Sleeping bags/quilts for 3-season Cascades use

Wondering what more experienced people are using for general use around the Cascades.  I got a Thermarest Ohm 20, which is comfort rated at 32. I really like the idea of a quilt like this that can fully zip up for on-route bivys, but I've only seen a handful that do (FF Flickr, Z-Packs Zip Around, EE convert, Zenbivy stuff).  I have the opportunity to return the Ohm and pay a bit more for a Feathered Friends Flickr 20, which is what I'm leaning towards.  

How important is having dry-treated down for summer and shoulder season use around here? Feathered Friends doesn't use any down dry treatment and claims it's not really worth it, but my brain says PNW shoulder-season weather is exactly the environment that dry treated down was made for.   Appreciate any recommendations before i shell out close to 500 bucks.

I have been using a FF Swallow down bag for summer/shoulder season for decades. Sometimes as a quilt. Sometimes there is moisture from condensation on the fabric which for this bag is untreated. It dries readily so never much of concern. So based on my experience it would not be a concern. Further, I would not be set on quilt style bag. Any bag can be a quilt. The only difference is  the hood.

I have the FF Hummingbird 20 and the Western Mountaineering Summerlite (32F).

For almost all uses I go with the Summerlite, 32 is more than plenty for almost everything in the Cascades during the main climbing season. During the shoulder seasons, I either layer up in the Summerlite, or if it’s quite cold I’ll take the Hummingbird. 

There is also the Hummingbird 30 which could be a good option. I think the build quality of FF is nicer, while WM is a bit lighter. I agree with FF that dry treated down is unnecessary if you know how to manage your humidity. 

Have a FF quilt that’s rated 20 something for bottom half, 40 something for upper. No zipper. Horrible with names but love that thing. Match it with a Montbell down jacket and am psyched. 

I’m currently, as I write this…in my Katabatic Flex 30F quilt. I LOVE this thing so much. Clips for the upper (they cinch’ very tight though) and zippered toe box. It’s generously comfort rated to 30F and feels warmer than my Western Mountaineering Ultralight 20F (which is also comfort rated to 20F). Katabatic is a phenomenal quilt brand, a bit more specialized than FF and I think better quality. Mine is 900 fill with dry-treated down — I don’t know if the dry treated makes a difference but I also live in the PNW and thought it’d be useful.

I’m on the PCT in Washington right now and bivied on the summit of Old Snowy in Goat Rocks last week. It was in the 40s and blasting cold wind but I was warm in just base layers. I had to camp directly on snow in the Three Sister’s Wilderness in Oregon and that was totally fine too.

I use a Flicker 20 for early summer in the cascades, but it's too warm for most of the summer season. If you don't need a 20 degree bag I'd go for the Flicker 30 or 40 to save the weight. July-Sept, I use a 40 degree quilt and have been plenty warm.

I use an Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20F in 850 fill down that I got in 2017. It’s a long/wide and weighs 21 ounces. I once caught it on fire and lost a little down. It’s had an adhesive gauze bandaid on it holding fine since 2021

It’s been good overall. It’s kept me warm and always been easy to pack and carry.

However the down clumps together a lot. Sometimes it’s bad enough that I can see right through it and it’s just two thin layers of material between me and the air. The down shifts around very easily and doesn’t stay where I’d prefer it.

Drying it in the field requires direct sunlight and hopefully a gentle breeze.

I have thought of sending it back for them to stuff it more full if they would. I would request specifically that the center baffles be overstuffed and the side baffles are probably fine.

The baffles are separated 95% except they all connect in the middle at the bottom. My theory is this allows one to shift down around as they want but in practice I can’t figure out how to effectively move down from one baffle to the next. I imagine this is also most helpful for restuffing/adding down back at the factory.

I just finished a few nights out without a tent, plenty warm and comfortable. The non full zip function of the revelation certainly can be drafty.

I would take a full zip if I could go back in time. The hood on a sleeping bag is also nice but I don’t miss that as much.

overall I do not trust down insulation in general and therefor all of my clothing is synthetic insulation. 

I work in the cascades from May-September each summer and am out many many days during that time using this as my only quilt/bag during the whole time for 6-7 years. I keep a synthetic bag inside the car camp situation but if I’m living in a backpack the quilt is all I ever have. Sometimes with a thin fleece sleeping bag liner and sometimes without. Usually in a tent and sometimes not. 

Alex Fletcher wrote:

I use an Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20F in 850 fill down that I got in 2017. It’s a long/wide and weighs 21 ounces. I once caught it on fire and lost a little down. It’s had an adhesive gauze bandaid on it holding fine since 2021

It’s been good overall. It’s kept me warm and always been easy to pack and carry.

However the down clumps together a lot. Sometimes it’s bad enough that I can see right through it and it’s just two thin layers of material between me and the air. The down shifts around very easily and doesn’t stay where I’d prefer it.

Drying it in the field requires direct sunlight and hopefully a gentle breeze.

I have thought of sending it back for them to stuff it more full if they would. I would request specifically that the center baffles be overstuffed and the side baffles are probably fine.

The baffles are separated 95% except they all connect in the middle at the bottom. My theory is this allows one to shift down around as they want but in practice I can’t figure out how to effectively move down from one baffle to the next. I imagine this is also most helpful for restuffing/adding down back at the factory. 

Rainy Pass Repair in Seattle will refill down items. I had a 20F-rated EE quilt from 2015 that I used on the PCT, that I sold a few years ago. I definitely felt like it was a compromised design for weight savings with the lengthwise baffles that didn't really distribute the down very well. Cold spots were noticeable. I fully considered it a 30F quilt and not 20F.

To OP's question I use a WM 20F bag now. It's very bulky though for climbing bivies, and I think I'll switch to a 32F bag that I could augment with down pants or a sea to summit warming liner.

Thanks for the ideas, I know this topic has probly been talked about many times. I ended up going with a FF Flickr 20 wide. It is a bit heavier and bulkier than the Thermarest Ohm I was trying to replace, but we're really talking differences of maybe a half a pound ultimately.  Ohm 20 is really a 32 degree bag, so like you James, I'll probably just keep it since I got a great deal on it, and use it for my technical route bivy bag, and the Flickr for my all-around bag. I've got a Sea-to-summit Spark 40 for low-elevation summertime use.