No More UQ

[GaHammockGuy]

OKay, I have used an Under Quilt in the past, but in March I went to Springer Mtn. and the weather was to be nice, but we found out (not soon enough) that some cold weather was to move in at night and we were concerned since we didnt pack our UQs. So we had to improvise.

My buddy used an extra tarp ($5 blue tarp from WM) and I Used my ground cloth (4x8 old tent floor) we rigged them just like an UQ and with my winter tarp that hangs down almost to the floor, I was toasty in my bag.

My watch hung on the ridge-line of the hammock and registered 26* at around 0230 which told me that it may have been between 15 and 20* outside.

Sometime in the night we had a fog bank roll in and at that elevation in 15* weather with wind (10-15mph) we woke up to a winter wonderland. There were ice crystals everywhere. (video on YouTube)

In my hammock it was 26 but in my sleeping bag, it was 70* so I feel that the ground cloth acted as a wind barrier along with my rain fly blocking most of the wind.

So I don't see the need for an UQ. Now in the interest of full disclosure I do use an inflatable air mattress under my sleeping bag and a blue foam pad (custom cut to my frame) inside my bag.

So, I don't think I need to extra weight or space.

Do those that do use an UQ...

...sleep on an air mattress or foam pad?
...sleep directly on the hammock fabric?

[Mountain Gout]

For me.. The beauty of an uq is being able to lay with nothing else under you to ruin the comfort.. Also the pads and such with condensation wasn't for me..
Just somethin about that toasty heat coming from the uq....

[angrysparrow]

Do those that do use an UQ...

...sleep on an air mattress or foam pad?
...sleep directly on the hammock fabric?

Directly on the hammock fabric, no mattresses or pads required.

So, I don't think I need the extra weight or space.

That's how many of us feel about pads.

It doesn't make sense to use both. Either an underquilt or a pad system can work, it's just personal preference.

I much prefer the underquilt option for hammocks.

[Raul Perez]

Ditto with AngrySparrow

[ChrisH]

As the others above have said, you lay directly on the hammock fabric when using an UQ. In the case of my DJ, the fabric is very soft and comfy! I gave up on pads the first time I tried one, there's just no comparison to a good UQ! My .02

[ShadowAlpha]

Ditto with AngrySparrow

I'm with the gansta Monkey

[dragon360]

Straight on the hammock. To me, both would be overkill.

[Eliteoomph]

Convert 2010 you are right on... Myself and another member in this forum are actually working on a concept that is sort of similar to the Clark Jungle Hammock as far as their velcro pocket/insulation bottom layer goes. It basically has to do with a separate layer below your hammock that is extended down several inches and traps dead airspace. I was in New Zealand a couple of weeks ago and slept in a clark nx-200 with nothing more then my sleeping bad. I put a few items in the velcro pockets area below me to extend this fabric area downward... It successfully trapped the dead air and I was warm all night even while in below freezing temps and a pretty strong cold wind roaring over the saddle.

My thoughts are if you can engineer something that works just as well as an UQ but takes up less space and less weight, then why not.

[ChrisH]

.My thoughts are if you can engineer something that works just as well as an UQ but takes up less space and less weight, then why not.

Because it's probably been tried a few times already. Search around, there's not many things people haven't tried to do around here. I'm not saying that it will or won't work but you might wanna see what other folks did/didn't do. My feeling is....if there was something better than an UQ it would already be in use. If you get good results then please let us know, I would love to hear of another way to stay warm in the hammock!

[Eliteoomph]

Because it's probably been tried a few times already. Search around, there's not many things people haven't tried to do around here. I'm not saying that it will or won't work but you might wanna see what other folks did/didn't do. My feeling is....if there was something better than an UQ it would already be in use. If you get good results then please let us know, I would love to hear of another way to stay warm in the hammock!

oh I know it works from experience in the Clark nx-200 as far as a little below freezing goes anyway... I am just trying to figure out the new design concept as I do not want to COPY Clark's exact design on this... of course I would have a weathershield system on top of me in place also... like the CJH has ;o)

The basic principle goes sort of like this.

Your body gives off heat underneath you which passes through your breathable layer of fabric. Without anything at all the cold air makes contact with your bottom layer and your body heat steadily escapes.

An UQ helps to hold in the warmth through insulation.

The Clark design and the design I would like to try and emulate works off the principle I talked about above. Your bodyheat is released below you and is reflected back up by a non breathable layer. (this is also effective with breathable layers, but I want to work with different fabrics to see what gets the best results) This dead air chamber essentially locks in the heat without a need for insulation. It is the same principle as any other way of reflective heating and why something as cheap and simple as a super thin space blanket can save your life. There is a lot of fine tuning that has to be done and testing to see just how cold of weather this method will endure. But, as of right now I KNOW from experience I was quite toasty at below freezing temps.