Snugpak Bushcraft Quilt

Like a good percentage of the bushcrafting community, I rarely ‘ground dwell’, but prefer a hammock or my tripod stretcher bed. Unfortunately, it is harder to get sorted out in a sleeping bag when ‘hanging’, than it is when on the nice, stable ground, so when Snugpak offered me the chance to try out their Hammock Bushcraft Quilt, Hammock Cocoon and Hammock Under blanket, I jumped at the opportunity. Unfortunately, neither the Cocoon nor the Under blanket would fit my home-made ‘stretcher’ style hammock or tripod stretcherbed, as they are both long and rectangular, not the tapered ‘banana’ shape of a normal hammock – so these two items of hammocking luxury were returned to Snugpak untested.

This left me with the Hammock Bushcraft Quilt to test and I have found it very practical, comfortable and warm for use in a hammock instead of a sleeping bag. You do need to combine the quilt with some form of insulation beneath you, and I am fortunate in that both my hammock and bed have full-length pockets for sleeping mats built into their design.

Multi-Layer Build

The Snugpak Hammock Bushcraft Quilt has an outer fabric of lightweight Micro Diamond Ripstop wind and water-repellent fabric and a Paratex anti-bacterial and antimicrobial treatment, to reduce odour build-up and reduce the need for laundering the quilt. Between the fabrics is the Travelsoft insulation, which is washable, retains heat when wet, dries reasonably quickly and gives a great warmth to bulk/ weight performance. The quilt is approx. 100cm wide from top to hips and then tapers to around 42cm across the foot. The quilt is some 185cm from top to bottom, with the taper starting about 120cm down, just below the twin side flaps – which allow you to tuck-in at the hips to help keep the quilt in place while you sleep. Each of these flaps measures some 56cm x 25cm, while the ‘toe box’ at the base of the quilt measures 45cm deep across the base of the quilt, helping keep your feet warm and insulated. The soft ‘handle’ of the quilt ensures it conforms well to your body, reducing cold spots and air flow and the whole quilt fits easily into the supplied 40 x 22cm stuffsack and compresses to about 25cm x 22cm for transport. The quilt comes in Olive only, weighs 820gm and is rated for use in all four seasons.

I found the Snugpak Bushcraft Quilt worked well on my tripod stretcher bed and in my hammock. It was easy to use and gave all the warmth I needed down to about 5 degrees C. For use at any lower temperature than 5 degrees C, I think I would need to employ extra insulation, either over the quilt (another quilt?) or wear a set of softie top and bottoms as pyjamas. I was using a standard inflatable mat as the insulation under me in the hammock – using a Snugpak hammock under blanket may give more efficient, ‘wraparound’ insulation and allow a greater temperature range of comfort under the quilt.

The Snugpak Hammock Bushcraft Quilt costs around £39.95. Contact 01535 65 4479 or www.snugpak.com for further details.