Neve Gear Waratah Quilt Review

Australian-based Neve Gear is a brand passionate about ultralight backpacking, dedicated to providing quality gear specifically for Aussie hikers.

Their founder, Ryan, reignited his love for the outdoors after pandemic lockdowns. However, his initial adventures were hampered by bulky, underwhelming gear that struggled to keep him warm. Living in regional Port Macquarie, limited access to ultralight options and long online wait times became a recurring frustration.

Determined to find a solution, Ryan embarked on a journey of research and experimentation. He designed and crafted his first quilt, seeking feedback online to refine his creation. This led to a surge in requests for custom gear, ultimately sparking the birth of Neve Gear.

Since then, the company has grown steadily, fuelled by Ryan’s dedication to offering high-quality, lightweight options for Australian hikers.

After chatting with the guys from Neve Gear, I was thrilled to receive one of their quilts to put through its paces on the trail.

The past couple of months, I’ve been out on a heap of rewarding overnight and multi-day hikes, using the Neve Gear Waratah Quilt as my primary sleep system. The first of these was the 28km Lerderderg Northern Circuit, close to home, that offers a diverse landscape, from dry forests to a deep river gorge. Another was a multi-day hike to Lake Tali Karng and The Sentinels in Victoria’s High Country.

On these, and many more adventures, the Waratah has proved to be a versatile and comfortable companion.

For anyone who hasn’t used one, a quilt does away with the zipper, hood and full enclosure of a sleeping bag. It drapes over your body and tucks around the sides, relying on your sleeping pad for insulation underneath rather than fully enclosing you, and it straps or clips to the pad to minimise drafts. That’s most of the reason quilts are lighter and pack down smaller than a sleeping bag with a similar rating, and it’s also why they let you move more freely at night, sleeping on your side, stomach or back without feeling boxed in the way you can in a mummy bag.

Comparing the Neve Gear Waratah Quilt

While I’ve always relied on a traditional Sea to Summit Trek TkIII sleeping bag (comfort rating: -5°C) for overnight hikes, the Waratah offered a noticeable difference in terms of weight and comfort. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences and how they compare:

Weight: Quilts typically weigh less than sleeping bags due to their lack of zippers, hoods, and full enclosure. The Waratah, for example, weighs in at a mere 610 grams (805 grams for the quilt I used) and packs down to a tiny 3 litres (6 litres for the quilt I used), making a significant difference on multi-day hikes. At 1.215 kg, my Trek TkIII is almost double the weight of the smaller Waratah. For me, every gram counts on long hikes, and the Waratah’s ultralight design translates to a more enjoyable experience on the trail.

Warmth: Here’s where things get interesting. The Trek TkIII boasts a comfort rating of -5°C, while the Waratah is rated for -8°C. However, warmth also depends on fill power and down fill weight. The Trek TkIII uses 650+ loft 85/15 duck down with a fill weight of 700 grams. The Waratah uses higher quality 950+ loft down, but with a slightly lower fill weight of 590 grams, and that higher fill power looks to be what’s compensating for the lower weight. As I was field testing this in Autumn, the nighttime temps only got down to as low as 5°C so I haven’t had a chance to push it to the comfort limits yet, and quilts generally do struggle more than a full sleeping bag once you get into truly extreme cold, since there’s simply less material wrapped around you and drafts are more of a factor. Conducting a side-by-side test in similar conditions would be the most accurate way to determine which sleep system is warmer for you.

Versatility: Even though the nights weren’t exceptionally cold, the Waratah’s adaptability to temperature was a major advantage for me. I am a hot sleeper and often sleep at home with only a sheet, so that ability to regulate my temperature by pulling the quilt back was a real bonus.

Neve Gear designed the quilt with a zippered and drawcord footbox that allows for multiple configurations. On warmer nights (12°C), I could unfurl it completely for breathability, transforming it into a comfortable blanket. On colder nights on the trail, the adjustable footbox and draft collar let me close it up into something closer to a cosy enclosure. My traditional mummy sleeping bag lacks this level of adjustability, making it less versatile for various climates. Even with my Trek TkIII, I find it annoying that I regularly need to pull the zipper up and down to regulate my sleeping temperature.

Freedom of Movement: Quilts offer more freedom of movement compared to mummy bags. While mummy bags are known for their warmth, they can sometimes feel restrictive, especially for side sleepers. I can’t stand being constrained in a bag, and the Waratah’s open design allowed me to shift positions comfortably throughout the night, tossing and turning without feeling constrained. I am also a stomach sleeper, and when I open my full zippered sleeping bag, my toes end up sticking out, so Neve Gear recommend sizing up to their 6’ 5″ quilt to prevent this from happening.

Neve Gear Waratah Quilt in Action

As a stomach sleeper who tends to toss and turn, the feature that made the biggest difference for me was the Draft-Guard system. I tested the quilt without the pad attachment straps first and kept waking up with cold spots throughout the night. With the straps in place, the strategically placed pad attachment straps wrapped the quilt securely around me, eliminating those drafts, and I had a genuinely good night’s sleep. That’s essentially what the Draft-Guard system is doing: the footbox has a drawcord to cinch tight along with a footbox collar to prevent drafts, and the neck uses a two-snap button system that integrates with a drawcord collar to fine-tune the fit. I didn’t notice any drafts around my feet during testing, and the two attachment straps that connect the quilt to the sleeping pad kept the whole system working together rather than shifting apart overnight.

The compressibility also stood out. Packing down to a tiny 4 litres was a huge space saver in my pack, taking up half the space of my conventional sleeping bag, and that allowed me to carry a few non-essential items of gear I wouldn’t normally bring, like my Helinox Chair Zero and a bottle of red.

Neve Gear’s design incorporates differentially sized baffles, with overfilled footbox baffles providing targeted warmth where it’s most needed, while vertical baffles through the rest of the quilt maximise thermal efficiency without adding unnecessary weight. Horizontal footbox baffles also prevent down migration and cold spots, and the stitching throughout is neat and shows good craftsmanship.

The 10D nylon used in the Waratah struck a good balance between durability, breathability, and weight, and the quilt felt comfortable even against bare skin. It does have a slightly delicate feel, similar to many lightweight backpacking materials, so it’s not something I’d treat roughly, but a little care goes a long way in ensuring its durability.

Whether a quilt or a traditional sleeping bag makes more sense comes down to your own backpacking priorities. If shedding weight and having freedom of movement matter more to you than squeezing out every last degree of warmth, the Waratah is well worth considering. If absolute warmth in very cold conditions is your main concern, a mummy bag is still probably the safer choice, since quilts generally aren’t built to compete there.

For me, the Waratah’s lighter weight, comfortable design, and adaptability to various temperatures make it a good option for my outdoor adventures, especially in milder or three-season conditions. For very cold weather camping, I might still opt for the extra warmth of my traditional sleeping bag, but I’m yet to test the Waratah in winter, so I can’t say for certain. I’ll report back here once I have.

From $449 I’d recommend checking out the Aussie made Neve Gear Waratah Quilt and seeing if it works for you.

Find out more at https://nevegear.com.au/products/waratah

Tech Specs

Quilt I tested:

• Quilt Weight: 805g
• Down Weight: 590g
• Compression Volume: 6L
• Comfort Rating: -8*C
• Down Type: 950FP
• Max User Height: 6’ 5″

Unfilled Specs:

• Shoulder: 147cm
• Hip: 127cm
• Foot: 105cm
• Height: 190/205cm

Materials:

• 10D Nylon Taffeta Inner and Outer Fabric
• Choice of 950FP Goose Down or 850FP Duck Down. Both 95% Down content
• 50cm YKK #3 Zipper

Features

• Differential Cut creates a natural curve and reduces the chance of compressing the down when moving or shifting while sleeping.
• Unique Pad Attachment system that utilises a draft barrier by placing the quilt clips in further from the edge of the quilt.
• Down Filled Collar for ultimate neck comfort and warmth.
• Draft Blocking Foot Box Closure.
• Overstuffed Baffles over the Foot and Torso Section for efficient warmth.
• RDS Certified Down Supplier, both 850 Duck and 950 Goose Down.
• Premium 10D fabrics offer a soft luxury feel and shave grams for the best weight to durability ratio.