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  1. #1
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    Question Synthetic Homemade Underquilt vs Down Underquilt

    Hello Hammock forum,
    I am in the middle of considering making the move to underquilts for an upcoming canoe trip. I will be in a moist environment and will be hitting, at the absolute lowest, high twenties. It is more likely that I will not see anything lower than low thirties. I will have a full pad and a ground set up if it gets really cold.

    At the moment I think I will be making a 5oz apex climashield 3/4 length underquilt from www.ripstopbytheroll.com. But with the amount it will cost I am debating going all the way and getting a down underquilt. Specifically http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/greylock-3/. I will also have a 3/4 pad for my feet.

    I know there are plenty of threads about synthetics vs down and I'm pretty sure I've read them all. What stuck with me is that climashield doesn't seem to be as inferior to down as people like to believe:
    1) It seems like they are very similar in weight
    2) The compressability of climashield is acceptable
    3) Climashield can be abused more and isn't as sensitive to dampness
    4) As a huge plus to me, even though I do have the money for down, climashield is cheaper

    Is there a comfort or ease of setup that down underquilts have over synthetic? Do any of you who have both still use your synthetic? Is the compressibility of climashield as bad as people express?

    Finally, as I know this is a long post, will a single layer of 5oz be suitable for these temperatures? My thoughts were that as most underquilts are 44" in width I can use the extra width on the 60" sheets to add insulation to the places that need it. (the extra 16" running diagonally where your body should lay).

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will of course be reading everybody's comment.

  2. #2
    PappyAmos's Avatar
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    Welcome Julius!
    NS = Nova Scotia - right? Lowest temps in the upper 20s???

    Answering your questions:
    1 - The weight differential for an apex quilt vs a down quilt is minimal if you are talking about a 45 deg. quilt. As you pass 35 deg (apex 5 IMO) headed toward 20 deg (apex 7.5+ IMO) it is worse. My 850 down (9oz) 20 deg 3/4 UQ weighs 21 oz with suspension. My apex 7.5 3/4 UQ weighs 27.3 oz with an identical suspension. The quilts are almost identical in size and both made from 1.1 oz ripstop inside and out.
    2 - Under extreme compression, my 3/4 length apex 7.5 quilt is a little smaller than a soccer ball. My 3/4 length 850 Goosedown quilt will compress to about 2/3 that size.
    3 - I don't know about the abuse part but apex is more resistant to loosing warmth with dampness - This is IMO - masses don't flame on this - this is my experience.
    4 - Definitely cheaper. It cost me about $90 to build my apex 7.5 quilt. It would cost nearly that much for the down alone in the other quilt.

    Is a single layer of apex 5 enough for upper 20s? Not IMO.

    Just about a year ago I was headed to a hang with an ice storm looming. The temps were predicted to be in the 30 - 34 deg F range. I chose my apex 7.5 UQ because of the wet environment. I brought a DIY apex 5 TQ knowing I had more insulation in the car if needed. I slept comfortably and warm through an all night rain at 33 deg. I was wearing a fleece buff over my nose, a fleece watch cap, Smartwool mid-weight top and bottoms and a pair of down socks. I had a 1/2" foam pad from my knees to under my feet. I had a hot water bottle down by my feet. The apex 5 TQ was not enough to keep my feet warm by itself. There was never any question of the UQ being warm enough.

    BTW, I just made a Yeti sized apex 5 UQ (40"W x 46"L) and an apex 2.5 TQ to use as a pair for warm weather down to around 40 deg. Together they weigh 28 oz. and are very small when compressed. I have about $110 in them so far. The next best choice is the summer weight 3/4 length down UQ and TQ from Wilderness Logics at $265 (current sale price) that weigh a couple of ounces less.

    Hopefully you can find something you can use in all of this.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Firesong's Avatar
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    My own experiences. I have my own personal cs5 quilt I made. And I've made several others for other people. All 2/3 -3/4
    length. I also have a greylock 3 20 degree. UQ.

    They both have their place. I really like the cs5 quilt. They are light but don't pack as small. I tend to roll them tight rather than stuffing them. I've been doing some reading on the new dri-down variations and they seem to be pretty amazing when combined with wetness.

    I just purchased a jacksrbetter winter quilt (0degree) for really cold in the Dri-down.

    I'm not helping lol. If you have the money and you need to do multiday hiking try the hydrophobic down quilts. That being said I love my Flecktarn CS5 quilt

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