BackpackGearTest
  Guest - Not logged in 

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Quilts and Blankets > MontBell - Down Sleeping Wrap 2 Long > Test Report by Gail Staisil

Montbell
Down Sleeping Wrap #2 Long

Test Series by: Gail Staisil, Marquette, Michigan
Author on her favorite Lake Superior

Initial Report - May 27, 2020
Field Report - August 2, 2020
Long Term Report - October 5, 2020
  
 
Initial Report:

May 27, 2020

Tester Information

Name: Gail Staisil
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Weight: 160 lb (73 kg)
Location: Marquette, Michigan USA
Email: woodswoman 2001 AT yahoo DOT com

For the last few years, backpacking has become a passion. I am a four-season backpacker and an off-trail navigator. Although I do take yearly trips to the American West or Southwest, the majority of my trips are in Michigan. My pack weight varies considerably but my base weight is below 18 lb (8 kg). I am primarily a Tarptent camper who averages more than 50 nights a year backpacking in a huge variety of weather conditions including relentless rain, wet snow and sub-zero temps.
Product Information

Manufacturer
 https://www.montbell.us 
Model Down Sleeping Wrap #2 Long
Color
Dark Teal
Size (Manufacturer's stats)
53.1 in X 84.3 in (135 cm X 214 cm); Photo courtesy of manufacturerWrap
Material
10-denier Ballistic Airlight rip-stop Nylon, 800 Fill Power EX Down (fill weight is 2.8 oz /80 g)
Manufacturer's Weight
Weight as measured by tester
1 lb 9.4 oz (719 g)
1 lb 8.0 oz (680 g) + 0.9 (26 g) stuff sack = 1 lb 8.9 oz (706 g)
 Cost $339. US
 

Initial Impressions and Product Description 
Strap to secure sleeping padDrawstring closure
The Montbell Down Sleeping Wrap #2 Long (henceforth referred to as wrap or quilt) arrived in the color of Dark Teal. At first it seemed heavier than I thought but then I opened the stuff sack to find out that besides the sleeping wrap, there was a cloth storage bag inside (2.9 oz/82 g) and a dry absorbent packet weighing 2.9 oz (82 g). The wrap was in perfect condition and met the standards that I always find apparent in Montbell gear.

The wrap is part of a special Thru-Hiking Collection by the manufacturer. It appears to be a versatile lightweight option for sleeping. The temperature range for this wrap is touted to be from 25 F to 35 F. (-4 C to 2 C) I would certainly imagine it depends on the way the wrap is used (more on that later). The outer surface of the wrap is made with 10-denier Ballistic Airlight rip-stop nylon. It has a Polkatex DWR finish. The 800 Fill Power EX Down is arranged in box construction baffles.

The wrap once unrolled appears to be a large rectangle. It is 84.3 in (214 cm) long and according to the manufacturer would work for people up to 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) tall. The width is 53.1 in (135 cm). Looking closer I noticed that the top and bottom of the wrap have draw cords to cinch those areas. It also has along its length a series of snaps (the instructions call them hooks) and two longer straps to attach a sleeping pad. I like the snap idea as it likely would be lighter than a zipper. The straps are hidden in the seams so they can be deployed if needed. Otherwise they can be tucked in the inseam little pockets (shown in lower left photo).

There are essentially three main ways to use the wrap for sleeping purposes. The first is quite simple as I would just use it like a quilt or blanket! The second would be to use it like a sleeping bag. For that scenario I would fasten the snaps, and cinch the bottom cord. That would be followed with securing the straps. Once I gotHooded pocket for strap in it I would cinch the neck drawcord. The third scenario is similar to the second except that I could insert a sleeping pad through the two straps to secure it. My initial guess is that all of these ways may differ with retaining body warmth. I'm sure I will test all of this on upcoming trips. 
  Snap
Care instructions include washing with a down-specific product and drying on the lowest setting in a dryer. Montbell has a warranty that extends to defects in materials or workmanship to the original owner for the life of the product. It does not cover things like careless usage.


 





 








Top of Page


Field Report:
August 2, 2020

USA Locations and Conditions

 

During the field test period the Montbell Wrap was used 18 nights for both car camping and backpacking. All trips were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. Elevation ranged from above 600 ft (180 m) to almost 2000 ft (610 m). 

Location of Trip #1: Dead River Basin, Willow Creek, Marquette County (private land/10 acres)
Length of Trip: 2 days, 1 night (May 29-30)
Distance: Canoeing (unknown distance); hiking 2 mi (3.2 km) 
Conditions: Cloudy, sun and rain
Precipitation: 0.5 in (1.27 cm)
Temperature Range: 59 F (15 C) to 48 F (9 C)

Location of Trip #2: Lake Superior/ Big Huron River (dispersed camping on state land), Baraga County
Length of Trip: 2 days, 1 night (June 5-6)
Activity Distance: unknown distance hiking/exploration trip
Sky and Air Conditions: Sunny, then cloudy
Precipitation: None
Temperature Range: 75 F (24 C) to 48 F (9 C)

Location of Trip #3: Pete's Lake, Alger County
Length of Trip: 3 days, 2 nights (June 10-12)
Activity: Car Camp/Hike 7 mi (11.3 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Cloudy, rainy, sunny
Precipitation: Heavy rain first day
Temperature Range: 57 F to 42 F (14 C to 6 C)

Location of Trip #4: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Alger County
Length of Trip: Backpacking - 2 days, 1 night (June 15-16)
Activity: Hike 10 mi (16 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Sunny
Precipitation: None
Temperature Range: 73 F to 49 F (23 C to 9 C)

Location of Trip #5: Hiawatha National Forest
Length of Trip: 3 days, 2 nights (June 23-25)
Activity: Camp, Bike 14 mi (23 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Rain, sunny and cloudy 
Precipitation: Rain first day, brief showers second day
Temperature Range: 64 F to 48 F (18 C to 9 C)

Location of Trip #6: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Alger County
Length of Trip: 4 days, 3 nights (June 29 - July 2)
Activity: Backpacking 
Sky and Air Conditions: Cloudy, sunny
Precipitation: None
Temperature Range: 92 F to 55 F (33 C to 13 C)

Location of Trip #7: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Alger County
Length of Trip: 2 days, 1 night (July 7-8)
Activity: Backpacking - 6 mi (9.7 km) 
Sky and Air Conditions: Sunny
Precipitation: None  
Temperature Range: 87 F to 64 F (31 C to 18 C)

Location of Trip #8: Little Garlic Trail (North Country Trail)
Length of Trip: 2 days, 1 night (July 11-12)
Activity: Backpacking - 7 mi (11.3 km) 
Sky and Air Conditions: Sunny 
Precipitation: None 
Temperature Range: 73 F to 60 F (23 C to 16 C)

Location of Trip #9: Porcupine Mountains Wilderness
Length of Trip: 4 days, 3 nights (July 13-16) 
Activity: Backpacking/Canoeing
Sky and Air Conditions: Sunny, cloudy, rainy
Precipitation: About 2 in (5 cm) of rain 
Temperature Range: 81 F to 49 F (27 C to 9 C)

Location of Trip #10: Grand Island National Recreation Area 
Length of Trip: 2 days, 1 night (July 21-22)
Activity: Backpacking - 6 mi (9.7 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Cloudy, rainy
Precipitation: Rain
Temperature Range: 70 F to 49 F (21 C to 9 C)

Location of Trip #11: Grand Island National Recreation Area
Length of Trip: 2 days, 1 night (July 29-30)
Activity: Backpacking - 21 mi (34 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Sunny, cloudy
Precipitation: None  
Temperature Range: 71 F to 56 F (22 C to 13 C)

Location of Trip #12: Hiawatha National Forest (dispersed camping)
Length of Trip: 2 days, 1 night (July 30-31)
Activity: Short trek in to dispersed site 0.5 mi (0.8 km) each way
Sky and Air Conditions: Sunny, cloudy
Precipitation: None  
Temperature Range: 72 F to 54 F (22 C to 12 C)
 
Trip Talk

   Sleeping wrap at Huron Bay
This spring/summer all of my lengthy trips that would have been far away were cancelled but I made up for it by going out for a dozen short trips in my immediate area. My first trip with the wrap/quilt was for overnight camping on my partner's private land of ten acres (4 hectares). We camped on a ridge above the creek. Conditions were cool for the most part and I ended up layering with everything I brought during the evening hours. However for the night I removed my down jacket and vest and just wore a thin wool shirt and a hoody over that. I did wear my down pants. I was toasty throughout the night. I might add that for this trip we used a larger car camping tent so there was plenty of airspace to keep warm plus it was very damp (rained the entire night).

The next trip also involved a drive-to camp but this time it was to set up a tent just above Lake Superior on state land (that finally opened for dispersed camping after a couple months). There are usually significant winds blowing off the lake and this was to be partially true as it died down later. Since it was the night of the June full moon, I decided not to put the fly on the small backpacking tent so that I could observe its path throughout the night if I woke up a few times (normal). I wore the same amount of clothes as the first trip and I was actually too hot so I just slid down the quilt a foot (30.5 cm) or so.

My third trip was to a state forest campground for car camping (large tent). I hiked over 7 miles (9.7 km). I used a larger/thicker sleeping pad with the quilt. I was quite toasty even with the damp and rainy weather the first day and night. I wore my down pants and a fleece top and a down vest to bed. Plus fleece hat and neck gaiter.

The fourth trip was backpacking along Lake Superior. I used my warmer Therm-a-rest pad. I wore my down pants. However I kept the fly off the tent (NEMO Hornet) as I wanted to watch the stars. I don't worry about condensation on overnight trips.

The fifth trip involved a rustic cabin base camp. We were told that the wood stove was inoperable but given that the low was 48 F (9 C); it wasn't bad without it. We were the first to occupy the log cabin after three months being shut down due to Covid-19, so that did make the cabin rather damp. The Forest Service had vinyl standard issue mattresses in the cabin so I brought an insulated pad to make it a bit more comfortable. The first night I slept in my down pants but found it was overkill so the second night I just wore some light fleece pants. The quilt was quite toasty. I put the end of the sleeping pad inside of the bottom section of the quilt. The long length of the quilt makes this possible and I am so grateful that the quilt still goes up past my chin if desired. 

The sixth trip involved backpacking along the shores of Lake Superior. The weather was unbelievably hot for this locale so luckily we were able to move the car ahead and do shorter distances on the 2nd and 3rd day due to a previously planned T-shaped route. Needless to say I used the quilt in its full-out blanket arrangement and didn't need to have it cover much of me during the three nights. I switched to a lighter/less R-value sleeping pad for this trip and the following ones. No rainfly on the Copper Spur Two tent was needed.

The seventh trip continued with unprecedented heat so I shortened it to one night instead of the planned two nights at different spots. I used my Copper Spur One with no rainfly once again. I was quite happy with the quilt only over part of me.
Inside Tarptent in the Hiawatha NF
The weather during the eighth trip was still warm. Set up without fly on tent. Camped near a river so it was humid.

The ninth trip was an annual rustic cabin trip in the Porcupine Mts State Park. Backpacked into the same cabin each night with dayhiking and fishing involved. The weather was still warm but was very comfortable with the quilt.

My tenth trip was a backpacking trip on a nearby island. It was a short distance trip with only 6 mi (9.7 km) of hiking. Thunderstorms dominated the evening and overnight hours. Again comfortable even in the more humid conditions.

I went back to the island for my eleventh trip. It was an overnighter but solo backpacked over 21 mi (34 km). The evening cooled off and I did put my rain fly on the tent.

The twelfth trip involved just a short trek into a dispersed site in the Hiawatha National Forest. I used a Tarptent for this outing. I rolled up the complete sides of the tent exposing only the mesh to the outside. Lots of condensation overnight resulted in a wet-to-touch surface of the wrap but it started drying as soon as the sun hit my position as I slept in.

Overall, this summer has seen higher temperatures than normal. I used a variety of shelters (5) during my trips often with no rain fly (for the most part). The inner tents provided relief from hungry aggressive bugs. I also used 3 different sleeping pads with various R-values. I was super content on all these trips regardless of the temps.

I loved being able to adjust the quilt to whatever position I needed to stay warm or cool. The first several trips I used the quilt with the foot box closed and then tried it with putting the sleeping bag inside the foot box. The last six trips I used it in full-blanket mode. I am so pleased with the loft of this quilt after being stuffed and deployed so many times. It remains in perfect shape with no noticeable shifting of down or loss of it either.

Over the long term period I will be going on a couple of longer trips (8 nights for one and a still undetermined length (prob 8-10 nights) for another one. It will be interesting to see if the quilt remains lofty with so much moisture being pumped into it during long trips. I do anticipate lower temps as we near summer's end so hope to get down to the wrap's temperature range. So far, I love everything about this wrap/quilt!

 
Top of Page
   


Long Term Report:
October 5, 2020

USA Locations and Conditions

 

During the long term test period the Montbell Wrap was used an additional 24 nights. With the field test period yielding 18 nights the total would be 42 nights. All trips were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the state of Minnesota, USA. Elevation ranged from above 600 ft (180 m) to almost 2000 ft (610 m). 

Location of Trip #13: Hiawatha National Forest (forest rustic cabin)
Length of Trip: 4 days, 3 nights (August 9-12)
Activity: Kayaking, Mountain Biking
Conditions: Cloudy, sun and rain
Precipitation: Rain
Temperature Range: 80 F to 53 F (27 C to 12 C) 

Location of Trip #14: Hiawatha National Forest (dispersed car camping)
Length of Trip: 3 days, 2 nights (August 19-21)
Activity: Kayaking
Sky and Air Conditions: Rain one night
Precipitation: Cloudy, rain and sun
Temperature Range: 72 F to 49 F (22 C to 9 C) 

Location of Trip #15: Isle Royale National Park
Length of Trip: 9 days, 8 nights (August 24-September 1)
Activity: Backpacking - 54 mi (87 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Cloudy, sunny and rain
Precipitation: About 0.5 in (1.3 cm)
Temperature Range: 71 F to 39 F (22 C to 4 C)

Location of Trip #16: Superior Hiking Trail - Minnesota
Length of Trip: Backpacking 7 days, 6 nights (September 9-15)
Activity: Backpacking - 75 mi (121 km), plus 1 night of car camping
Sky and Air Conditions: Cloudy, sunny and rain
Precipitation: One night of rain, one day of rain
Temperature Range: 64 F to 28 F (18 C to -2 C)

Location of Trip #17: Porcupine Mts Wilderness State Park
Length of Trip: 3 days, 2 nights (September 20-22)
Activity:  Backpacking - 9 mi (14.5 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Mostly sunny with haze 
Precipitation: None
Temperature Range: 73 F to 55 F (23 C to 13 C)

Location of Trip #18 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Alger County
Length of Trip: 4 days, 3 nights (September 25-28)
Activity: Backpacking - 32.5 mi (52 km)
Sky and Air Conditions: Cloudy, lots of rain

Precipitation: Super heavy rain (prob 2 in/5 cm one night and other rainstorms producing less)
Temperature Range: 72 F to 60 F (22 C to 16 C) 
 


 
 
 
Trip Talk
 
During the long term period I finally had a couple nights in Minnesota that were well within the lower range of this wrap. Happy to say that I remained content even at 28 F (-2 C). I just wore my normal trail bedtime attire of a long sleeve wool shirt and synthetic vest and wool tights. I wore a fleece hat and pulled the quilt up partially over my head when needed. However most of the time it was just around my shoulders. My last outing in this series albeit warmer was a very wet adventure. My wrap picked up moisture each day especially noticeable in the footbox area but I still remained warm.

I used the sleeping wrap with various pads and tents during these outings including my Therm-a-Rest XTherm for Isle Royale and the Superior Hiking Trail (longer trips). A Sea to Summit Ultralight Pad or REI Flash Pad was used for the other trips. I also varied the accommodations including rustic cabins, three-sided shelters, Big Agnes Copper Spur Tent, NEMO Hornet Elite ultralight tent, TarpTent Rainbow and a car camping tent. Some of course were a tight fit with little airspace but other set-ups had plenty of airspace to try to keep warm in. I have continued to sometime tuck the sleeping pad into the wrap but most of the time I just lay it over me or snap the footbox to just have my feet inside.
 
Without sounding sappy I have found the Montbell Wrap hard to live without. I have happily used it since day one and I'm sure I will likely continue to love it. I have had or still own a host of sleeping bags and another quilt. Although many of them have great qualities I am so impressed with the loft and weight of this wrap/quilt for the warmth. I have had zero issues with the down shifting which has been a problem for me in the past with other products. It has been stuffed and unstuffed during 42 nights and still looks great. I haven't washed it, but so far it doesn't appear to need it. I likely will use it in combination with a winter-temp sleeping bag during frigid weather.
 
 

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Packable
  • Fine workmanship
  • Washable
  • Nice cloth storage bag to keep it in between trips
  • Snap closures


 Cons

  • None
 
Tester Remarks 

Thanks to Montbell and BackpackGearTest.org for this opportunity to test the Down Sleeping Wrap #2. This concludes my long term report and the test series.

Top of Page
  


Read more reviews of MontBell gear
Read more gear reviews by Gail Staisil

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Quilts and Blankets > MontBell - Down Sleeping Wrap 2 Long > Test Report by Gail Staisil



Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.



All material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org.
BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson