Ada Pass Hut in St James Conservation Area - First Tramping Trip with the Kiwi Ultralight Quilt (sans kids)

18kgs. That’s how heavy my tramping pack weighed in at.

We were on a girls overnight trip to Canterbury’s Woolshed Creek Hut. My new friend Alice from Alice Adventuring weighed all of our packs at the trailhead for a laugh. Mine came out heaviest by far.

“How??” they asked.

“Old gear,” I said.

The lightest pack came in at 9kgs

Proud as I was to still be using my 10+ year old gear - tent, sleeping pad and sleeping bag - my knees were screaming at me as we climbed Rhyolite Ridge to lighten the damn load next time. The old gear was fine. I didn’t need flash new stuff. But my mind kept wandering back to how on earth I would carry this load as well as my kids’ gear - and often the kids themselves - when I wanted to take them tramping overnight without my partner. I also spent the next few weeks in physio for my poor knee.

Over the course of the trip I decided something had to change if I wanted family overnighters to feel comfortable and achievable long term. And that probably needed to start with replacing my HUGE heavy sleeping bag. Sleeping mats and tent could follow later.

So I reached out to Kiwi Ultralight to see if they would sponsor me with a sleeping quilt in return for some content about my experience with their gear. They said yes.

My hope was that a quilt would:

dramatically lighten my pack
free up space for kids’ gear
let me share a sleep system with my children
work for solo trips, family trips and trips with my partner

Was I right?

Yes, it has worked well for me so far.

This is indeed a sponsored post, but all thoughts and opinions are my own, and I’ve also included a few things that some people might want to consider before making the change.

After several months of using a Kiwi Ultralight quilt for family camping and tramping with kids, I’ve found it dramatically reduces both pack weight and bulk while still being warm and comfortable. For our family, it has made overnight adventures feel much more achievable.

What is an Ultralight Quilt?

An ultralight quilt is basically a tramping blanket that replaces a sleeping bag. It doesn’t zip fully around you underneath like a sleeping bag does - it just drapes over the top and tucks around the sides, more like your duvet at home. The idea is that you save weight and space by removing the bits that aren’t really doing much anyway.

Kiwi Ultralight quilts attach to a hut mattress or sleeping pad using straps that come with the quilt (optional extra).

Team-quilt argues that because the down underneath your body gets compressed flat anyway, it isn’t actually providing much warmth. I was sceptical of this, because what could be more cosy and warm than being cocooned from all sides in a sleeping bag?

But so far, I am very happy with the snuggle experience.

I’ve now used this quilt at Ada Pass Hut in Lewis Pass in February, family camping in Kaikōura in March, and Woolshed Creek Hut in early May. I’ve been very warm and cosy on all of those trips so far. The quilt has a zip and drawstring footbox which helps keep things snug.

One thing worth noting is that your sleeping mat matters more with a quilt setup. If your mat isn’t well insulated underneath you, you’ll probably notice that more than you would with a sleeping bag.

Enjoying the view and hiding from sandflies under my Kiwi Ultralight Quilt at Ada Pass DOC hut

Why I Chose Kiwi Ultralight

Kiwi Ultralight is a New Zealand company (yay!) making a lot of their gear locally themselves or alongside other NZ businesses (yay!), outsourcing offshore where it makes sense.

They’re very transparent about their manufacturing and materials and seem genuinely committed to making quality gear ethically and sustainably. Owners Debra and Cody are keen trampers themselves, engineering and testing the gear out in the real world and making sure they only sell the best.

My quilt is:

regular size
-5 comfort rating
baffle design

It weighs 695 grams. Which after my old giant synthetic sleeping bag, made me feel like I could fly.

How Does an Ultralight Quilt Compare to a Sleeping Bag?

I was pretty nervous about giving up the familiar cocooned comfort of a sleeping bag. Turns out that fear was unfounded. I still feel very snuggly and wrapped up with the quilt.

That said, there are definitely some differences worth thinking about. When choosing gear, I try to make choices that will last me as long as possible and serve as many scenarios as possible. With that approach, it is worth putting in the thought:

Weight - How light is a Kiwi Ultralight Quilt?

This is the biggest win for me.

Swapping my old sleeping bag for this quilt made it feel achievable to carry overnight gear for myself and my two young kids. Less weight on my back also means I’m more likely to actually say yes to spontaneous overnight adventures instead of talking myself out of them beforehand. 695 grams is pretty sweet.

Packability - How Small Can the Kiwi Ultralight Quilt Pack Down?

Fantastic. This is another reason I can now squeeze all of my own and kids’ overnight gear into my tramping pack and go. It has freed up a bunch of space so I can now bring the kids and the extra gear that they come with. 30 × 20 cm with the ability to compress smaller is good.

Warmth - How Warm is a Kiwi Ultralight Quilt?

So far I’ve been super warm in this quilt. The coldest trip has been Woolshed Creek Hut in May and I was comfortable.

There is some learning to do around quilt-use such as avoiding drafts and making sure your sleeping mat underneath is warm enough. Some very cold sleepers might still prefer a sleeping bag in colder conditions, but if you have everything set up well, they are cosy as. One difference is that there is no hood. Add will wear a warm hat to mitigate this, but so far I haven’t need to.

I’m also quite a wriggly sleeper and that hasn’t been an issue for me at all. If anything I prefer not getting tangled up in a sleeping bag anymore.

Comfort - How Comfortable is a Kiwi Ultralight Quilt?

I have found the quilt extremely cosy and comfortable

The only downside is feeling the sticky DOC mattresses underneath you in huts - IYKYK. I’ve been using my sleeping bag liner over the mattress like a fitted sheet which solves this problem. Kiwi Ultralight also sells proper fitted DOC mattress sheets for this reason.

Kiwi Ultralight Quilt all set up for a cosy sleep after a day of tramping to Ada Pass DOC hut, St James Conservation Area

Why I Think Quilts Work So Well for Family Tramping With Kids

This has been the best tramping sleep setup we’ve used with little kids so far.

At the moment I just have a single quilt, but it easily covers both me and my three year old. That means no separate toddler sleeping bag, less bulk, less weight, and easier overnight cuddles.

For one adult and one toddler, our full sleep setup weighs just 695g.

I’m hoping to add one of Kiwi Ultralight’s double quilts to our family setup later on if they release them again this year. That would basically give us a modular family sleep system depending on who is coming on each trip.

Something like:

Solo adventures (just me): single quilt

Trips with both kids: double quilt for all three of us OR double + single depending on the hut bed setup

Full family trips: double for me, my partner and youngest + single for my oldest

1:1 parent-child trips: either the single or double depending on which kid comes

For families with young kids who already sleep close together anyway, quilts make a lot of sense.

Enjoying a chilly evening on the beach in Kaikoura, snuggled up under the Kiwi Ultralight Quilt

Are Quilts Useful Beyond Tramping?

Quilts are useful for all sorts of outdoor activities with kids.

We’ve already used ours heaps outside of actual tramping trips because it packs so small and is easy to chuck in the car.

Think:

beach hot chocolates wrapped in a quilt
early morning sports sidelines
throwing over tired kids after a hike
campsite lounging
snow missions
Sunset port hills missions - hot choccy at the top

This one of those pieces of gear that’s going to get lots of use.

Final Thoughts

So while there are definitely a few things to think about before switching from a sleeping bag to a quilt, I’m happy to be part of team-quilt.

For me, the biggest benefit hasn’t just been reducing pack weight - although that has been amazing - it’s that family overnight adventures now feel a lot more manageable and realistic.

And the fact that this gear comes from a thoughtful New Zealand company run by actual trampers makes me even happier to support them.

If you’ve got any questions about the quilt or using one with kids, feel free to ask below.

Until the next adventure,
Jasmine