Featherstone Moondance 25 Quilt Review

The Featherstone Moondance 25 is an off-the-shelf 850 fill power down-insulated backpacking quilt with a zippered/drawstring footbox, draft collar, and pad attachment system that’s affordably priced and available for purchase on Amazon. It has a box baffled construction used by higher quality quilts and the temperature rating has been verified by an independent ISO-certified test lab. I’ve been very impressed with it and think it’s a great find if you’re looking for a quality backpacking quilt that’s more affordable and has a better feature set than many of the in-stock, “economy” models offered by cottage quilt manufacturers. Featherstone Outdoor Products is a US-based company founded in 2017 that designs its gear in the US but manufactures it in China to keeps its consumer prices low.

Specs at a Glance

• Weight: 23.7 oz (the actual weight of our review quilt is 25.5 oz)
• Size: Regular (a size long is also available)
• Fill Power: 850 fill power RDS-certified, PFC-free grey duck down
• Fill weight: 450 g
• Water-Resistant Down: (Yes) Downtek
• ISO 25337-1 Temperature Rating: 26°F/-3°C (T-Limit), 36°F/2°C (T-Comfort)
• Construction: Box baffles
• Draft Collar: Yes
• Zippered Footbox with Drawstring Vent: Yes
• Pad Attachment Straps: (2)
• Length: 75.6 in (192 cm)
• Shoulder Width: 53.9 in (137 cm)
• Leg circumference: 39.8 in (101 cm)
• Packed size: 13 x 4 in / 33 x 10 cm
• Inner: 10-denier calendered Nylon (Orange)
• Outer: 10-denier DWR Nylon (Black

Quilt Temperature Rating

The Featherstone Moondance 25 can be used for sleeping in a hammock or on the ground using the included sleeping pad attachment straps. It has also been temperature tested for ISO 23537-1 by an independent testing lab. This is a big deal in terms of credibility for consumers because a lot of quilt manufacturers don’t send their standard quilts out to be rated similarly.

The 25-degree temperature rating (called the T-Limit rating in ISO 23537) represents the average temperature for someone who is a warm sleeper to sleep comfortably and correlates well with men. Women tend to sleep colder than men because, on average, they have less body mass. For women and other colder sleepers, the Moondance is rated to 36F/2C. These temperature ratings assume that you’re wearing an insulated cap, a long underwear layer, thermal socks, and that you’re sleeping on a sleeping pad, if on the ground.

Features

The Featherstone Moondance 25 includes a couple of features that I view as must-haves on quilts rated for three-season use down to 20-30 degrees or lower. First off, it has box baffle construction combined with vertical baffling over the torso and horizontal baffles over the foot to eliminate cold spots and prevent the down from shifting as the result of repeated stuffing. These are premium features found on the best backpacking quilts.

In addition, the Moondance 25 comes with a draft collar, a zippered, drawstring footbox, and pad attachment straps that you can use when sleeping on a sleeping pad to help block side drafts, particularly in cold weather.

Draft Collar

A quilt draft collar is a tube of insulation that can be tightened around your neck and upper shoulders to prevent cold air from escaping through the top when you move around inside. The Moondance has a 2″ draft collar that closes behind your neck with a snap: you snap it closed and stick your head through the opening if you want the top of the quilt closed. This is very standard. The draft collar has an easy-to-reach drawstring cord over the chest to tighten it.

Zippered Footbox w/ Drawstring Vent

The Moondance 25 footbox is zippered, so you can open the quilt and use it like a blanket, which is an important temperature regulation feature in hot weather. A webbing strap at the top of the footbox also helps take pressure off the YKK zipper.

There’s a drawstring closure at the bottom of the quilt that lets you vent your feet if they’re too warm. The Moondance’s drawstring footbox pulls very tight and includes a snap to close off any possible leakage of cold air. It’s basically identical to the footbox designs you find on premium quilts from cottage manufacturers.

Pad Attachment System

The Moondance has easy-to-use wafer-style buckles (same as those used by Enlightened Equipment and others) sewn along the interior edges of the quilt that you can attach to their pad attachment straps. You don’t have to use the pad attachment system when sleeping on a pad, but it does come in handy when temperatures drop to freezing to block cold drafts. When attaching a pad, you want those wafer buckles on the sides or top of your pad, so they’re easily reachable at night.

While the Moondance does use wafer-style buckles, the strap itself is made with non-elastic webbing. It works fine, but I find that having an elastic strap is a bit easier to use. This is an easy enough thing to replace: Enlightened Equipment sells elastic pad attachment straps with compatible wafer clips for $5.

Comparable “Economy” Top Quilts

Here’s a price x weight x feature comparison between the economy quilt models offered by Featherstone vs ones sold by Enlightened Equipment, Hammock Gear, UGQ Outdoor, and Warbonnet, all best-in-class-quilt manufacturers. Their economy quilts are lower-priced than their custom quilts because they have fixed feature sets so they can be built in advance and stored as ready-to-ship inventory with a very fast turnaround time.

For purposes of comparison, I’ve sized these quilts wide for ground use since the Moondance has a shoulder width of 53.9″ compared to the 55″ used by these other manufacturers. Since the Moondance’s 25-degree temperature falls between the 20 and 30 economy quilts offered by some of these manufacturers, I’ve listed both for comparison.

The biggest differences between these economy quilts are weight, price, and whether they include a draft collar. I think it’s notable that Enlightened Equipment and Hammock Gear do not include draft collars on the economy quilts, while the Featherstone does. Otherwise, they all have zippered footboxes with drawstring venting, box baffling, pad attachment systems, and comparable down fill-power ratings.

Recommendation

The Featherstone Moondance 25 is a high-quality, affordable down quilt for backpacking and camping. I’ve found it to be exceptionally warm and comfortable to use, although I prefer a slightly different pad attachment system for ground use. The construction and sewing are impeccable, it’s made with quality components, and the feature set is extremely competitive. If you want a backpacking quilt that can span a three-season temperature range, I think it’s a great option.

This quilt caught my attention because there’s a crying need for more affordable, high-quality gear in the backpacking gear market. With few exceptions, backpacking quilts are still priced for the elite few who can afford them. Most small quilt manufacturers don’t have the wherewithal or desire to produce quilts in high enough volumes to bring the prices down and the sales channel/price structure of retail backpacking gear (think REI) is one of the reasons backpacking gear prices remain so high.

Disclosure: The author received this product in exchange for an honest review.

SectionHiker is reader-supported. We only make money if you purchase a product through our affiliate links. Help us continue to test and write unsponsored and independent gear reviews, beginner FAQs, and free hiking guides.