Originally Posted by
rjcress
JohnSawyer reminded me in another thread to give an update on this UQ... so here goes...
I used the shape and dimensions from the KAQ pattern, but did not do a full KAQ.
Shell is light nylon (not sure how light, but feels a bit less than the 1.9oz silnylon I used for my tarp) on each side, with a single layer of fleece inside.
the head end of the nylon shell is held closed with velcro, so I can insert layers.
Only got down to about 49F Sunday night.
I slept in fleece pants and a long sleeve UnderArmor type shirt. No socks, gloves or hat.
TQ was a single layer fleece ~9ft x 60in, closed with a footbox and sewed into a cylinder up to my waist. Not sewed at the top. It is really long so I can pull up some to use as a pillow (that doesn't slide under me when I move), or over my head to make a micro climate inside.
Pitched my 10x12 hex tarp very close to the ground and the hammock in hope of reducing draft and capturing some heat. Very little wind that night, although there was rain. No issues with the rain at all (thankfully... this was the first rain on the DIY tarp, so relieved it did well.)
I was plenty warm until the temp bottomed at 49 around 2:30 am. At that point I wasn't cold, but was no longer toasty. I pulled my mummy bag in and put it over the fleece TQ and was super warm.
I've still got some minor adjustments to the attachment of the UQ to keep it positioned properly. Since I'm 6'4", I should have made it a touch longer. That would make precise positioning less of an issue.
I was VERY pleased with how the UQ performed and hoping to get back out later this week when it is a bit cooler overnight to see how low I can go before CBS sets in.
I'm guessing that with the mummy bag I can get another 5-10 degrees... but I have very little experience to base that on.
I have some thin closed cell foam sheet that was part of the packaging for a computer monitor. It fits nicely in the UQ, and I expect it will give me another 5-10 degrees as well.
Will also experiment with a space blanket at some point.
Overall, very pleased with the performance of the UQ so far.
I've got about 5 yards of nylon at ~2.60/yd (clearance @ Joann) + 2.5 yards of fleece at $2/yd (fleece sale at Hancock Fabric) + shock cord, a few toggles, a few feet of grosgrain for tie-out points, thread... so about $20-25 in it so far.
I made my snakeskins big enough that I leave the UQ on the hammock when I skin it.
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