Enlightened Equipment Accomplice 2-Person

An ultralight and ultracomfy sleeping solution for two, with top-quality treated down fill, silk-like shell fabric and thoughtful details. Save weight, sleep with a friend!

For years we have used an opened-up TNF rectangular bag, now probably 25 years-old, as a summer sleeping quilt for the two of us. In winter, we zip it together with its twin for more airtight warmth down into the teens if not single digits. But as of 25 years ago, 700 or maybe 750 fill down was the good stuff, and shell materials have gotten lighter too, so each bag weighs in at 1388 g (about 3 lbs), not too bad when sharing a bag but on the heavy side when carrying both.

A lighter double quilt has been on our shopping list for a few years now, but for cash flow reasons didn’t make it to the top until last spring, in the final stages of our gear-shopping frenzy while we spent a year in the US. There aren’t a lot of choices in that particular category, and the Enlightened Equipment (EE) Accomplice clearly tops the list.

EE quilts are made to order with length, temperature rating, colors, and down quality specified by the buyer. We went for -1˚C (30˚F), 850 fill Downtek treated (now the minimum quality), purple out and red inner, long size to accommodate me, at a total, and I think quite reasonable price of $415, delivered within 6 weeks.

Revisiting their website, it appears that they now stock standard colors and sizes with 850 fill for faster delivery, but you can still order custom colors at the same price (but a longer wait) and go for 950 fill down for $50 to nearly $200 more depending on temperature rating. In our case the higher fill would have cost $100 more and saved us 60 grams (2.1 ounces) so we decided to save our shekels.

We had it along on some of our last desert trips in AZ and UT, but those nights were on the warm side so a proper low temperature test had to wait until we got back to Norway. During my busy autumn semester we used it only on a short canoe camping trip, but this weekend finally spent a ca. 0˚C (32˚F) night under it up at our favorite Saturday night campsite on Lomtjønna in the city forest area that is our backyard.

As the star rating shows, we love it. Compared with our old bag, it feels almost like it is going to float away as we take it out of its stuff sack. After a few uses I weighed it in at 891 g (31.4 oz), about 2 ounces more than promised and 1.4 ounce more than the weight given on the storage bag, a difference I can live with. I can easily stuff the quilt into a 10L waterproof stuff sack (53 g), giving a similar volume and weight to many high quality one-person down sleeping bags. Like showering to save the planet, maybe the real secret to UL backpacking is hiking with a friend!

The sheer fabric feels like silk on the skin and the red side is slightly translucent so that you can see shadows of the down through it. It’s pretty thin, so we’ll definitely be keeping it away from sharp objects. The light build is probably the reason that machine washing will void that warranty, but hand washing is practice for any down bag anyway.

The simple snap-down draft collar keeps the quilt wrapped around the shoulders when things get cold. I was afraid that it might be an annoying barrier between us, but in colder conditions it was most welcome and it is so insubstantial that it doesn’t interfere with cuddling.

I had thought there was V cutout to save weight on the underside, but the quilt actually folds into a neat rectangle big enough to cover the two mattresses so that there’s plenty of extra width to wrap around and close out drafts.

The 30˚F temperature rating is about right for us. As a warm sleeper I could probably take it down into the 20s F, while my wife was quite comfy at temperatures around freezing. I corresponded with EE to see if they could make a custom dual-temperature version but they said the u-shaped baffles wouldn’t adapt. I would hope they would think more about that because I think it’s common for one partner to sleep warmer than the other.

Along with the cotton fabric storage bag, the quilt comes with a pair of elastic straps (48 g, 1.7 oz) to couple the two mattresses, with lightweight clips that match clips on the edges of the quilt to keep the edges of the quilt pulled in. We have our own mattress coupling system with a silk mattress cover so we haven’t used this, but it might be worth a try. The clips position both straps above the sleepers’ waists, so I would want to use a third strap (I like the Big Agnes couple straps, 37 g each) to keep the foot end of the mattresses together. The generous foot box comes up about to the knees, where the quilt opens up to wrap around the rest of the body.

Come full winter, we will boost the warmth of this quilt by adding in our 500 g (17 oz) Etowah Outfitters liner bag. That ought to get us back down into the single digits. Let it snow!

Background

So far a week of summer nights and a few nights in autumn- to bordering-on-winter- temperatures (for Norway). We have been experimenting and building our own snuggle-friendly sleeping system for decades, this is just the latest iteration.

Ultralight and Ultra fragile, not recommended for extended use. Came damaged with several thread pulls and 4oz lighter than spec'd.

I debated for a few years about buying this. We have a great Big Agnes Saddle Mountain double, but that weighs in at almost 4 pounds, so we thought we should give it a try and lose almost 2 pounds. We ordered a 20-degree, regular, in 10D fabrics.

I was immediately disappointed because right out of the box there were several threads that were pulled. I emailed EE and they said I could either send it back or pull them back in place following their video. I watched the video and DIY'd it. The were nice and apologized, "Sorry there was a small issue!" But I feel like these were more than a small issue on a very expensive purchase.

That was an error.

About two hours later I had finished this tedious process and wondered how frequently I would need to do this. Flash forward to its first use and lo and behold, I found three holes in the AM. How these got there—who knows. We babied this thing, stored in the cotton bag, moved to a bag inside my pack, slept in a bag liner, and did everything we could to avoid rips.

I can't imagine what a hangnail on your toe would do to this quilt, but I would recommend wearing socks or your toenails will slice this sucker open like a warm knife through butter. So we will be patching with something once I figure out the best process (EE's patch kit vs Tenacious tape).

Another oddity is the weight; our bag weighs in at 32 ounces. The spec for this bag is 36.75 ounces. So how did we lose almost 4 ounces? I hope it is not missing 4 ounces of down! Usually I am happy to ditch some weight, but that is not the case here.

We did use the quilt for several more nights. The coldest was 29 degrees and we were warm in the liner with the bag on top. It was quite nice being able to just toss it off at the sides to allow air circulation, particularly early in the night when temps were still in the 50's.

The draft stopper snaps together at the top ends of each side. I played with this and once again, the weakness of the fabric has me terrified to actually use it. There is no way the fabric won't rip at these snaps after repeated use. Given our current rips, there is no way we will be using those snaps. This will impact the temperature ranges this bag can be used in, making it more of a 30-degree bag than a 20. So again, I am bummed. 

We have several products that range in 15D to 30D fabrics, and this quilt is the most fragile of the lot. I previously owned a Hammock Gear Econ Burrow and that 20D fabric felt 10 times stronger—never tearing after many years of use. I also have a Massdrop Pine Down blanket with 20D and that feels so much more substantial.

Overall, I'm disappointed with my purchase. I had hoped this quilt would give us several years of service, but having to patch it after our first use is very disappointing, especially for the price we paid. I cannot recommend something this fragile given the cost.

I did notice EE now offers the Accomplice in a 20D, and this is what I would recommend to anyone thinking about this purchase. The 20D has a decent weight penalty, but how much will all my patches weigh?

 

Great design, but too fragile for this user.

Background

This is our third double quilt. We have a Big Agnes Saddle Mtn 15 that is amazing. We tried a Nemo Tango Duo Slim that was great, but only comfortable to upper 30s. We have used zip-together mummy bags for at least 16 years, but grew tired of having zips in between that were hard to regulate temps.

This is one of the lightest double quilt and IMHO the most versatile one. If you are looking for a double sleeping bag or quilt, this must be one of the top contenders.

Backpacking with two small children, finding a lightweight double bag system has been one of critical issue for us. We've used individual bags, and Big Agnes and Nemo double bag systems, but none were light or warm enough.

We finally found the answer with Enlightened Equipment's Accomplice. It's highly customizable and the quality is top notch. We were looking for a winter bag (for snow camping in single digit), that will also cover the shoulder seasons.  

Three final contenders were ZPack's double quilt, Feathered Friends' Penguin and Spoonbill, and Enlighten Equipment's Accomplice. The Feathered Friends Penguin was too heavy and the Spoonbill, although looked great for cold weather, its use was just that—only for cold weather.

So we finally pulled the trigger with two Accomplices. We ordered the 0 degree quilt. It packs and weighs as much as a decent single 0 degree bag, if not smaller and lighter. Our first outing at 25 degrees proved to be too warm, but it was easily managed by opening the side a little, and loosing a layer. We will put these babies to cold test this winter in Sequoia and Yosemite, and I think they will perform fine.  

To add to the great product, the customer service and communication was A+.

This quilt is warm and light. Excellent for backpacking or kayak camping. Packs to a small space. PS:my orange kitten thinks it neato!

We were both warm enough for comfortable sleep during September in northern Minnesota. The fit of the quilt is perfect for two. No problem with moisture issues. Excellent packability; very compressible. Bag was easy to use and held up well. 

Background

This is our first quilt. We have used it twice so far, once hiking on Superior Hiking Trail and once kayaking in the Boundary Waters. We stayed warm and dry while sleeping.