Winter Incubator: 1st Impressions

[Str1der]

At long last, my winter Incubator arrived! This is the first and only uq I have ever used or even seen in person, and I have to say, I was caught off guard at first. Upon removing the uq from its stuff sack, I was certain that I had been sent a summer version my mistake. There was simple no way something that light and that flatly compressed would loft up to 4". I set it out on the bed to loft. It did, but only to about 2". Then I remembered that I am a down noob, so I gave the uq a good shake-out to fluff it. That did it, and 4-5" of loft promptly erupted!

Excited, I ran outside to hang my ENO Single and attached the Incubator. Without my sleeping bag, it was a strange feeling to be cold on top and warm underneath, rather than the other way around. I rolled onto my side, and from this position, I had goose bumps on my right side (facing up) while my left side became toasty warm in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, it began to rain right then, so I didn't get any pics, but I’ll try to post some tonight.

The workmanship appears to be top notch. I had never used an uq before, but I had it rigged correctly (at least I think so ) within minutes. A quick tightening on the shock cords on both ends to snug it up, and I was in business!

Got my uq from Stormcrow and a WBBB on order from Brandon. Now I just need to get a tarp from one of the other HF vendors to complete my random sampling...at least for now...

[Cranky Bear]

Congrats on the great purchase(s), that UQ will never let you down!!!

[MattH]

I was the same way with my Crowsnest when it came. As soon as I hung it and got it I could feel the warmth. It's awesome.

[Str1der]

Going to try my hand at posting some pics. I'll try to get some pics of it on my hammock later if it ever stops raining.

[stormcrow]

Going to try my hand at posting some pics. I'll try to get some pics of it on my hammock later if it ever stops raining.

Pics look great Wakozacho. If you notice a few areas that are lofting up a little less than you think they should, try moving some down around in that particular chamber. There should not be shifting problems when all of the insulation is positioned right. We typically wait a bit after we distribute the down in a new quilt to make sure we got it just right...but sometimes time is tight... Also, do not be afraid to shake the quilt a little to help things loft up. Just shake it from the sides and not the ends.

Also, the underquilt will sometimes look flat in areas when it is laid out on a flat surface. This is because the quilt has a 3 dimensional design. It almost always looks better hanging on the bottom of a hammock.

Clear as mud?

~Stormcrow

[Str1der]

Clear as mud?

Clear as mud indeed! It does look a lot better hanging from my hammock, but I need an extra set of hands (complete with the person attached) to take a picture with me in the hammock.

Thursday evening the temperature is supposed to dip down into the high 20's with 0% chance of rain at my family's house where I'll be for Christmas, so hopefully, I'll get a chance then to test it out and maybe get some pics taken with it attached to the hammock. If I'm really lucky, my WBBB will have arrived also, so I'll get a chance to test them both out for the first time!

[lazy river road]

That is an awesome looking quilt. So pretty. Makes me crave my 3S incubator to come.

Also, do not be afraid to shake the quilt a little to help things loft up. Just shake it from the sides and not the ends.

~Stormcrow

Why from the sides and not from the ends, I never really thought about it and just shacked it from any and all sides. Good tip though will start doing this.

[Cranky Bear]

Why from the sides and not from the ends, I never really thought about it and just shacked it from any and all sides. Good tip though will start doing this.

If you do it from the ends you can accidentally shift the down to one half of the quilt because of the way the baffles run! So you do it from the sides to try and fluf it up and help to evenly distribute it a little at a time!
At least thats how it was explained to me!

[lazy river road]

Thanks CB I honestly never thought about it but makes complete sense.

[Syb]

Wow, what a great looking UQ. As it stands now I'm on a "spending freeze" until my pennies add up to buy enough HG items to support Stormcrow's and Thorwren's retirement. Come on year-end bonus!!!

Syb