Waratah Pro
Weight: 513g
Down Weight: 323g
Down Type: 950+FP Ultrasonic Muscovy Down™
Footbox: Open
Fabric: 7D Ripstop Nylon 19g/sqm
Compressed Volume: 3.6 L
ABOUT
Where it all began..the Waratah Quilt.
Newly redesigned, the Waratah Pro Quilt is now lighter, warmer, and more refined. Featuring premium 950+FP Ultrasonic Muscovy Down, a 7D Ripstop Nylon 19g/sqm shell, a refined fit, versatile open footbox, and offset pad-strap attachments, the Waratah Pro delivers exceptional performance at an ultralight weight.
Its adaptable design also gives you plenty of control over how you sleep. Seal the quilt up around you when temperatures drop, or open it out and use it more like a blanket in warmer conditions.
REFINED FIT
The Waratah and Waratah Pro quilts have been re-patterned to eliminate unnecessary dead space while maintaining the comfort and freedom of movement quilt users expect. Every dimension was carefully evaluated to ensure the quilt remained spacious where it matters most, while reducing excess volume in areas that contributed little to warmth or comfort. The result is a more thermally efficient design that feels comfortably roomy, yet weighs less than previous generations.
Additionally, the Waratah quilts now feature a “3-piece” design, with the main body divided width-wise into three thoughtfully shaped panels. This allows the quilt to naturally contour and wrap around your body more closely than a traditional single-piece quilt.
Because of this shaped construction, the quilt won’t sit completely flat when unzipped and laid out. Instead, it will naturally curl inwards slightly through the middle, reflecting the body-hugging shape built into the design.
OFFSET PAD STRAP ATTACHMENT
One of the biggest drawbacks traditionally associated with quilts is drafts. For many users, especially side sleepers and those who move around during the night, keeping the edges of the quilt sealed can be the difference between sleeping comfortably and constantly waking up cold.
We wanted to change that.
Our unique offset pad strap attachment system, originally developed by Neve Gear, positions the attachment points higher on each side than on traditional quilts. This allows more of the quilt to wrap around and tuck underneath you, creating a more secure seal and helping prevent cold drafts as you move or turn throughout the night.
It’s a simple change, but one that directly addresses one of the most common criticisms of quilt sleep systems without adding extra hardware or complexity.
"Neve's side draft system works equally well for side sleepers and back sleepers because it gives you more quilt to “stuff” under your sides to block drafts. Given its simplicity, it certainly knocks the wind out of other approaches to solving the side-draft problem." — Section Hiker
COMFORT TEMPERATURE RATED
Our quilts are rated to a true comfort temperature, not a lower-limit rating presented as real-world sleeping performance.
For a down product to keep you warm, the down needs space to loft. Generally, the greater the loft height, the more insulating air the down can trap and the warmer the product can be.
We’ve designed the Waratah quilts to allow each baffle to reach its intended peak loft, helping us get the most warmth possible from the given amount of down. This comes down to carefully balancing baffle width, baffle mesh height and down fill.
There is a point where taking any one of these too far becomes counterproductive. For example, making baffles excessively wide may allow greater loft, but it can also create more room for the down to shift and leave areas with less insulation. Our baffle dimensions are therefore designed to strike a balance between consistent down distribution, stability and maximum usable loft.
We base our comfort ratings on real-world conditions and the way people actually sleep in the backcountry. This assumes going to bed well fed, hydrated, warm and dry, wearing appropriate long-sleeved base layers or Alpha Fuzzies, using a sleeping pad with a suitable R-value for the conditions, using the pad straps correctly, and sleeping inside a tent with the doors closed or with a solid inner to help reduce wind and drafts.
Under the right conditions, our comfort temperature is intended to represent a temperature at which you can genuinely sleep comfortably, rather than simply make it through the night.
OPEN 3D FOOTBOX
The Waratah uses an open footbox, giving you the flexibility to vent in warmer conditions or fully cinch it closed when temperatures drop.
While closed footboxes are generally more thermally efficient, we’ve designed ours to closely replicate that performance. An increased differential cut through the footbox helps it naturally form around your feet when closed, creating a true 3D shape rather than simply cinching flat fabric into an oval.
A generously insulated draught tube at the base also plugs the small opening left by the drawcord when cinched.
The result is a warm, enclosed footbox when you need it, with the versatility to open the quilt up when conditions are warmer.
850+ & 950+ Fill Power Ultrasonic Muscovy Down™ (RDS Certified)
Our 850+ and 950+ Fill Power RDS-Certified Ultrasonic Muscovy Down™ by SOFTIE combines premium natural Muscovy down with SOFTIE’s proprietary, patented ultrasonic processing technology.
Unlike conventional mechanical washing, SOFTIE’s process uses high-frequency ultrasonic energy during cleaning to more effectively remove impurities while minimising unnecessary stress on the delicate down clusters. This helps preserve their natural integrity and allows the down to achieve exceptional loft, cleanliness and consistency.
The result is an exceptionally clean, high-performance natural insulation reaching 950+ fill power, delivering outstanding warmth for its weight while reducing residual odour and supporting long-term loft and performance.
Beyond its high loft, Muscovy Down has a superior rebound rate compared to both standard duck and goose down. While high-fill-power goose down can sometimes be slow to "re-loft" after being compressed in a stuff sack, the resilient architecture of Muscovy clusters allows them to spring back to maximum volume almost instantly. This rapid expansion minimizes the "cold window" typically experienced when taking your down product out of your pack.
OTHER FEATURES
DIFFERENTIAL CUT
The Waratah uses a differential cut through key areas of the quilt, where the outer shell is cut slightly larger than the inner shell. This allows the insulation to maintain its loft and natural shape around the body, helping reduce compression, minimise cold spots, and improve overall thermal efficiency.
BOXED BAFFLED
A box-baffled, or box-wall, quilt uses three-dimensional internal mesh walls to separate the outer shell from the inner lining. This creates individual chambers for the down, allowing it to loft fully without being compressed by direct stitching between the layers. By eliminating those stitched-through seams, box baffle construction helps prevent cold spots, improves heat retention, and delivers more consistent warmth throughout the bag.
EFFICIENT DOWN DISTRIBUTION
We’ve selectively distributed down throughout the quilt’s baffles, placing more insulation in the areas that need it most. This includes additional fill through the upper torso, where maintaining core warmth is especially important, as well as around the footbox, where we deliberately overfill the baffles to help retain warmth in another area prone to heat loss.
HORIZONTAL CHEST BAFFLE
We’ve added a horizontal chest baffle to help keep the down exactly where it needs to be. With a fully vertical baffle layout, cinching the neck closure causes the upper baffles to taper inward, which can squeeze down away from the chest area.
By introducing a horizontal chest baffle, that compression is contained within a much shorter section. Because of its reduced vertical height, the down can easily settle back into place once the neck cord is loosened. This means the vertical torso baffles retain their shape, keeps the down evenly distributed, and maintains consistent loft and warmth across the upper body.
DRAFT COLLAR
We’ve gone to great lengths designing the Waratah’s draft collar to create a complete seal against cold drafts, while giving the quilt an extremely cosy, tucked-in feel. The generous neck baffle uses an offset design that places the neck baffle between you and the cinch cord, so even when fully tightened, you never feel the cord pressing directly against your neck.
EASY-PRESS PAD STRAP BUCKLES
Traditional quilt pad strap hardware is often extremely low-profile, which can make it fiddly to release, especially in the dark or when your hands are cold.
We use a more tactile, thumb-friendly buckle that’s easy to press, clip and unclip without needing to dig a fingernail into it. It’s a small detail, but one that makes adjusting or getting out of your quilt in the middle of the night noticeably easier.
STRETCH CORD
Instead of a traditional static cord, we use a 2.5 mm stretch/shock cord for the draft collar. This gives you enough flexibility to reach an arm out for things like earplugs, or your phone in the middle of the night without having to loosen and re-cinch the neck every time.
We've also used flat-button cord locks for the cord, ensuring the adjustment system is always accessible and easy to operate.
UNDERSIDE ZIPPER
The underside #3 YKK zipper also gives you control over how enclosed you want the quilt to feel. Zip it further closed for a more wrapped fit with better draft protection, or leave it more open for additional space and ventilation. Fully unzipped, the quilt can be opened out and used as a flat blanket.
However, even when fully zipped, the quilt is designed with a comfortably generous baseline width, so it still won't feel restrictive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which should I choose: Waratah or Waratah Pro?
Both quilts share the same core design, but the best choice comes down to your preferred temperature range, durability, weight, packability and price.
The Waratah uses a slightly heavier 10D, 24 gsm fabric and 850+FP Ultrasonic Muscovy Down. It is a little more durable, slightly heavier and a little less compressible, but also comes in at a lower price. It is also available in slightly different temperature ratings, so for some users the Waratah may simply offer the range that better suits their needs.
The Waratah Pro uses a lighter 7D, 19 gsm ripstop fabric and 950+FP Ultrasonic Muscovy Down. This saves weight and reduces packed volume, making it the better option if you are trying to minimise both pack weight and bulk.
The trade-off is slightly reduced abrasion resistance compared with the 10D fabric. That said, the 7D is still plenty durable for normal backcountry use. It is the same fabric we use on our down jackets, and early testers (Courtney Eve White and Grant Munn) have already worn the down jacket while hiking through large sections of the PCT without issue.
In short, start by choosing the temperature rating that best suits how and where you sleep. From there, choose the Waratah if you prioritise slightly more durability and value, or the Waratah Pro if you prioritise the lowest weight and smallest packed size.
Which should I choose: Quilt or Sleeping Bag?
Quilt vs Sleeping Bag
Ah yes, the age-old question: should you choose a quilt or a sleeping bag?
The short answer is fairly simple. If maximum warmth-to-weight efficiency, adjustability and versatility are your priorities, a quilt is hard to beat. If you'd rather have a complete sleep system that you can simply climb into, zip up and go to sleep, then a sleeping bag may be the better choice.
The longer answer comes down to a few key differences.
Tossing and Turning
Down only insulates effectively when it is lofted. Once compressed, it provides very little warmth.
With a quilt that is properly secured using pad straps, the insulation remains centred over your body regardless of how much you move during the night. When you roll from side to side, your body moves underneath the quilt while the quilt itself largely stays in place. This keeps the lofted insulation positioned where it is most useful and helps prevent compressed sections from rotating into exposed areas.
A sleeping bag works differently. Because the bag wraps around your entire body, it naturally rotates with you as you move. When you roll onto your side, some of the insulation that was previously compressed beneath you can rotate towards the side of the bag and become exposed to the cold. That insulation will re-loft, but there can be a short period where it is providing less warmth.
For people who regularly change sleeping positions, a well-secured quilt can therefore be a particularly thermally efficient system.
The trade-off is that quilts require a little more setup and familiarity to get the most out of them.
Variable Girth and Layering
One of the biggest advantages of a quilt is its adjustability.
Using the pad straps, the effective girth of the Waratah can be increased or reduced depending on your body size, sleeping position and the conditions.
On warmer nights, you can loosen the system and allow the quilt to sit more openly over you for additional space and ventilation. As temperatures drop, the quilt can be drawn in closer around your body to reduce drafts and create a more thermally efficient sleep system.
The Waratah can also be opened up completely and used more like a blanket, giving it a much broader usable temperature range than a fixed sleeping bag.
This adjustability becomes particularly useful when layering.
If you wear a large down jacket inside a sleep system that is too tight, the jacket and sleep system can compress against one another, reducing the loft and therefore the warmth of both.
A quilt gives you far more freedom to increase the available space around your body, allowing additional insulation layers to loft properly underneath it.
For users who like combining sleep systems with insulated clothing to extend their usable temperature range, this flexibility is one of the biggest advantages of a quilt.
Ease of Setup
This is where sleeping bags have the advantage.
With a sleeping bag, setup is virtually non-existent. Roll out your pad, climb in, zip up and you're ready for bed.
A quilt requires a little more involvement. Pad straps need to be positioned around your sleeping mat and the quilt adjusted to your preferred girth.
Once you're familiar with the system, this becomes quick and intuitive, but it is still an additional step compared with simply climbing into a sleeping bag.
We've designed the Waratah's pad strap system to keep this process as simple as possible, using just two conventional straps with our offset attachment points and easy-snap hardware. There are no mattress sheets or complicated additional components to set up.
For many experienced quilt users, the small amount of extra setup is well worth the weight savings and adjustability it provides.
Hood
The other major difference is what happens above your shoulders.
Unlike a traditional sleeping bag, a quilt does not have an integrated hood. This allows you to choose the head insulation that best suits the conditions rather than carrying a hood as part of the sleep system every night.
In milder conditions, this might simply be a beanie or the hood from your existing insulation layer. In colder temperatures, a dedicated insulated hood or balaclava can be added.
This modular approach is one of the reasons quilts can achieve such strong warmth-to-weight performance. You're only carrying the insulation you actually need.
A sleeping bag, on the other hand, integrates the hood into the bag itself. This provides an enclosed, cocooned feeling and requires less thought when temperatures drop, but also means carrying that additional insulation regardless of whether you need it.
So Which One Should You Choose?
If maximum warmth-to-weight efficiency, adjustability, layering flexibility and versatility are your priorities, the Waratah Quilt is likely the better choice.
Its adjustable girth allows you to fine-tune the system to the conditions, cinch it down when temperatures drop, loosen it when you want more room, or open it completely and use it like a blanket.
If you value simplicity above everything else, prefer an integrated hood, or simply want a sleep system you can climb straight into with virtually no setup, a sleeping bag may suit you better.
Neither system is inherently right or wrong. They simply approach the same problem differently.
For us, the appeal of the Waratah is that a small amount of additional setup gives you an exceptionally lightweight, adaptable sleep system that can be configured around the way you actually sleep.
What size / length should I choose?
Choose the quilt length based on your height and sleeping position.
If you’re up to around 6'½" and mainly sleep on your back/side, the 6' length should generally work well. If you’re taller than that, we recommend sizing up to the 6'6" length for a little more room.
If you’re a stomach sleeper, you may also want to size up if you’re close to the height limit. Sleeping on your stomach with your toes pointed away from you effectively increases your sleeping length, so the quilt can feel shorter than it would for a back or side sleeper.
As a general rule, if you’re close to the maximum height for a size, especially if you sleep on your stomach, we recommend going up a length.
Which sleeping pads are compatible with the Quilt Pad Straps?
We’ve gone with a 15 mm elastic pad strap, giving it enough stretch and adjustability to work with a wide range of sleep systems, including inflatable mummy pads, wide rectangular pads and even DOC hut mattresses.
Each quilt comes with two adjustable pad straps, allowing you to fine-tune the fit to suit different pad widths and shapes.
How are your temperature ratings determined?
Our temperature ratings are determined by a few different things. Loft is an important starting point, as generally speaking, more loft means more warmth. But we don’t base our ratings entirely on a calculated number in a spreadsheet or on peak loft alone.
We start with our calculated fill targets, build the quilt to those numbers, and then adjust from there based on how the finished product actually looks and performs. Sometimes that process is very technical. Sometimes it’s as simple as, “that doesn’t look poofy enough, add more down.”
From there, we rigorously field test our gear in the conditions it was designed for, and often beyond them, to see how it performs in the real world. There are a lot of Govee thermometers involved in this process.
We base our comfort ratings on real-world conditions and the way people actually sleep in the backcountry. This means going to bed well fed, well hydrated, warm, and dry, wearing appropriate long-sleeved base layers or Alpha Fuzzies, using a sleeping pad with the right R-value for the conditions, and sleeping inside a tent with the doors closed or a solid inner to help block wind and drafts.
The end result is a temperature rating that combines calculated design targets with hands-on refinement and real-world testing.
What R-value sleeping pad do I need?
A sleeping pad is a critical part of an effective backcountry sleep system. It helps trap the heat your body creates and reduces cold transfer from the ground.
Pad warmth is measured by R-value, which is especially important when using a quilt, as your back relies on the pad for insulation.
Recommended R-values:
Above 5°C: R3
Around 0°C: R4
Below -5°C: R5 or higher
Sleeping pad R-values are additive, meaning you can combine pads for extra warmth. For example, an R3 inflatable pad paired with an R2 foam pad creates an R5 sleep system.
With that being said, R-value doesn’t always tell the full story in real-world conditions. Some sleeping pads are known to perform colder than their advertised rating due to design flaws, construction, or heat loss around the edges.
We always recommend doing your own research and choosing a pad that is proven to perform true to its rating. For inflatable pads, our personal recommendations are the Sea to Summit Ether Light range, Nemo Tensor range, and Therm-a-Rest X range.
When and how should I wash my quilt?
Our recommendation is to only wash your quilt when you notice it isn't lofting as fully as it used to. Washing down unnecessarily can shorten the lifespan of the materials, so there's no need to wash it on a regular schedule.
When it is time for a wash, we recommend following this excellent guide from our friends at Garage Grown Gear:
Is this a Unisex fit?
Yes. The variable girth and width of a quilt suits a wide range of body shapes across both men's and women's proportions.
What is Fill Power?
Fill power measures the loft and insulating quality of down, or how many cubic inches one ounce of down occupies. Higher fill power generally means larger, higher-quality down clusters that can trap more air for less weight, while also compressing down smaller.
The Waratah Pro uses 950+FP Ultrasonic Muscovy Down, while the Waratah uses 850+FP Ultrasonic Muscovy Down. Both offer excellent warmth-to-weight performance and packability, with the Waratah Pro taking this a step further for users chasing the lowest possible weight and packed volume.
The down we use is independently tested by IDFL (International Down and Feather Testing Laboratory) to verify that our stated fill power ratings are accurate.
Does the fabric have a DWR finish?
Yes. All fabrics used across our down products are treated with a PFAS-free DWR.
Is the down responsibly sourced?
Like many of our customers, we care deeply about the impact our products have on the environment and the animals involved in their production. That’s why we source our down only from RDS-certified suppliers.
The Responsible Down Standard helps ensure that the down and feathers used in our products come from ducks and geese raised in accordance with strict animal welfare principles. This includes no live plucking, with down collected only as a by-product of the food industry.
Do you use hydrophobic down?
The Waratah does not use hydrophobic down. Through our testing, we've found that there is a marginal increase in performance with hydrophobic down (at an added cost) versus untreated down when it comes to real world testing.
As hydrophobic down technology continues to evolve, we’ll keep assessing its performance and consider incorporating it into future products where it delivers a clear, real-world advantage.
Are your products PFC- and PFAS-free?
Because we don’t use DWR-treated down, the down in our sleeping bags is completely PFC and PFAS free. The DWR finish used on our outer shell fabric is also PFC and PFAS free.