1st project complete. Apex underquilt.

**Christo456** · 11-01-2015, 16:15

7.5 oz apex/ 1.75 lb ready to hang in the compression bag

I'm pretty happy with it for a 1st project and curious to see how low I can take it.

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**vladpack** · 11-01-2015, 16:31

Looks good. I like how clean apex quilts look, just like a rectangular blanket.

I think the common advice though is to never compress Apex with a compression sack - you risk reducing the life of the insulation pretty fast that way

**Christo456** · 11-01-2015, 16:47

Agreed on the compression and thanks. I wanted to see how small it would go.

**bwhntMT** · 11-01-2015, 22:06

Nice. I just ordered 7.5 oz climashield for a topquilt. Let us know how low you get to with your UQ.

**wa4chq** · 11-02-2015, 07:58

Looks good, Christo456

**Uncaged** · 11-02-2015, 10:23

Looks like a nice project. I'm looking to do something similar. And you're not too far away, so hearing about your experience will be extra helpful. Getting this kind of info is exactly why I recently signed up for HF.
I'm curious about the details of your project. What materials did you use for the shell? What are the dimensions?
Thanks

**Christo456** · 11-02-2015, 14:50

Originally Posted by Uncaged

Looks like a nice project. I'm looking to do something similar. And you're not too far away, so hearing about your experience will be extra helpful. Getting this kind of info is exactly why I recently signed up for HF.
I'm curious about the details of your project. What materials did you use for the shell? What are the dimensions?
Thanks

If you have the time and can make the drive you are welcome to join up for the group hang this weekend at the Pinney Bridge campground.

Here is the order list from my Ripstop by the roll order:
2 x Climashield APEX - 7.5 oz/sq @ $15.95 each
2 x 1.1 oz ripstop nylon - Black @ $4.25 each
2 x 1.9 oz ripstop nylon - A-TACS FG @ $7.95 each
1 x Gutermann MARA 70 thread - Gray @ $0.00 each

Size is 65" x 44" which left me enough fabric to make some simple stuff sacks.

**Christo456** · 11-02-2015, 16:55

I tried something I haven't seen with the way I sewed the sides. It's hard to explain so I drew a picture. I sewed this down both sides and left the ends open. Then turned it inside out separating between the 2 fabric sheets which leave a clean edge and the suspension channel hidden inside the seam. I liked how it looked clean and I didn't need to fiddle with trying to line everything up for an evenly sized channel outside the seam.

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**Uncaged** · 11-02-2015, 18:06

Thanks for the info. It gives me a great starting point. So many choices and opinions out there for all of this stuff. It is a bit overwhelming. I like the idea of the Climashield in terms of cost, insulation value, and simplicity of construction. I'm fairly new to hammock camping and cost is a factor. In addition to my own set up, I have three children interested in it. That means whatever I do multiplied by four.

I think I get what you did with the channel. I watched the UL Karo Step UQ Project video on the Ripstop by the Roll page last week. It got me thinking about doing something like you did.

My current UQ is simply a repurposed old sleeping bag. I ran some shock cord through all four sides to suspend it and cinch the ends. No real special extra modifications, just threaded the cord through the sides and reinforced at the corners. It worked well that chilly, windy, rainy first weekend of Oct, but it's big, bulky, and too wide.

Thanks for the invite to the group hang, but I can't make it this weekend.

**OotN'Aboot** · 11-02-2015, 21:09

New to HF and DIY. I repurposed a sleeping bag as well so that my wife would have one for he first hang back in September (cause let's face it, if you can get her on board getting more gear becomes a lot simpler).

So with the Apex you don't need baffles and stuff like you do with down?