Underquilt temp ratings

**Nest** · 05-14-2007, 22:19

I was hoping someone could clear this up for me. I was looking on Speers website about his new underquilt. One is rated to 30*, and weighs 29 oz. I think. It is 900 fill down. Now, the KAQ Potomac weighs 28 or 29 oz., and is also rated at 30* but is synthetic. Am I missing something, or are Speers numbers wrong? Because I have had read a few people say the KAQ will go down to 30*. If this is correct, then why spend twice as much on something that will loose a lot of effectivenes when wet, and is more delicate? You tear a hole in a synthetic quilt, you can just sew it up. Tear a hole in a down quilt and it will look like a duck blew up.

**Coffee** · 05-14-2007, 22:42

I'll let BB speak about the details of the potamic. But I think it is the shape and construction of the potamic that saves weight. The synethic quilt has more bulk to it.

**Nest** · 05-14-2007, 22:57

I've ordered a KAQ a couple weeks ago, so I'm not comparing to buy. I was just curious because the main selling point for down is it's warmth to weight ratio. Nothing against Speer or his designs, but it seems like you are losing in the deal if you get his underquilt over the KAQ. I just think something must be wrong about his numbers or I'm not seeing something obvious. I do see that the bulk is an issue, but not worth the price difference in my opinion. Again, I just hope I am missing something.

**blackbishop351** · 05-14-2007, 23:07

Let me preface by saying that different people have very different takes on the down vs. synthetic issue. I personally think both types of insulation have their advantages and disadvantages, and consequently particular situations in which they both excel.

There are a myriad of tradeoffs that go into quilt design. I think the one relevant to your question is weight vs. fit. Patrick's Potomac design, IMO, is the ideal compromise between the two, at least as far as a synthetic quilt goes. It could be lighter by sacrificing fit, but proper fitting is just as important to overall quilt design as (for instance) raw insulation value is. The Potomac is designed to be as light as possible while still providing an excellent fit to a wide range of users and hammocks.

I've not yet seen the new Speer quilt, so I'll leave the expert discussion to those more familiar with it. From what I've read, I'd hazard to guess that Ed went a bit further over the weight/fit line than Patrick did, probably because his new quilt is a down one. Taking advantage of the weight savings of down vs. synthetic, he can afford to use (what looks like to me) a pretty elaborate construction to achieve a very good fit. But like I said, I haven't seen - and certainly not used - one of his new quilts, so this is all just pure conjecture.

**Peter_pan** · 05-15-2007, 01:00

JRB Nest and No Sniveller both work well as Under Quilts.... both are 30-32 degree and both weigh 20 oz each, 800 pf. down...currently on huge sale.

Pan

**Coffee** · 05-14-2007, 23:03

I have not seen the Speer quilt in person, but I think the higher cost comes from the increased labor. It seems to have a lot of features that add a lot of prduction time.

To me that just seems like increased weight and more to go wrong, or like you said in harder to fix when it goes wrong.

**lvleph** · 05-15-2007, 04:39

The point to the Speer underquilt is ease of fit. There is no fitting necessary, one just attaches it and moves on. This makes the learning curve much shallower. So he went more for ease of use and fit, rather than weight. I looked at it thinking I might want to make one. Looking at it for a few seconds quickly changed my mind. This thing is very complicated to make and is most likely where the cost comes from. Also, Youngblood speen an entire year designing it.

**smithobx** · 05-15-2007, 09:09

I cannot comment on other uderquilts, but I received my KAQ from Blackbishop about 10 days ago. The workmanship is absolutely first quality. I set up my Claytor Jungle hammock this weekend and installed the underquilt. I have no previous experience with underquilts and in fact have only seen them on the net. Still it only took a couple minutes to install and adjust from cold mode to warmer mode. The adjustments are simple but provide for a wide range of adjustment. Very easy to install. Too warm now to give it a good test as far as temp. rating go, but I would guess 30 degrees would not be a problem. Mine weighs, in camo and in the custom stuff sac provided, 31.5 ozs. on my postal scale.

**blackbishop351** · 05-15-2007, 09:42

Originally Posted by smithobx

I cannot comment on other uderquilts, but I received my KAQ from Blackbishop about 10 days ago. The workmanship is absolutely first quality. I set up my Claytor Jungle hammock this weekend and installed the underquilt. I have no previous experience with underquilts and in fact have only seen them on the net. Still it only took a couple minutes to install and adjust from cold mode to warmer mode. The adjustments are simple but provide for a wide range of adjustment. Very easy to install. Too warm now to give it a good test as far as temp. rating go, but I would guess 30 degrees would not be a problem. Mine weighs, in camo and in the custom stuff sac provided, 31.5 ozs. on my postal scale.

Glad to hear your Potomac worked out well on your Claytor...to my knowledge, you're the first one to try it! I bet you're having a hard time finding your full-camo setup now...

**smithobx** · 05-15-2007, 10:13

Originally Posted by blackbishop351

Glad to hear your Potomac worked out well on your Claytor...to my knowledge, you're the first one to try it! I bet you're having a hard time finding your full-camo setup now...

Yea, it's fun to set it up in the yard and watch my wife through the netting trying to find me! Joking aside, the potomac fits the Claytor like you custom fitted it. I really like the way it comes up high on the sides, should eliminate cold spots if you roll against the sides. A great product at a fair price.