Australian Hiker

Rating

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Single Review

While quilts have a reasonable degree of market penetration with the US thru hiking fraternity, they are not so common in Australian hiking but are however gaining traction. To a great extent the lack of quilt use in Australia has much to do with the fact that most hikers have probably never seen a quilt in use. Many outdoor stores have limited product space and see them as a niche product. So what is a camping and backpacking quilt as opposed to what we might use at home?

The best way to think of a camping quilt is as a hoodless sleeping bag with a section of the back removed; but why? With sleeping bags the bit you lie on is compressed which means you don’t get much warmth out of that section. As such, the sleeping bag is really part of a sleep system and relies on having the appropriate R-value (insulation rating) underneath your body, from your sleeping pad, to provide the warmth.

Quilts do away with this section altogether along with the hood and in theory reducing the weight of your sleep system although a high grade technical bag will often compete on weight if not price. This means that you do need a sleeping mat of some type, preferably an inflatable/semi inflatable sleeping mat to provide that underbody warmth a foam mat won’t.

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter is designed for use in warmer weather given it is rated for temperatures of 7º Celcius for men and for females down to 1º Celcius, so unless you wear a heap of clothing or another layer, this is never going to be a year round quilt. One thing to note with this quilt is that the temperature rating isn’t an official ISO 23537-1:202 rating (European Standard) but rather a temperature rating from the manufacturer based on other products in their range. What this means though is that the pricing on this quilt is pretty sharp at AUD $299.99 RRP which is pretty good for a product of this type and quality. In addition, given that Sea to Summit has rated this as a warm weather quilt, it is a reasonable temperature rating and one I  found accurate.

Technically this is a comforter rather than a quilt but essentially it’s the same thing. Having said that Sea to Summit produce a range of warmer and hiking-targeted quilts that are more streamlined. These hiker specific quilts from Sea to Summit come with the ‘Quilt Lock System’ designed to attach the Tanami Comforter by a clip system to layer your sleep system. This isn’t to say you can just add it to any sleeping bag. but the Quilt Lock system means that regardless of how much you toss and turn, this quilt will stay in place.

The insulation in this Tanami q=Quilt  is 650+ Down, which is on the cheaper end of the range, but if you are using this for overnight camping (hiking or car camping) when the conditions are warm, then this is a great stand alone quilt. My ‘go-to’ Spark Pro Sleeping Bag is a great option that will suit nearly all my hiking needs but it’s overkill during warm weather.

Weight wise this comforter comes in at 595 grams which is very lightweight as an add-on or standalone quilt. Semantics aside, quilts/comforters are more versatile than most, but not all sleeping bags, and in most cases much cheaper. Many years ago we replaced our couch blanket with a comforter – now, while I will never change over to a quilt on a permanent basis, I certainly get some serious use out of this quilt. I’m a bit weird in this respect as I have been a sleeping bag user for most of my life and while I agree that the part of the sleeping bag that you lay on isn’t providing much warmth to your outdoor adventure, I just like the cocoon feeling a sleeping bag provides.

Where I will use this quilt is on those hot nights out bush where the last thing I want is additional warmth. I will often sleep with little to no cover (Tanami or not) or at home snuggled up on the couch watching the TV, as I’m doing in writing this review. At this price, this product sells for at under AUD $300 (just!) so it is great value and you can leave it in the car as a just in case or have it for those times when a sleeping bag is overkill.

We Like

• Extremely versatile sleeping option for warmer climates/times of the year for both hiking and car camping
• Lightweight for a 650 Loft ULTRA-DRY Down provides great insulation and keeps the packed size very small
• The price! This quilt is very good value and is often available on sale
• Quilt Lock system that allows you to connect the quilt to another Sea to Summit Quilt to provide thermal layering
• A great option at home when you snuggle down in front of the TV or just have in the car as a ‘just in case’ if you need to nap in your car

We Don't Like

• The drawstring toggle on the neck is a bit small for people with big hands. A slightly larger toggle would improve the ease of use particularly on those cold nights when your hands aren’t working so well
• A criticism of quilts in general is that there is a bit more learning involved to get the adjustment just right. Once you do though, it works well
• Quilts are dependant on being paired with a suitably warm sleeping mat to work well
• No hood!

Best Uses

• The perfect quilt for hikers and tent/car campers in the warmer months of the year

Buy One

You can purchase the Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Single from Wildfire Sports

Disclosure:  We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

Investment

AUD $299.99 RRP. Keep an eye out for the regular sales and you may get a great deal

Other Versions

• Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Queen

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Single

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Single temperature ratings in its storage sack

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Single and Tim holding storage bag

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Single temperature ratings. This quilt will suit the ‘average female’ down to 11° Celcius and the ‘average male’ down to 7° Celcius

Gill with our Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter Single set up on an inflatable mat

Sea To Summit Tanami 7C Down Comforter size comparison – Single versus Queen sizes. The Single is very comfy for one person but not quite big enough for two people. If you like sharing,  then opt for the Queen

Disclaimer

This review was done with product provided by Sea to Summit for testing

Last updated

7 March 2025

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