Two Person Backpacking Comfort

Thermarest Vela Double 32F Quilt

The Thermarest Vela Double is a lightweight, packable, down, two-person quilt that is at home in the backcountry. Made of water-resistant 650 Fill RDS down with Thermacapture to keep you warm. I used this for some summer camping with my wife and dogs in Colorado.

Why a quilt?

Quilts can be a great alternative to sleeping bags for a few reasons.  They tend to be lighter in weight, which is great for backpacking.  Something like 20-30% lighter on average.  Quilts tend to pack up smaller as well.  Seeing as they have no bottom or hood, this just makes sense.  No zippers to fuss with!  That is pretty dang nice right there.  These are just some of the perks of quilts.  I found a nice comparison on quilts vs sleeping bags on a fellow outdoor site – The Hiking Life. Give it a read to learn more.

Lightweight and packable

This two-person sleeping system comes in at only 2lbs 4oz! (1.06 kg)! Let that sink in for a moment.  Yes, that is just over a pound per person.  1lb 5 oz (600 grams) of that is 650 fill down too. Thermarest uses a 20D polyester material with DWR treatment for the shell of this.  The quilt packs up very small – just 8×14″.  Again, this is for two people!

How I tested the Vela Double Quilt

On most nights, I used the Vela Double Quilt with the NeoAir Comfort Duo (read our review on that here). Testing conditions were summertime in the Rockies.  Meaning, warm (60-70s) in the day and 30s at night.  I would not recommend this below freezing unless you know how to dress for pushing temp ratings on sleeping systems.  Would I use it at or below freezing?  Yes.  But I would add a puffy jacket and pants.

There were plenty of nights that hovered around freezing and I was perfectly warm.  I do tend to like to sleep cold, for what it is worth.  Most nights were my two dogs and me in the Vela quilt.  I did get my wife to trust me on using it this, and it was a success 🙂

What I love about the Vela Double Quilt

This thing is lightweight, packs up small as heck and provides plenty of warmth for me and the dogs.  And/or my wife.  I am keeping this in the truck year-round for use as extra insurance during the winter (to add to other bags for extra warmth) and as our primary sleeping system in our Roofnest Tent. The material feels great against the skin too.  I think it is very fairly priced at $280.


Vela Quilt: 35-45 Degree Down $279.95