REI Magma 30 Down Trail Quilt Review

The REI Magma 30 Down Trail Quilt is a lightweight backpacking quilt with a zippered footbox that lets you open the quilt flat like a comforter. It is conservatively temperature-rated to 30F, uses water-resistant down, and has draft collars at both the neck and footbox-cinch ends.

While quilts have been used for decades in the ultralight backpacking community, most of them have been made by cottage manufacturers or were homemade. Eventually, some of these ultralight cottage manufacturers grew well beyond the cottage stage. REI’s Magma 30 Down Trail Quilt series shows that the mainstreaming of backpacking quilts has happened, which will hopefully expose even more new backpackers to the comfort, lightweight, and compressibility benefits of quilts.

We previously reviewed an earlier version of this quilt when REI first introduced it. This new version is a significant upgrade box baffling and with a footbox that can be unzipped and vented. The older version had an inferior sewn-thru construction and a closed footbox. Unfortunately, REI did not rename the new product, which is bound to create confusion for consumers.

Philip has written about urging outdoor retailers to include the model year in the product name, especially when they change the design from year to year. REI is notorious for using the same product name for different products from year to year (like the various Flash Air tent models), which creates a lot of consumer confusion. They do this to fool Google’s search algorithm and not as a service to “members”.

• Temperature Rating 30F / -1C
• Weight: (manufacturer) 1 pound, 6.3 oz (medium wide)
• Weight (tested): 1 pound, 6.6 oz (quilt alone); 0.5 oz (stuff sack); 0.9 oz (2 pad straps)
• Insulation: 850 fill power, bluesign-approved goose down
• Water-Resistant Down: Yes
• Insulation weight: 12.6 oz
• Baffle construction: Box baffled (not sewn-through)
• Sizes: Medium Wide (Medium, Long and Long Wide also available)
• Fits up to: 71″ in height; Shoulder / Hip Girth: 64″ / 60.5″ (Medium Wide)
• Dimensions (manufacturer): 73.2 x 54.3″ (Medium Wide)
• Dimensions (tested): Length: 72″; Width: 50” at neck, 58” at shoulders, tapering down to 41” (foot)
• Stuffed volume: 3.7 L (Medium Wide)
• Exterior shell: 15d recycled ripstop nylon, bluesign approved
• Lining: 15d recycled ripstop nylon, bluesign approved
• Included accessories: stuff sack, mesh storage sack, 2 pad straps
• Footbox: Zippered Convertible
• Pros: Box baffled, Water Resistant Down, Draft Collar.
• Cons: Pad attachment straps are not elastic

To begin, it’s important to address a problem with the marketing copy for the Magma. REI says that this quilt ”converts into a mummy bag.” It doesn’t. It’s a quilt with a footbox that can be unzipped so the quilt lays flat. The footbox is the only thing that zips and unzips. I hope REI changes this because there ARE convertible quilts, like the Enlighted Equipment Convert that have a full zip to become a sleeping bag, but this is not one of them.

The construction of the convertible footbox has three elements: a zipper, a drawcord that spans the width of the foot end, and a baffle along the length of the drawcord. On warmer nights, you can unzip the footbox and loosen the drawcord and you’ll have a flat comforter that’s easy to kick a leg out from when you overheat. On cooler nights, zip up the footbox and cinch up the draw cord, making sure to pull out the baffle as you cinch to plug up the end hole. This baffle is a nice feature to minimize heat loss without having to plug up the hole with a spare sock.

Box Baffle Design

The REI Magma 30 is constructed with box baffles, not sewn-through, which is a win for warmth. Sewn-through is faster, easier, and cheaper, but can also let in cold air along the sewing line where there is no insulation. The baffles are oriented vertically at the torso, to prevent down from settling around the sides away from the top, and horizontally on the bottom.

Draft Collar

The REI Magma Quilt has a draft collar at the neck, which is a tube of down that can be snapped together at its ends and cinched up to insulate blood flow there and prevent heat loss. The drawstring is located at the center of the draft tube on the inside of the quilt, so you can adjust it without removing your arms from under the quilt, and the cord is captured with a loop of fabric that prevents the cord from becoming a tangle hazard.

Quilt Temperature Rating

We find the REI Magma Quilts, both the previous version and this one, to be conservatively rated, and accurate to the stated temperature. REI Customer Service states on the product page that the Magma 30*F rating is the Lower Limit rating when used “with an insulated sleeping pad with at least a 5.38 R-value and the person is wearing a base layer with socks.” The Lower Limit rating is for the average warm sleeper (previously called the Men’s rating); the Comfort Rating (a higher temperature) is the limit for the average cold sleeper (previously called the Women’s rating). There is about a 10*F difference between the two ratings.

Many brands use the Lower Limit Rating as their naming convention, but I personally know far more cold sleepers than warm sleepers. Since many beginning backpackers go to REI as their entry point, I’m glad REI rates their bags conservatively. I wish the Comfort rating was the standard convention for naming sleeping bags and quilts across the industry.

I used the Magma Quilt this Spring in temps from 30F up to the high 40s comfortably. On a night that ranged from 30- 35F, with mixed precipitation from rain to sleet to snow, I was warm and cozy all night in the Magma in just base layers, fleece balaclava, and socks.

Sizing

We tested the medium-wide version of this quilt. There are also Medium, Long, and Long Wide sizes available. While a regular-width sleeping bag is often fine for hammock camping, because of how the underquilt wraps around you, many users, including smaller ones like myself, find that a wide quilt is better for ground use to prevent drafts, especially if you are a rotisserie sleeper. REI says this is a 73.2 x 54.3 inch quilt, but it’s tapered. We measured the quilt at the shoulders to be quite a bit wider than reported: 58 inches, but the length to be slightly shorter at 72 inches.

Pad Straps

The two included pad straps are loops of static (non-elastic) flat cord with a cordlock to tighten the strap around your sleeping pad, and two plastic toggles to which you attach the loops on each side of your quilt. The toggles are a tight fit in the loops, and, while they won’t accidentally release, this also means they are very hard to unbutton.

I used to think that quilt straps were worthless for side sleepers. They were restrictive and made me feel like I had been tied down to the pad–especially non-elastic straps like those included with the Magma quilt. As an active sleeper, it’s important to have elasticity in the sleep system.

Then, while using the ZenBivy sleep system, I made a discovery that I began to use with all my quilts when I’m ground sleeping: attaching the quilt to the straps on one side only. This gives me a draft-free side along my back and I can snug the quilt around me on the other side, the side I’m facing. It also helps keep the bag from sliding off the pad and makes it super easy to exit in the night.

Stuff Sack/ Storage Bag

The REI Magma Quilt comes with a large mesh storage sack to keep the quilt uncompressed at home, and a small, simple cylindrical drawstring (non-compressible) stuff sack made out of the same fabric as the quilt’s shell. I find the stuff sack a little too small–when you are trying to pack up the quilt with cold fingers it’s a bit of a struggle to get it all in, and it’s a very tight fit, but the small pack size is nice when you’re carrying it in your backpack.

Recommendation

The REI Magma Quilt 30 is a great option for new users to experiment with as their first backpacking quilt, due to REI’s return policy, the conservative temp rating, the width, and the draft collar. But it is also a quality quilt, and these design features will be appreciated by experienced users as well. Recommended!

Likes

• Temp rating is conservative–it was spot-on for a cold sleeper
• Wide option worked well for preventing drafts while ground sleeping
• Draft collar with an easy-access captured drawcord on the inside of the quilt

Room for Improvement

• Make the pad straps elastic

Disclosure: REI donated a quilt for an honest review.

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