One of the most common mistakes first-time cottage gear buyers make is ordering too late — I nearly did it myself. Unlike buying from REI, most cottage gear is made to order. Your quilt, pack, or shelter is built after you place your order. If you're starting a thru-hike in April, ordering in March is often too late.
This page tracks typical lead times for the major cottage brands. Lead times change constantly — always verify on the brand's website before ordering. Consider this a starting point for your planning, not a guarantee.
When to order
Rule of thumb: order 8–12 weeks before your start date during peak season, which is January through April for most spring thru-hikes. Summer orders typically come in faster. Brands often post their current lead time right on their homepage — check it before ordering.
For brands that ship from stock (most shelter brands fall into this category), you have a lot more flexibility. The sleep system is usually where you need to plan furthest ahead.
Quilts and sleep systems
Enlightened Equipment: 2–6 weeks typically. EE is one of the faster cottage makers — they stock common configurations and move quickly. Custom options in unusual fabrics or dimensions take longer.
Katabatic Gear: 4–10 weeks. Katabatic runs longer than EE and the wait extends noticeably in peak season. Order early — this one catches people.
UGQ Outdoor: 4–8 weeks. Fully custom, so it depends on complexity and season.
Nunatak: 6–12 weeks. Very small operation — one of the longer waits in the quilt market, but worth planning around for what they make.
Goosefeet Gear: 2–4 weeks. Smaller brand, currently a fast turnaround.
Hammock Gear: 2–4 weeks. Generally faster than most cottage quilt makers.
Jacks R Better: 2–4 weeks.
Shelters
Zpacks: 1–3 weeks for in-stock items. Most Zpacks shelters ship from stock — this is one of their key advantages.
Tarptent: 1–3 weeks. Ships from stock. One of the most reliable lead times in the shelter category.
Six Moon Designs: 1–2 weeks. Very fast, ships from stock.
Mountain Laurel Designs: 2–6 weeks. Semi-custom options take longer.
Yama Mountain Gear: 2–4 weeks.
Liteway (Ukraine): 2–6 weeks plus international shipping time — factor that in.
Packs
Hyperlite Mountain Gear: 1–3 weeks. Ships from stock.
Gossamer Gear: 1–2 weeks. Ships from stock, very fast.
ULA Equipment: 2–4 weeks.
Zpacks: 1–3 weeks for most pack models.
Pa'lante Packs: Ships from stock during open ordering periods. They do limited production runs — worth signing up for their email list so you know when drops happen.
Nashville Packs: 4–8 weeks. Small operation, made to order.
Waymark Gear Co.: 4–8 weeks. Fully custom.
Important caveats
Lead times change constantly — a brand shipping in 2 weeks in July might have an 8-week backlog in January. Always check the brand's current homepage or email them before ordering for a time-sensitive start date.
If you're prioritizing one piece, make it the sleep system. Being cold on trail at 2am is worse than most other gear failures, and I say that from experience.