Palisade vs Sawatch

Review

Stay warm and cosy on your next thru-hike with the Katabatic Gear Palisade sleeping quilt. It’s good down to -1°C and man have I tested it! So why the Katabatic Gear Palisade?

Why the Katabatic Gear Palisade?

After really getting into hiking and wild camping, I wanted to dramatically reduce the weight and size of my pack for my upcoming Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike in 2019, so I wanted a quilt which was ultralight, packable, warm for its weight and I spared no expense. I found out about Katabatic Gear after watching John Zahorian’s youtube videos about what he packs for a sub 10lb base weight and the Palisade was part of his kit list. I took the financial plunge and purchased it and I literally wouldn’t buy a quilt from another company unless I had to for many reasons. I recently upgraded to their Sawatch quilt for the PCT this year in 2020, find out why.

How did it do?

I used the Palisade over hundred of miles of hiking around the world in SE Asia, the Himalayas on my Everest Base Camp Trek and countless hikes here in the UK such as the Welsh 3,000s. It’s not the warmest quilt they manufacture, but for its weight and packability it provides more warmth than most quilts with these specs. The versatility of a quilt also means that in warmer temperatures I could sleep with limbs out or not have it wrapped around my entire body. A quilt design is also much lighter than a mummy. Because it’s filled with down, it does mean you’ll need to take extra care of it in wetter conditions and areas where the air is humid. Once a day, I’d leave it out to dry (weather permitting) and it would puff right up again due to the water-resistant down inside. Condensation in my Zpacks Solplex tent was an issue though and I’d occasionally wake up with a wet foot box, but the moisture didn’t permeate much into the inside of the quilt.

How do you keep it dry?

I have an Atom Packs Atom + backpack and use their custom-made DCF pack liner. I store it in the very bottom of my pack inside the pack liner and it’s always stayed dry on my hikes in transit, even in heavy downpours and humid conditions.

What about quality?

Katabatic Gear makes (in my opinion) the best quality quilts on earth. The materials and goose down is ethically sourced and produced and the stitching is second to none. Showing it to friends and other hikers, they were amazed at the quality and design.

Value for money

These are expensive quilts but will last a thru or two or three over thousands of miles of travel if you take care of them and the quality as I mentioned is hard to match. It’ll keep you warm on a moderately cool thru-hike, for many nights and will amaze other hikers you meet along the way. Worth every penny if quilts are your choice over a mummy design and you’re planning on thru-hiking with the best gear. For colder hikes and 4-season camping, it’s definitely with going with a warmer quilt like the Sawatch 15°F or their Grenadier 5°F.

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