DIY, No-Sew, 2-layer, 2/3 Poncho Liner UQ

**JohnSawyer** · 11-09-2011, 22:23

Ha! I just bought a poncho.. $15...

I avoided the liner purchase though... 3 should be almost enough...

**** that ebay/paypal!

**LFCRed** · 03-07-2012, 22:55

I love this concept!

I have some questions:

Is the poncho liner folded longways or shortways? Mine is rectangular and I can fold it so that it gets longer and thinner (longways) or closer to square (shortways). Shortways seems to make the most sense but I'm unsure.

Where are the attachment points on the hammock? I don't have a structural ridgeline. Do the attachment cords just attach to the hammock's suspension?

If I took two poncho liners and tied them together would that likely make a serviceable full length UQ?

**JohnSawyer** · 03-07-2012, 23:00

Originally Posted by LFCRed

I love this concept!

I have some questions:

Is the poncho liner folded longways or shortways? Mine is rectangular and I can fold it so that it gets longer and thinner (longways) or closer to square (shortways). Shortways seems to make the most sense but I'm unsure.

Where are the attachment points on the hammock? I don't have a structural ridgeline. Do the attachment cords just attach to the hammock's suspension?

If I took two poncho liners and tied them together would that likely make a serviceable full length UQ?

Um... I fold it the short way... or so the UQ ends up shorter/wider. Folding it the other way makes it a bit too small, width wise... for me anyway.

If you look at the instructions, you use shock cord to tie the corners to the suspension of the hammock. Shock cord allows it to pull snug to the bottom of the hammock... most of us use micro-biners. . .

These are awesome:
http://www.diygearsupply.com/cgi-bin/shelf.cgi?numb=61

You could take 2 and make them into a single FL UQ, just over lap them a bit. This should help you keep the CBS at bay, as you'll probably have 2' of overlap and 4 layers in that section...

These aren't ultra-light, but for car camping or short trips, they'd work great.

**toddhunter** · 03-08-2012, 12:20

Will it work with Dri ducks ultra lite? How about the pocket version?

**FLRider** · 03-08-2012, 18:16

Originally Posted by toddhunter

Will it work with Dri ducks ultra lite? How about the pocket version?

It's not a poncho; it's a poncho liner, a thin blanket with polyester batting inside of a nylon shell. It's fairly lightweight for GI gear, and warmer than you'd think from the feel of it.

Here's a photo of one:

**JohnSawyer** · 03-08-2012, 18:34

+1. One thing to consider, though: the driducks poncho would work well as a weather shield or wind break on an underquilt, or as a weather shield cover (think fog.) Condensation might be an issue, though.

**LFCRed** · 03-08-2012, 22:01

John - thank you for your answers. I feel like I can begin to stumble around and figure it out now. I have four poncho liners I bought off ebay and all are quite well used so I feel I can experiment without having to be overly precious.

Since they are fairly well used I do wonder if the insulation quality is less than a new one would be. In other words does their R value decrease significantly with age. I don't have a new one to compare to for thickness or loft.

**JohnSawyer** · 03-08-2012, 22:47

Originally Posted by LFCRed

John - thank you for your answers. I feel like I can begin to stumble around and figure it out now. I have four poncho liners I bought off ebay and all are quite well used so I feel I can experiment without having to be overly precious.

Since they are fairly well used I do wonder if the insulation quality is less than a new one would be. In other words does their R value decrease significantly with age. I don't have a new one to compare to for thickness or loft.

It's very likely that from brand-new to slightly used they lose some loft... too many variables to predict, though.

These are made to be durable more than anything else... They're reasonably warm, especially when used with a poncho...

Since this UQ design is a no-sew, all you really do is melt a couple of holes in the edging. I still use mine as a blanket when car camping. They're great to put in a chair to keep your backside warm when in front of a fire.

John

**toddhunter** · 03-09-2012, 10:44

Originally Posted by JohnSawyer

+1. One thing to consider, though: the driducks poncho would work well as a weather shield or wind break on an underquilt, or as a weather shield cover (think fog.) Condensation might be an issue, though.

It seems like the construction approach for the liner might apply to the poncho, which would essentially become like a double layer. I've inquired about this on another thread, as you many know.

**orangehero** · 03-31-2012, 16:43

Originally Posted by dejoha

After playing with this underquilt for some time, I made some modifications to the design. The problem with the gathered end also acting as the attaching point to the hammock is that I wasn't able to get a good, snug fit around the ends since they were continually being pulled taut. The tweak I made was to separate the gathered end from the attach point so both could be modular. I think this is similar to how professional UQs are made.

This design loops some shockcord through the ends so they gather and flex. I put fixed line (550 cord in this case) along the long sides. On one side, I was able to thread the cord through the hem channel. On the folded side, the cord just hung between the two sides. I attached this new fixed cord to the ends of the hammock with a bowline, which also gave me loops. Through these loops, I passed a section of doubled-up shock cord which was then attached to the hammock.

This new design provides a much more workable fit.

Could elaborate on your reasoning for having the fixed lines running along the long sides? Why not just attach the shockcord to the tied off ribbons at the corners?