Underquilts are the boom! Thank you HF!
I've been a hanger for about two years now. So I'm some where between a newbie and a veteran when it comes to hanging. Most of my hangs in the winter were with a pad and sleeping bag. Normally my feet would get cold, but I had solved that with down bootys. I've hung out in -6 degree temp during a Boy Scout Winter survival course. So I'm good with getting my kit right for most weather.
I recently purchase a Down UnderQuilt from Happy_Hanger here on HF. It was the JRB the MT3, and 'ho my goodness' what a difference that makes.
Two nights ago I hung my WBBB to test it out this new gear. I have a nice hammock hanger I use in my backyard, that was build by a friend. I live in town in a townhouse, so I have no trees in my backyard. The temp was 30 degrees at 6:00 pm and I tied on my 72 inch UQ for the first time.
To my complete amazement, it was like laying on a heated waterbed. The quilt generated a stead heat on my back that was both soothing and extremely comfortable. The edges wrapped to the left and right of a my shoulders, extended 3 to 4 inches past my shoulders on both side. This meant no more cold shoulders. The foot box was completely surrounded by the down, with about 3 inches extending past my toes. With this UQ you can cinch up both ends to get a good fit. I could feel the heat around my cotton sock covered feet. All of this without a pad to wrestle around to find the right spot.
Plus, I could move around. I laid straight and was warm. I curled up on my side and didn't encounter a cold spot. That was a surprise that I didn't expect. Freedom.. I almost shouted it out like Mel Gibson in Braveheart.
I was dress in everyday work clothes for the office I work at when I started this test. I had just tossed on a jacket, snow pants and boots to shovel the WI snow out of the way so I could setup my stand and get the hammock hung. So as I laid there, I remove my jacket, boots (leaving only cotton socks) and snow pants. I was warm and cozy. Before I knew what hit me, I had fallen asleep. I woke up 20 minutes later, feeling great.
The temp dropped a couple a degrees and I decided to really give this a test a go. So I changed into my normal winter sleeping attire (long johns, wool socks and a down cap) went back out with a 30 degree down sleeping bag as my TQ, and spent the next 3 hours being cozy and watching the clouds and stars go by.
All I can say is WOW! I'm never going back to a pad again.
Thank you HF for teaching me about UQ. I owe it all to you guys for being an awesome resource for making my nights in the woods a thing I want to do all the time, no matter what the season.
