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  1. #1
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    Night one with the Warbonnet Torso Length UQ

    Twas two nights before Christmas and all through the house not a bed was empty not even for this louse. But out in the back where the squirrels run the show were two lonely trees, buried in snow.

    Pops snuck out and got shots of me sleeping in the morning. I know where I get my sneaky genes from now!





    This was my first opportunity to really test this new UQ. A word of waring here: I am a warm sleeper; always have been. Please remember that if you are trying to draw a comparison. Overnight temps were forecast to be 8F with a light breeze. I have not yet got a top quilt so I had to make due with an old Coleman bag. My initial plan was to use the Gossamer Gear 1/8” ‘hammock pad’ that was waiting for me. But, being the pad-hater that I am I thought I’d try without it on the first (and coldest forecast) night of the week.

    Here’s what I had:

    Warbonnet ElDorado
    Warbonnet Torso Length UQ w/sil liner
    ULA Catalyst
    Coleman Bag (probably rated to about 40 back in the day)
    Thermal undies
    Hoodie Sweatshirt
    Fleece Pullover
    Wool skully cap
    SOCKS! Yes, that is plural. One set of liners and two pairs of mid-weight wool hiking socks. (I've got sissy feet)
    1/8” pad for back-up if needed.

    I went to bed about midnight(ish) with temps right around 20F. I had decided to use the sil liner that WBG sent because there was a breeze forecast and the only place I could set-up didn’t offer me the option of being able to easily deploy a tarp and I wanted some wind protection. I had a fence on one side so it really wasn’t much of a concern, just a good excuse. Colorado is so arid that condensation really didn’t concern me too much.

    Since the WB UQ is a torso length, you must have something under your legs/feet. The UQ goes from just above my shoulder to just below my bum. This is the main reason for a pad; it gets folded and goes under my legs. However, Cannibal hates pads so I figured I’d just throw my empty pack in under my legs. I sometimes use it as a leg rest anyway, so this was no big deal. I did keep the pad somewhat close by….just in case. I opened up the bag to use ‘quilt style’, grabbed my digital thermometer and off to la-la land I went.

    I didn’t wake-up until Mama Nature came a knockin. I got out of the hammock and took care of business, but when I got back into the hammock I couldn’t get warm. I have no idea what the temp was because it was cold enough that the LCD on my thermometer was not working; just a blank screen. I have no idea if it was still reading or not; hopefully Grizz will chime in with that fancy weather site he uses and I’ll see what the temps actually dropped to last night. I decided to close up the bag and hope that I’d be able to build up enough heat that way instead of going for the pad. It worked! Next thing I know I was being attacked by my Pop’s ferocious dog in the morning. Who by the way, loved hanging-out in the hammock; smart dog.



    The thermometer was working again and reading a ‘low’ of 13.3F. I suspect it got a couple of degrees cooler, but don’t know for sure. I was warm all night except for about 10 or 15 minutes after the bathroom break. There was zero condensation on, or in, the UQ/liner.

    WBG has a cordlock that bridges the two sides of the shockcord loop near the head of the hammock. The pic below shows the head-end; the large double-barreled lock at the whipping is what you use to adjust the overall tension. The cordlock to the left is what snugs it up. It really helps pull the head-end of the UQ up snug against the hammock, BUT I need to find a stronger mechanism, the cord had slipped out overnight. Not enough to have too much of a consequence, but I don’t want it to happen when it’s really cold and make me get up and fix it.



    This UQ is da bomb for ease of deployment. There is just a big loop of shockcord that runs through channels that go down the sides of the UQ. Each end of the loop gets looped around a whipping bundle at each end; that’s it, you’re done. Well, there is the matter of attaching that cordlock I mentioned earlier which puts the shockcord on top of the hammock at the head, so add another 3 seconds to the set-up. Since the UQ is just on a loop it slides very easily up or down the hammock. I can vent heat without leaving the comforts of my hang; just reach out and slide the UQ up. Since my shoulders are what provides the ‘spread’, if I slide the UQ up past my head the shockcord wants to squeeze the UQ shut. This creates a nice wide open ‘mouth’ that will just make the heat pour out. I tried it and I’m telling you it is like instant A/C!

    Here is the bottom end:



    Reaching out to 'scoot' the UQ up a bit. You can see the vent gap starting to open up:



    I was out of the hammock here, but this is what it looks like when you vent for heat. It really opens up wide if you want it to.



    More to come later, but here’s some pics for all you visual folks out there.
    Trust nobody!

  2. #2
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    WBG, do you have a website? we want it.

    good review. i like the 1/2 length. it is synthetic, right? so how small does it compress?

  3. #3
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    He doesn't have his site up yet. He is still in a fight over patents.

    Here it is in the stuff sack provided:



    or



    There are four layers of synthetic sheet insulation (Climashield XP, I think) that are held in place with quilting loops. Only one layer is sewn to the shell (perimeter). Gives me the ability to add or remove layers of insulation by cutting the loops, then redoing the loops. I can access the insulation thanks to a handy dandy zipper on the butt-end. Since the layers aren't permanent, WBG recommends rolling, as opposed to stuffing, the UQ. It can compress down to about half the size you see here, but I'm trying to be nice to it.
    Last edited by Cannibal; 12-23-2007 at 18:15. Reason: Took the high road
    Trust nobody!

  4. #4
    Senior Member headchange4u's Avatar
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    Great review. It looks like a great piece of gear. What is the weight(s) for the quilt?
    “Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." -Terry Pratchett



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  5. #5
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    I don't have a scale out here and I haven't weighed it with the sil liner (pillowcase), but the UQ itself is 16.09 oz.
    Trust nobody!

  6. #6
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    well, he could sell instructions and the raw material. so he is not selling the patented ideas, but selling the instructions to make them. or sell the hammock as best as you can, with the DIY for only the patented parts.

  7. #7
    slowhike's Avatar
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    looks great cannibal. i've been weary of trusting a short under quilt to keep me warm, especially in the colder temps. but you, WBG, jeff & risk are at least 4 that say it works fine w/ something under the legs.
    i guess i need to give it a try.

    one thought comes to mind when you & others talk about using your pack as insulation under the legs... what about those times when the pack is soaking wet?
    i don't think i would want to count on that as my only option for insulation under my legs.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  8. #8
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    well, sorry for hyjacking the thread for a minute, but I got another idea. What If you had a thin extended summer quilt, and were somehow able to fold it over itself, so the loft doubled and became a much thicker 1/2 length quilt?

  9. #9
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by slowhike View Post
    looks great cannibal. i've been weary of trusting a short under quilt to keep me warm, especially in the colder temps. but you, WBG, jeff & risk are at least 4 that say it works fine w/ something under the legs.
    i guess i need to give it a try.

    one thought comes to mind when you & others talk about using your pack as insulation under the legs... what about those times when the pack is soaking wet?
    i don't think i would want to count on that as my only option for insulation under my legs.
    I was leery about the 1/2 UQ too, but it does make sense. The torso is where you need the heat most. It works great and I carry the weight where I need it most; NO FRILLS BABY!

    I'm still going to carry a pad; grrrrrrr. I just wanted to try it and see if I could go without a pad in cold temps. I do want to try out my new hammock pad from GG and will probably be doing so in the next couple of days.

    Quote Originally Posted by skar578 View Post
    well, sorry for hyjacking the thread for a minute, but I got another idea. What If you had a thin extended summer quilt, and were somehow able to fold it over itself, so the loft doubled and became a much thicker 1/2 length quilt?
    I would be worried about compressing the insulation when you double it over. What makes this quilt work is the method that the insulation and shell pieces are cut. They form a bathtub; I'm not sure you could do that doubling it up. Might be a fun experiement.
    Trust nobody!

  10. #10
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    well take something like a JRB quilt, no special curved shape. then, take it off at the foot end and layer it OVER the head. so it does not compress the down, tie it looser, or with more slack. and to keep the "bottom" from just falling down, put a shockcord between the folded layers, and clip it to the hammock edges.

    maybe something like that?

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