Kammok Bobcat Trail Quilt Review: Blanket Transforms for Hammock Camping

A minimalist sleeping bag, a blanket, a top quilt, and an underquilt all in one cozy package, Kammok’s new Bobcat Trail Quilt packs a soft, feathery punch!

With over $210,000 (and counting) raised on its Kickstarter, Kammok’s Bobcat Trail Quilt has generated plenty of hype. So I felt fortunate to receive one of the few production samples available for review.

Editor’s note: I reviewed a gray quilt, but that color isn’t available on Kickstarter. Ember-orange, pine-green, and midnight-blue are the current available options. All other aspects were the same.

The Bobcat claims to be a very versatile piece of gear that works in four “modes.” It may look like a simple blanket, but the Bobcat works for both tent and hammock sleepers. And it functions just as well away from a campsite.

It’s available on Kickstarter until Friday, Oct. 26, for $139 (30 percent off). For this first look review, I put it to the test for a few weeks while hammock camping and going on daily adventures.

In short: Typically, do-all gear doesn’t do any one thing very well or solve real problems. Not so with this outdoor quilt. In my test, I was impressed with its utility both as an underquilt and top quilt while hanging in the hammock. And its in-a-pinch sleeping bag mode made it a more versatile option in the tent than other camp blankets.

Kammok Bobcat Trail Quilt Review

First thing’s first — the Bobcat is plush! Kammok used awesome materials for this quilt. The Atmos fabric and water-repellent down (DownTek) are high-quality and downright huggable. It feels very similar to an expensive down sleeping bag.

I liked the size of the quilt. At 7 x 4.5 feet (84 x 54 inches), it had good coverage in all my tests. It packs into an 11.75 x 6.5-inch stuff sack and compresses to about 7 x 6.5 inches. It easily fits into a camping backpack, carry-on luggage, or picnic tote. While this 19-ounce quilt is not the lightest out there, it’s still in the ultralight market. And the Bobcat carries a 45-degree rating.

Quilt Mode

The Bobcat can be used as a regular blanket in a tent, at the campfire, or at home. It feels great, and the diamond pattern looks sleek. I used it most while chilling at the park and eating outside during cool fall days in Minnesota. It could also double as a blanket for any twin or full-size bed.

There are 10 small snaps along the perimeter of the blanket that allow you to connect it to other Bobcats or Kammok Trail Quilts. Doing this creates a mega blanket that lets you get cozy with friends or family.

Minimalist Sleeping Bag Mode

Pull the shock cord at each end of the quilt together to create a foot box and a mini draft collar. The transformation is simple. Kammok made a great video that explains how it works for the brand’s Firebelly Trail Quilt (predecessor to the Bobcat) below. The process is the same for the Bobcat.

Note that a quilt, by definition, doesn’t have a cozy little nest for your head like a mummy sleeping bag. Camping quilts are meant to be lighter-weight versions of a traditional mummy. Nixing extra material around your head is one way to cut weight. Be sure to bring a hat, Buff, or equivalent if you’re worried about staying warm on colder nights. And you can always use a fleece or puffy as a pillow.

Being a hammock camper, I only tested the Bobcat in this mode briefly. The foot box, snaps, pad straps, and mini draft collar all combined for a cozy rest. I tend to run cold, so I wouldn’t recommend relying on the Bobcat in temps well below 45 degrees F. But during mild-to-moderate autumn evenings, it seems like a solid, lightweight option if you have to sleep on the ground.

Hammock Top Quilt Mode

The top quilt is similar to the minimalist sleeping bag but is designed to be used while hammock camping. Use it with a sleeping pad or without. I opted to skip the sleeping pad and use an underquilt instead.

The foot box is roomy, and you can wrap the quilt around you to help insulate cold spots around your shoulders. The warmth was noticeable and appreciated when I was lounging in my hammock.

As noted, I’m a notoriously cold sleeper, so I expected to be cold when testing this at 45 degrees. And after several hours outside, I was. I grabbed a puffy and stuck it in with me, and that did the trick. That’s pretty common for me, and I usually choose a bag at least 10 degrees warmer than the coldest temp for each night. Of course, your mileage may vary.

I’m 5’4″, so I had great coverage from my head to toes and all around my shoulders and hips. But I was curious to see if it would work for taller hammock campers. I called the tallest person I know — he’s 6’10” (yes, 6 feet 10 inches) — and had him try it out. He said with its 7-foot length, the Bobcat fit great and worked as a top quilt with a little room to spare.

Hammock Underquilt Mode

If you take one thing away from this review, it should be the Bobcat’s utility as an underquilt. This is really where it sets itself apart from other outdoor blankets.

And setting it up as an underquilt is simple. Just attach the shock cord to the hammock carabiners or suspension and thread the snaps through the gear loops on your hammock. Presto, you’re ready for bed!

For anyone unfamiliar with the underquilt, it’s a hammock-specific piece of gear that wraps underneath the hammock. It usually pairs with a top quilt or a regular sleeping bag — that all-around coverage keeps you toasty warm when you’re hanging through the night.

As a 7-foot underquilt, the Bobcat spans most of the length of a hammock and is long enough to cover cold spots on all but the tallest hammock campers.

I tested it with the Kammok ROO single, ROO double, and some ENO hammocks. It was compatible with all of them.

Plus, it comes with an underquilt conversion kit that has some extender shock cord pieces and clips for longer hammocks. It’s very easy to use.

Of course, while the underquilt works great, you still need something else to keep you warm on top. For this, I recommend a sleeping bag, top quilt, blanket, or just another Bobcat.

Bonus Mode: Halloween Costume

Kammok didn’t realize they helped create the superhero Hammock Man. I’ll be wearing this thing as a cape to stay warm (and “hero-y”) as I run around collecting candy with the trick-or-treaters.

Kammok Bobcat Trail Quilt

Outdoor blankets are “so hot right now,” and I’m not surprised that Kammok hit its funding goal in just five hours. Overall, the Bobcat offers lots of options and features for the price you pay.

You could pay $199 for a similar-size down blanket and not get the added camping features you find on the Bobcat. Similarly, you could buy a top quilt for $150-350 and be stuck with only a top quilt, losing out on the multifunctionality that comes with the Bobcat. At $139 with four “modes,” it’s hard to beat.