Enlightened Equipment Accomplice 2-Person Quilt Review
Ultralight, Ultra-Warm Backpacking Quilt
Considering a two-person sleep system? If you can share a bed (and blankets) with your partner each night without murdering them, you’re probably good candidates for the Enlightened Equipment Accomplice 2-Person Quilt. The stock-model Accomplice crushes it in every category. It’s a true 30-degree quilt, plenty spacious for two people, and comes down to just one pound per person… pretty incredible for a quilt with a 30-degree rating. You get radiant heat, expend less energy staying warm, and save weight with this quilt vs. a double sleeping bag or individual sleeping bags.
Note: this is a field-tested review of the Accomplice for 10 days north of the Arctic Circle. We encountered sub-freezing nights, sleet, and snow.
To see the competition for the Enlightened Equipment Accomplice
Check out our Best Sleeping Bags and Quilts for a complete overview of the best quilts on the market.
Key Features Enlightened Equipment Accomplice Backpacking Quilt
Warmth-to-Weight Ratio
The Accomplice is an accurate temperature rated backpacking quilt with exceptional warmth for its low weight. Using high-quality, high-loft down, your partner’s radiant heat, and the option head/neck seals, you’ll stay comfortable when the temperatures plummet below freezing, all for just a few pounds. On the coldest nights in Alaska, we were still sleeping in just our long underwear in our +20 quilt. Quilts are also much better for saving weight than double sleeping bags or zipping two one-person bags together. They are also way roomier and comfortable.
No Blanket Stealing
One argument against two-person quilts is that there might be enough “blanket” to go around, i.e. not enough quilt coverage for two people, which can let in drafts or result in the dreaded blanket stealing. Not with this backpacking quilt. We love how roomy this model is, with plenty of wrap to get rid of drafts, and a wide, almost rectangular footbox that allows for a variety of sleeping positions.
*Key Specs | Enlightened Equipment Accomplice 2-Person Quilt
Design: 2 person | 30-degree | Down backpacking quilt
Features: Wide footbox, neck seals, sleeping pad straps
Weight: 30.98 ounces | 1.94 pounds | .88 kg
Fill Power: 850 down
Fill weight: 22.25 ounces
Temperature rating: +30 degree F
MSRP: $420
*These specs are for the stock +30 model. We used the 950-fill, 20-degree, 7D custom model in Alaska. Same 2 lb weight but +10 F degrees warmer.
Video Review of Enlightened Accomplice Quilt in Alaska
Watch our 3 minute video review of the Enlightened Accomplice Quilt as we field-test it over 10 days north of the Arctic Circle. We encountered sub-freezing nights, sleet, and snow.
What is Enlightened Equipment?
Enlightened Equipment is one of the most popular “cottage industry” brands making backpacking quilts and sleeping bags. Known for their wildly popular Revelation and Enigma, Enlightened Equipment has had a big hand in popularizing down quilts over the past few years. Founded in 2007, this brand is based in Minnesota, making everything right in the US. They have custom options for everything from their sleeping bags to quilts to ultralight rain jackets and insulated jackets and are known for their field-tested, durable, ultralight specialized backpacking gear.
More Details about the Enlightened Equipment Accomplice
Below we list the key features and some commonly asked questions about two-person quilts, and this one in particular.
2-Person Quilts are Warmer & Lighter than Double Sleeping Bags
Two-person quilts will cut the radiant heat loss, which is excellent news for the person in the pair who sleeps colder. You’re basically bouncing radiant heat back and forth, and using way less energy to keep the microclimate warm.
The quilt allows you to sleep close to your partner, or spread out and kick an arm or a leg out of the covering for airflow on warmer nights.
For the coldest nights, each person has their own head and neck opening, which you can seal out drafts with. We like the wide foot box for a two-person quilt, so there’s plenty of room and space to move.
What About the Rest of the Sleep System?
For our system, we use two single-person Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattresses (our favorite!), combined with a pad attachment system (straps to hold the pads together). We like using the two individual pads attached together because there is more room for each person than if you slept on the pads individually.
The Enlightened Equipment Accomplice comes with a strap system to secure it to the sleeping pads, but we don’t usually need them as this has plenty of “wrap” space, and we like the added comfort and freedom of not having strapped down.
Should I Buy Stock or Custom?
First, you can’t go wrong with the stock model. It’s always a better deal. Less cost, and it will come faster! As we said above, these are the specs listed from the base model, which is 850 fill and rated to 30 degrees.
We chose to use a custom 950-fill 20-degree bag with a 7D exterior fabric — but then this is what we do for a living — and we were curious how light a +20 2-person quilt could be. Whether you get the stock model or not is up to the individual, but the prices can skyrocket with the specs. At a certain point it’s diminishing returns, and opting for a quilt with 950 fill rated to 10 degrees is going to cost you a heck of a lot more than buying a less expensive option and wearing an extra layer like a down jacket, for an unexpected cold snap.
Pick and choose though… maybe you want the higher quality fill but the same temperature rating. That option will save you weight but increase cost. Opting for the the same weight, you can get about +10 F warmer if you go for 950 FP down, and the 7d fabric (this is what we did with our +20 F quilt which weighs about the same as the stock +30 F quilt). But it will cost you a lot more and be a bit more delicate. In the end, we’d strongly recommend you go with the stock spec’ed quilt unless you are a “power user” and know exactly what you are doing.
Why Would You Choose a Quilt over A Mummy Bag?
A quilt is not just a flat blanket! A modern down camping quilt strips away the heaviest and least effective features of a sleeping bag — leaving you with a supremely efficient and light cocoon of warmth. As such, it is a hoodless, backless, zipperless sleeping bag with a fully enclosed foot box opening at knee level. The upper 2/3 of the quilt can be loosely draped over the user for comfort and venting, or tucked in with a seal for maximum heat conservation.
Down backpacking quilts are cheaper, lighter, and have a higher warmth-to-weight ratio than traditional backpacking sleeping bags. As such, they’ve become a staple in ultralight and lightweight backpacking kits. The ultralight down camping quilts in this guide are the best on the market. They can accommodate users on virtually any trip, anywhere in the world, in any season and any budget!
Camping quilts are significantly lighter and less expensive compared to a traditional sleeping bag. They are non-restrictive and comfortable, great for people who can’t deal with the tight fit of a mummy bag. Backpacking quilts easily adapt to a broad range of temperatures by either opening up the quilt in warmer weather or closing it in tight around you in colder weather. And when it gets really cold, their more flexible shape allows you to wear a down jacket to bed to increase warmth without it being tight or claustrophobic vs. traditional sleeping bags which usually don’t have enough room to wear extra clothes. The major downside of quilts is for restless sleepers, or people that never master keeping the quilt over them. The resulting drafts can reduce the inherent warmth of a quilt. Finally camping quilts lack a hood, but unless it’s very cold a warm hat will solve that issue nicely (and lab testing also supports this). Also the sleeping bag temp rating tests are also done with a hat.
Tips for Sleeping Under a Quilt
Some backpackers avoid quilts because they think they will be cold, or they have tried them and couldn’t sleep warm in them. It’s true that using a quilt effectively requires some knowledge and skill. That knowledge isn’t complicated and it isn’t hard to implement. Having those simple skills gives you the weight, flexibility, and comfort of using a quilt. They easily adapt to a wide range of conditions, most likely allowing you to use a quilt comfortably in true 3+ season conditions. More specifically, a 30 F rated camping quilt could easily be used in temperatures that could range from 20-40 F.
You need to use a good sleeping pad (with an R-value of 4.8 or greater under the new rating system. Note that most pads on the market are NOT this warm!) and have long underwear or sleeping clothes and a warm hat.
In addition, sleeping warm in a quilt requires something to replace the hood in a sleeping bag – a down hood or a warm hat of some sort works best. You can also wear a hooded puffy jacket while sleeping. You could say we are adding weight to a quilt system that compromises the advantage over sleeping bags, but we disagree and note that the sleeping bag temp rating tests are also done with a hat. All the clothes you are using with a quilt are more than likely the clothes you would already have with you. In other words, you are likely packing with you a puffy jacket or a hat of some sort, so why not use it for part of your sleep system? Double use of the gear is a fundamental principle in achieving lower overall weights in your pack. Because it is expected that a sleeper will be wearing additional clothes, a quilt needs to have a girth of around 51″ to 55” in order to accommodate the additional sleep clothing.
It is likely that you will need to learn to pay attention to how you roll over and move within a quilt to avoid having gaps form on the sides. This easily becomes an unconscious skill that does not detract from the quality of your sleep. To reduce the need for this many camping quilt manufacturers supply an adjustable pad attachment system that prevents gaps from opening on the sides. Check out more of our backpacking quilt tips.
Conclusion
This is a super light, warm, efficient system for two people to sleep together. If you and your partner like to share a space, this is the way to go. You’ll stay warmer than in individual bags, and still have plenty of room to move around, sleep comfortably, or get close to share more heat.
You can modify everything from the fill power to the color to the width of this quilt, perfect for people who are concerned about weight, warmth, and dimensions. We love that these quilts by Enlightened Equipment can be ordered stock or custom and that they’re made from a dedicated backpacking company right here in the US.
For just a few pounds, this accurately rated backpacking quilt is a key component to a light, warm, partner-based sleep system for long-distance backpacking.
Looking for More?
For the best quilts and sleeping bags of 2020, check out our guide for the Best Sleeping Bags and Quilts of 2020.
One of our favorite single-person quilts was the Enlightened Equipment Enigma 30, which retails for $290 and weighs 17.9 ounces.
Therm-a-Rest also debuted a two-person quilt last year. The Therm-a-Rest Vela 20 retails for $299.95 and weighs 2 pounds, 13 ounces.
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