First shot at a down UQ

**GaHammockGuy** · 07-01-2011, 13:15

I have been DIYing for a while in the hammock arena. I have always tried to figure out a way to do it myself before I end up calling "the guy" growing up so when it was time to make my own camping gear, I just jumped right in with scissors in hand.

This is no different. A camping buddy of mine made us each one but I didn't like the way he approached the project.

He took a down comforter and split it down the middle. Then sewed up the holes and attached some ripstop to the outside and sewed in some channels. it worked but was a bit bulky and heavy.

So I decided to make my own.

I took the UQ that he made and first cut off the ripstop.
Then I sewed in a line of stitching along ghe border of each of the squares about a half inch away from the original square.

I then started cutting.

With no fans blowing, I cut out each square between the stitch that I made and the original stitch. (pictures one and two.)

I carefully emptied the down into a plastic trash bag and then turned the square inside out to get as much of the down as I could.(pic three)

I ended up with about a bag and a half of down. (Pic 4) Now I am no down expert but I could tell this was not top-quality down. After my buddy only paid $10 for the queen comforter on E-bay.

So then I sewed in a couple of deep channels on each end and some channels on the side.

my next step is to lay it out as I did in the remainder of the pics and obtain as much even distribution of the down as possible and sew in three columns of three rows for my squares.

Update and more pics to come.

Removing the down was easier and not as messy as I thought it would be. I recommend turning off all air movers and move slowly to transfer the down from one area to the next. I do not have a clean ShopVac as I have read some folks use so I opted for the manual removal of said down.

Needless to say I am hooked on DIY! and it weighs in at 28 3/8oz or 804 gms

How is that for weight? Is that okay or should I shoot from something lighter?

**Catavarie** · 07-02-2011, 02:26

That sounds very heavy to me. What are the finished dimensions of the UQ? Length, Width, Amount of loft? It appears to be about 48" in width maybe about 2" of loft? Assuming it is 48"W and 60"L with 2"loft (also summing 1.9 Ripstop) then the "down" would be around the 288fill variety roughly.

Where as filling it with:

600fp = 19.92 oz
700fp = 18.3 oz
800fp = 17.1 oz
900fp = 16.1 oz

These figures include 20% overfill of down to help decrease CBS and shifting of down, which isn't really a problem with the square baffling you have here, so it's not neccessary to do it.

By assuming the ripstop is 1.9 and the overall dimensions of the UQ I figured that the weight of the fabric alone is 8.4 oz.

Formula for figuring amount of insulation you need/what you have your hands on is:

(Length*Width*Loft/fp)+Overfill%

Example:
(60*48*2/600)+20%
(5760/600)+20%
9.6+20%
11.52oz of down

You can decide if it is worth while for you to replace the down with higher quality stuff to cut your weight by nearly half. I know a good number of people love hammockgear.com down prices and quality, and I haven't seen much that beats it myself either.

**G.L.P.** · 07-02-2011, 08:21

yeah we need more info to tell you if your finished weight is good....
L and W and H are key ...

**G.L.P.** · 07-02-2011, 08:21

Originally Posted by Catavarie

That sounds very heavy to me. What are the finished dimensions of the UQ? Length, Width, Amount of loft? It appears to be about 48" in width maybe about 2" of loft? Assuming it is 48"W and 60"L with 2"loft (also summing 1.9 Ripstop) then the "down" would be around the 288fill variety roughly.

Where as filling it with:

600fp = 19.92 oz
700fp = 18.3 oz
800fp = 17.1 oz
900fp = 16.1 oz

These figures include 20% overfill of down to help decrease CBS and shifting of down, which isn't really a problem with the square baffling you have here, so it's not neccessary to do it.

By assuming the ripstop is 1.9 and the overall dimensions of the UQ I figured that the weight of the fabric alone is 8.4 oz.

Formula for figuring amount of insulation you need/what you have your hands on is:

(Length*Width*Loft/fp)+Overfill%

Example:
(60*48*2/600)+20%
(5760/600)+20%
9.6+20%
11.52oz of down

You can decide if it is worth while for you to replace the down with higher quality stuff to cut your weight by nearly half. I know a good number of people love hammockgear.com down prices and quality, and I haven't seen much that beats it myself either.

your as bad as me with the math LOL

**traftonm** · 07-02-2011, 10:46

Keep trying and have fun, In time you should be able to do an UQ for 20* that weighs about 18 to 20 oz. or less depending on the size you settel on.

**GaHammockGuy** · 07-05-2011, 10:21

The final dimensions are:

4' x 4' 9 and approx. 1 1/2 - 2" of fluff in each square.
Weight of the UQ alone (no stuff sac or draw chords is 1lb 10.5oz

And I am fairly certain that the ripstop is NOT 1.9oz. I have made hammocks out 1.9 and this stuff is much thinner than 1.9 but heavier than parachute material.

My guess is .... wait I just remembered.... I bought the fabric from here so I now know it is 1.5 ripstop:

I hope this helps with the need to know more information question.

**JohnSawyer** · 07-05-2011, 16:36

I've similarly disassembled a less-than awesome quality quilt. I think the key here is that you mentioned that is was LESS messy than he thought... Good quality down is MORE messy than anybody ever first thought...

The quilt I dissassembled was mostly feathers, making working with it easy, but loft very low. I'd bet what I had was 400FP or less. I don't doubt the 28+ ounces...

That said, if your quilt works out, you can upgrade it anytime by changing out the down with some good 800 or 900FP! You'd probably cut the weight in half...

John

**TacticalAnt** · 07-05-2011, 21:22

So is this rating of "fp" (fill ???), is it something that should be found on the label on a quilt or sleeping bag? I recently got a good deal on a 0* rated Eddie Bauer sleeping bag, in hopes to make a UQ, but its REALLY heavy. Unfortunately, the tag is missing.

**JohnSawyer** · 07-06-2011, 00:59

Originally Posted by TacticalAnt

So is this rating of "fp" (fill ???), is it something that should be found on the label on a quilt or sleeping bag? I recently got a good deal on a 0* rated Eddie Bauer sleeping bag, in hopes to make a UQ, but its REALLY heavy. Unfortunately, the tag is missing.

Fill Power: #of cubic inches 1 ounce of a down will fill. Typical to find 600 in sleeping bags, etc. really good stuff is 900. The higher the FP, the smaller the article will ultimately compress, too...