thin base layers. The quilt has an enclosed footbox which kept my feet toasty and if they became too warm it’s easy to pop them out. The quilt widens significantly to the top where there is a strange hood/face opening arrangement and hand pockets. It was never cold enough to need to use this hood feature and I can’t imagine using it in the temperatures that the Nitro 35 quilt is aimed at. Personally, I think that the hood/face opening is a bit of a gimmick and just adds unnecessary weight. The same can be said of the hand pockets at the corners which are really only of use to someone sleeping on their front which few people tend to do.

I hope that when Sierra Designs update their design in the future, they drop the features which just add weight. Instead, they should add a few attachment loops along the edge of the quilt to secure it to a mat. That would make the Nitro 800 quilt not only great value but a great quilt full stop.

Don’t let those minor niggles put you off. If you want to try a quilt, it’s a great starter option without breaking the bank.

Danny Pearson
Dan is a keen distance walker who loves to geek over the latest gear. In the last few years, Dan has completed a couple of TGO Challenge crossings of Scotland (with another planned for 2024), GR221 in Mallorca, Dales High Route and Hadrian’s Wall plus countless other self-planned routes. A keen mountain biker but finds he doesn’t bounce so well these days when the inevitable happens. Read more from Danny Pearson