-5 F with my new MW3 Convertible

[Alter Id]

I was finally able to get out and use my new underquilt. I had purchased the MW3 Convertible from the Jacks in late Jan. and had been unable to put it to use until last weekend. Some friends and I went to Wild River SP for some car camping and we were expecting an overnight low of 5 F on Friday night and a low of 10 F on Saturday.

Set up was a breeze, I attached the shock cords with a single hitch at each gathered end of the hammock. Using 2, the way the directions show, was a little tight. After hanging the quilt I tightened up the shock cord draws at each end a little and I was good to go. Since it was going to be cold I added a full length Thermarest to the hammock and wore a set of long johns and a fleece lined wool hat. For a top quilt I used a Marmot Never Summer bag.

I was toasty warm all night on Friday, until a woodpecker woke me up just before dawn. We checked with the rangers Saturday morning what the low was and they said -5 at the park. Weather Underground showed -4 F at Taylors Falls near by.

I was so stoked that I thought I would try with out the Thermarest the next night. It was supposed to be warmer, but it still got down to 4 F. I had a shivery morning, that's way to cold for a 3 season quilt. I do think that I could comfortably go to 10 F though with the extra clothing I had on. Should be able to post a couple of pics tomorrow.

[koaloha05]

AlterId, which model Thermarest pad did you use?

I'm not a winter camper (snow on the ground or threat of heavy snowfall), but own a MW4. At time of purchase it was the only differential cut uq available. Turns out to be way warmer than I need for my coldest nights (upper teens above 0*F). Also have a MW3, the quilt that gets used. Toasty warm by itself when used with the Nest as a top quilt down to my cold night temps.

[Alter Id]

I was using a friends pad, it was a 72 in Trail I think. It was about 1 in thick so it definitely added quite a bit of warmth that first night.

[Shug]

Very cool ..... I mean cold. Warm actually.
Shug

[Alter Id]

Thanks Shug, I certainly learned a few things about hanging in cold weather. There was very little wind so I was able to get away with using the Funky Forest tarp, but one with doors is in my future.

Here's a shot of the head end of the setup.

[lori]

Wow, that's low - I thought that was a 3 season version? differential cut must make a huge difference.

[Alter Id]

Wow, that's low - I thought that was a 3 season version? differential cut must make a huge difference.

Yes this is a 3 season quilt, it is the 3/4 length with an additional panel for lower leg coverage. The addition attaches with Velcro. This is the first UQ I've used so I'm not so sure how large a difference the differential cut makes. Though my impression is that the cut doesn't make it warmer, just less likely to compress without really fine tuning the attachment. Someone with more experience with UQs might be able to chime in.

This was definitely a test outside the intended temp range for this quilt. But I was wearing long johns and had the sleeping pad. This is the only reason I didn't freeze the first night. I should have had the pad in on the second night as well. I was expecting temps at 10 to 15 F. Turns out you can't trust meteorologists, who knew?

[lori]

I have the JRB Hudson River (two, actually, one for under and one on top) and they are quite warm on their own... I started to feel not-warm around 24F or so. I don't have a thermarest (well, the NeoAir, but not sure how that would do in very low temps) and my foam pads are thinner... so perhaps I will try out a combo.

[Alter Id]

Thermarest shows the NeoAir as having an R value of 2.5, and the trail as 3.4. I would imagine there would be a difference in how low you could comfortably take your UQ using it with your pad inside. You're also talking about using a 3 season top quilt, my Never Summer sleeping bag is rated to 0 degrees. Early Sunday morning my top was warm but my back and feet were freezing, I was too lazy to get out and put the Thermarest in so I ended up rolling from side to side to warm my back with my sleeping bag, sort of 1/2 at a time.