AERONAUT Outdoor -- Premium Down Quilts

GENERAL DISCUSSION
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Hey everyone - Happy Monday!

We’re super stoked to share some awesome news - we just got back from launching a new brand at Overland Expo West at the GFC booth. ** Such rad people! I hope you can all meet the amazing folks there at GFC. So pumped to jump all in to this community and connect with everyone.

We also picked up our GFC V2 for our gladiator last month, and it’s amazing. A perfect time to further test out our new sleep system.

Here goes! A little about AERONAUT Outdoor. We’re all about sleep. Sleepers passionate about overlanding … or … Overlanders passionate about sleeping? Sleepeoverlanders? Still gotta figure that out :joy: We believe sleeping gear for overlanders can be better. A lot better. You can also check it out on instagram when it’s working @aeronautoutdoor

I used to engineer sleeping bags for NEMO, Marmot, etc, for over 12 years as my full time job. No one likes to sleep like a mummy … but it’s also hard to find something that’ll actually keep you warm that’s not a sleeping bag. And fit in your RTT when it’s closed. So we made it. A no-compromises, best materials you can get, down blanket for 2. The Hoverquilt is 90" x 80", so definitely good sized even if your partner is a blanket thief. 750 fill power goose down, so it’s ultralight at 2.5 lbs (just over 1lb per person). Buttery soft materials to keep you toasty warm. And you keep it in your RTT / Camper super easily - it compresses to ~ 1/8" when it’s flat. No cold spots because we went with box baffles. It also comes with a stuff sack for tossing under your seat, and a cotton storage sack for long term storage (also doubles as a laundry bag! Win!)

Check it out (more info / pics on our site and also instagram @aeronautoutdoor):

Aeronaut-xChrisBrinleeJr-SEP21-02
Aeronaut-xChrisBrinleeJr-SEP21-022737×3655 3.16 MB

:camera: chrisbrinleejr

We’re also really hoping to tap into your experiences and see what you would want to see from us in the future. Pillows, sheets, other temp ranges of quilts, colors, mattress toppers, new materials, etc. Let’s work together to make awesome gear. Anything and everything to make sleeping outside even better for vehicle based adventuring.

TLDR: The hoverquilt is a super warm, non-confining down blanket that keeps you and partner warm to 0C / 30-35F. Or you burrito it and enjoy it all to yourself.

10% off code for all y’all go fast friends! GOFAST10

free shipping too! :call_me_hand:

Thanks!
B

sleep loose my friends
@ aeronautoutdoor (instagram)

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I know very little about this space, but what makes it different than other packable down blankets on the market. Genuinely curious.

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Great question Josh! We’ve definitely designed this for overlanders first. A few things:

construction: Most other blankets are constructed with “stitch through” construction, which creates cold spots at the stitch points. Ours has “box baffles” just the right size so there isn’t down shifting (“down shifting” creates cold spots in other blankets if the baffles are too big). This results in a comfort level of warmth down to around 0C / 30F. If this were a sleeping bag, other companies would rate it around 15F for EN / ISO testing. That’s a “lower limit” which means you have to spoon someone or be in the fetal position to be sort of warm and not die. Basically this is the warmest sleeping quilt for the weight and price.

aeronaut_09 hoverquilt box baffle down
aeronaut_09 hoverquilt box baffle down3300×3300 1.3 MB

balance: We optimized a lot of aspects of the design to work perfectly in RTTs. It’s a generous 90" long x 80" wide, but not too big that it’s unmanageable. So it’s easy to pack away. It’s also not an “ultralight” backpacking quilt, which would force it to be up in the $600 - 900 range. The materials are really soft and nice (20D ripstop nylon) and well tested for tear and durability, where sometimes ultralights go 7D or 10D (thinner) and can be damaged more easily. 750 Fill Goose down is really nice sweet spot, where most other down blankets skimp and go around 600 fill power duck down, not quite as nice or packable, and you need more of it to get the insulation you want for warmth. I’ve worked with several sleeping bag factories in my time, and the one we partnered with for this one is by far the best I’ve worked with in terms of quality, how they treat their workers, etc.

A few other fun features like a wrap around draft tube along the perimeter of the whole quilt, extra pillowy section up by the neck for both people. It also has loops on the edges so you can connect it to itself (fold and burrito) or attach underneath the mattress so it stays in place. We’ll be making those straps and selling soon also.

Also I think it was Big Mike who said after using it, “You’ve never really slept until you’ve used an Aeronaut, you’ve only been napping” :rofl:

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I’m so tempted as I’ve been looking for something for my new V2 that I picked up just two weeks ago and the weather is starting to get cold here in Ohio… However, I noticed that the pre-order special of 10% expires on October 1st and you bring this much needed accessory to our attention on October 4th. Would it be possible to get that offer for us GFC owners as we’re your target consumers?

Not complaining, just noticed that and kinda want this… I’m also available to do extended testing as well :wink:

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Ha! Great catch Kyle! That Oct 1 deadline was for the overland expo attendees.

BUT, you’re totally right that we’re just showing this now (I’m a little slow). So we’ve got a new 10% off code for y’all.

GOFAST10 - toss that code in when you check out, and it’s 10% off and also free shipping.

Thanks!

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I’ll keep an eye on your brand. I’d love to see a 10F rating for year round use (comfort, not survival, ha). Being in Colorado 30F is only my summer bag since I like to be high altitude.

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OOoooo great idea. Love it, keep em coming! A 10F comfort (traditionally -5F En rating - lower limit) would be beautiful. It’s definitely on the radar especially if we sell these ones well!

I’ve also been toying around with a “booster sheet” concept, which would be a very lightly insulated sheet or blanket that can be added to any quilt and boost the temp range by 10 - 20 F (so our 30F would become a 10F with the booster). Or you can use the booster on it’s own between 50 - 70F

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Love to see more competitors in the marketplace @AERONAUT The biggest thing my wife and I notice when bundling up under our existing light weight down blanket is that it does have a tendency to slide off the body pretty easily. I’ve seen other products like the enlightened equipment why have some additional dongles or snaps that enable more personal air flow control with the blanket…I was curious in seeing your website…will your new blanket have any of those features and also what is the separation at the head of the blanket for specifically?

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I would absolutely buy a booster sheet…as that would probably come to market quicker than a 10F quilt

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We’re still finalizing the strap system, it will be a small custom metal hook that attaches to the loop that’s already on the quilt. You’ll be able to adjust it to accommodate different mattress sizes too. We’ll also offer a piece that can attach the loops right together to stay in place for 1 person (quilt folds like a taco, a rectangle bag).

Good question about the separator — the top of the quilt by the head is split so that if one person is sleeping too warm, they can fold it down and not have it up by their neck - and it doesn’t affect your partner.

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Awesome! Aiming for mid next year :crossed_fingers::crossed_fingers::crossed_fingers:

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Just placed the pre-order. Love to support people stepping out and doing it on their own! Cant wait to test it out and provide some feedback.

Good luck to you!

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Awesome @SabeyZR2! Thanks so much for the support! We’ll shoot this out to you as soon as it’s ready (looking like mid/end of Nov)

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@AERONAUT I would definitely prefer a modular system. I’m all over the US all year long so my GFC setup has to handle 100° Texas summers and Wyoming winters, with some random trips to Maine and Washington in all times of the year (family and friends are scattered all over the country and I’m not full time, but getting close). Your current quilt, as described, combined with the booster quilt you mention would be a far better match for me than a single low temp quilt. Just my two cents. Also, thank you for taking the time to mention comfort limits vs. lower limits. Most people don’t know the difference and then write bad reviews…

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Thanks @d0bhran, I’m super psyched about the booster, it’ll be a really nice add for colder adventures! We’ll work on developing that as fast as we can :zap:

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Going to place my pre-order now! :metal:

ps. Thank you for all your previous work at NEMO, too. My favorite backpacking gear company.

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@julian stoked to get you a quilt! NEMO was an awesome adventure. Great people, great product!

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My only advice to everyone in here.

If you are thinking about doing it, just do it.

It’s ridiculously soft.

It’s ridiculously warm.

It’s ridiculously light.

It’s ridiculously comfortable.

It’s ridiculously big.

It’s everything you want and nothing you don’t.

You haven’t slept until you have slept wrapped up in a Hoverquilt.

This is not a paid ad. These are my personal experiences with the product. I had the opportunity to test one out at overland expo west and there’s no way I’ll go back to a sleeping bag. If you sleep in the nude this is especially for you.

Plus Brandon is the best kind of people. Family man. Hard worker. Self starter. Handsome as all hell and just a great dude.

Buy one and you will not regret it. I promise.

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Love it @Mike_GFCUSA! You are amazing. So glad you could test it! … and maybe you should keep the one in the nude :rofl:

But at least they’re machine washable!

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I totally forgot to add they are machine washable and dryable. I knew there was a reason I was bringing up sleeping in the nude. Though Rich and Ash have that one now :joy: