Nearly completed Kickass Inspired underquilt

[Coffee]

Here is a link to someone that posted directions on how to make a version of a down quilt. It could be used to help make an underquilt. I think it is similar to what thru-hiker uses for a kit, or what they based their kit off of. I forgot about this one, dino posted it over at WB. Here is the thread where she did that people are talking about making a quilt. Do some other searching there. I remember reading other threads at some time.

[Coffee]

thanks hammonk engineer for the help you got it going on.

Neah, I just read everything I can online and try a lot of DIY projects. That and I can't seem to leave well enough alone. Pretty soon though my number of projects that worked may equal the ones that didn't. I have 2 hammocks, 1 hammock sock, a couple stuff sacks, and a couple of sets of skins so far that work. Versus a failed quilt, bad set of skins, a hammock that ripped, and 2 failed tarps. But that is half the fun.

[The Breeze]

great links man hope to meet you at the camp out if i make it

[Touch of Grey]

Okay guys and gals, I fixed the issues and rehung the hammock yesterday. Then had my son who is two inches taller and 60 lbs lighter get in while I did a preliminary adjustment to everything.

He crawled out and I crawled so that final adjustments could be made under my weight conditions.

Went out at 8 PM local time and crawled in to read for an hour. Turned out the reading lamp about 9 PM. Temps according to the cheap thermometer I had with me in the hammock said 38. This was pretty close to what was being published by the NWS for the airport about five air miles away from me.

Awoke for some reason at Midnight and tossed for an hour or so. Temps still around 35 according to the cheap thermometer. Winds gusty at times but not too bad. Pulled on my 200 weight polarfleece top as my back was chilled a little.

Fell asleep again and reawoke this morning at 530 AM which is my usual time to rise and shine. I had a small cramp in my right calf from a chill I could feel there but again as my last test on Xmas Eve it was not unbearable. As a side note, it's kinda funny how your extremities feel a chill but when you put your hand there you cannot register that same chill on your hand.


It's now 558 AM here as I write this and here is the official weather from the NWS;

Detroit City Airport
Last Update on Jan 9, 5:53 am EST

Partly Cloudy

30°F
(-1°C) Humidity: 79 % Wind Speed: W 5 MPH Barometer: 29.75" (1008.2 mb) Dewpoint: 24°F (-4°C) Wind Chill: 25°F (-4°C) Visibility: 10.00 mi.

The above airport is again five air miles away.

So results from last evening are good, not great, beating my previous 35-38. I'll have to see if I can tweak anything a tad and eliminate the chill areas without stressing the shock-cords again to achieve my goal of 15 degrees as my bottom temp.

BTW temps in the cocoon, inside between the quilts, was a toasty 75 degrees when I checked it. Not bad all around for the third test!

Oh and Patrick you were right, it does sag around 8 inches from the bottom of the hammock before I crawl in and weight it down.

As many have said before, the learning curve is steep when you first attempt to hammock in the colder weather. Working out the bugs and kinks now is going to make my thru in March be that much more enjoyable than it could have been if I had went in cold and untested and froze to death each night.

TOG

[The Breeze]

sounds like a great setup and alot of trial and work .29 degrees here talk about frost on the pumpkin I fell your pain .keep up the good work and post the resulse I need the learning curve and more .

[Patrick]

TOG, glad that you got your project fixed back up again.

Sounding pretty good. It might not quite be apples to apples because of the different type of insulation, but I've slept comfortably down to 25 with one of mine and would feel fine if the forecast was for the high teens. I sleep a bit warm. Jeff sleeps cold and has estimated comfort for him down to 30 with an absolute low of 20 on his test page.

So far it seems like you're picking a great year to start. This is certainly the warmest winter we've had in quite a while. I used to hike in VA in March most years and there would usually be a night or two in the 18-19 range.

Wind can be a big factor, but from the pictures you sent me, it looked like you had your MacCat set up nice and low, so you've probably got that under control.

Something else to consider is that your body after a day at the office obviously isn't the same as it's going to be out on the trail, tired and maybe hungry or a little dehydrated. Be sure to give yourself a margin of error and to have backup plans.

You must be busting with excitement. I can't wait until I can go.

[Touch of Grey]

Well as I age I find that while I could sleep in shorts and a t-shirt and have a bedroom window cracked open back a few years ago, I am getting to be a wimp in my later days of life. (IE - I find that I am sleeping cold. This could be because I'm not quite as active as I used to be either.)

YES!!! I am busting out of my skin waiting now. I got my teeth taken care of last month, eyes done and a new pair of glasses on the way and just came back this morning from getting a good physical. Doctor thinks I'm nuts but hey he also knows the problems in my family so he is behind it and gave me a clean bill of health.

Oh BTW, last May at TDZ Saturday evening around the campfire I met up with Baltimore Jack and a few others and in talking they nearly had me convinced to begin then and there. I've been retired now for a year and getting FAT.

Anyway, 60 days or there about and with the way time is flying now, that's just as good as tomorrow.

TOG

[Touch of Grey]

Okay everyone, I think I reached my comfort zone limit last night. Went out to the hammock at or near 9 PM local time with temps according to the NWS at 2 to 3 degrees colder than when I came in the morning before after the last test (30 degrees previous low the night before, 27-28 at the time I went out).

I was fine for the first 2 to 3 hours or so and then started to feel cool and then chilled. Nothing I did could make it feel better. I went to bed in the hammock with the KAQ inspired homemade underquilt fitting nicely and better than the night before. Clothing was as follows:

Base Layer - Mid-weight Polypro pants and long sleeve top
200 weight Columbia Polar Fleece pullover top
Smart Wool hiking socks
Balaclava (yes my eyes were the only thing showing to the elements and they hurt from being cold)
200 weight fleece mittens homemade according to Risk's example
WM Sequoia 5 degree bag opened as my overquilt

I could have pulled on my 200 weight polar fleece pants and put on my rain suit as well as another pair of socks but really that was not the object of my own tests. I really wanted to know where my comfort zone ended and survival began. I could not get back to sleep after an hour and was not feeling any better chill wise, so I ditched into the house. Temp according to the NWS was
Detroit City Airport
Last Update on Jan 10, 12:53 am EST

Fair

23°F
(-5°C)

Humidity:

63 %

Wind Speed:

W 5 MPH

Barometer:

30.11" (1020.6 mb)

Dewpoint:

12°F (-11°C)

Wind Chill:

17°F (-8°C)

Visibility:

10.00 mi.

Not bad really if you think about it overall. My wife who works afternoons said that when she came home earlier, roughly 11 PM, that her car thermometer said the temp was 21.

I sent some emails and crawled into my comfy bed only to take another half-hour to feel comfortable there. Just could not feel warm between the covers for that long showing me that I was probably getting close to my threshold before shivering set in while sleeping outside in the hammock. Telling me that I was loosing body heat and slowly becoming hypothermic.

So what did I learn?

Comfort wise I can safely do 28-30 on a regular basis and sleep thru the night getting a good nights sleep. I could go lower but sleep then suffers by waking periodically because of chills.

So, I may have to go to ground and use survival skills I learned many years ago in Boy Scouts and from Military Mountain Survival Training courses. I know how to survive down to 0 degrees for prolonged periods if necessary so that is not an issue. What is at issue for all of us is being able to recognize the limits of our bodies and what we do or do not do.

I've now established a baseline as they say in the business world with which to work from for myself. This will go a long way in two months when I start my thru.

TOG

[Coffee]

Good report. Did you try to add a pad? With my nest I get cold around 35-40 degree. If I add a pad underneath me I am good with the same setup down to 15. With the addition of my hammock sock I could make it even colder. Not sure how low yet. 15 deg was the coldest temp I was able to hang in. Not really that cold this winter in Cincy.

[slowhike]

Good report. Did you try to add a pad? With my nest I get cold around 35-40 degree. If I add a pad underneath me I am good with the same setup down to 15. With the addition of my hammock sock I could make it even colder. Not sure how low yet. 15 deg was the coldest temp I was able to hang in. Not really that cold this winter in Cincy.

yep... i'll bet if you added a pad and/or a sock, you could be toasty at those same temps.