So I've been thinking...

[Annie]

I am just torn between the HH and the Clark, but I think for financial reasons I'll get the HH. Now I have to decide TODAY whether I want the regular or lightweight Asym. I will be doing more car camping than packing, but I will be taking a 1000 km trek next fall from southern to northern Spain and am considering taking this along.

For now, however, I'm gonna freeze if I don't figure out a way to insulate - I am a 55 year old female and my hips and legs get cold easy. But the reality is that I'll more often be in 30 to 40 degree weather and rarely be in freezing, at least for now.

I am torn between buying a down underquilt or the super shelter.

I also had an idea of an "underquilt" made of empty baffles like the Clark has, that you could stuff leaves, gear, or down sacks into.

I looked at the instructions for making a down underquilt and I'm sure i can do it quite easily. I'm a little unclear about the "baffle" instructions. They say to sew them 5 to 9 inches apart and they're only a few inches wide.. won't that leave air space that wll be cold?

Anyway.. I'm rambling.. sorry.. need more coffee.

Thoughts?
Ideas?
Help?
Suggestions?
Tell me what to do so I don't have to make a decision? ::laughing:::

Sorry to keep asking the same questions over and over and over.
A mistake can be spendy with these hammocks!
I'd like to get it right...so I'm trying to think of everything.

[txulrich]

I like the quilts better than the SS (I don't own a SS) just due to the idea of flexability and multiple usage. I have also made a quilt. It's not that difficult, especially if you can sew. There are plenty of instructions about. Unless you can get a discount on materials, don't plan on saving a lot of money. I think I saved about $20 on mine, but it was great time spent with my mom (she sews, I don't). The gray quilt hanging under my HH in my gallery is homemade.

The baffles get sewn from the top to the bottom layers. Then close off one side. Each pocket gets filled with down and the remaining side is sewn closed. Pretty basic stuff.

[te-wa]

Im supposing you are referring to a down filled quilt, with baffles sewn to the shell. If you use a 6" spacing between your baffle material, you can get away with a 1.5" baffle height. Then upon stuffing your down you will aim for a 2" loft and then there will be no dead air-space. I did just that and ended up with a 35° quilt that works perfectly for a top quilt in hammocks. I disagree about savings. I saved a LOOT since my quilt is a clone of the Nunatak Arc Edge. They wanted $283 I think and I paid for $109 for all of the supplies. and still I have 1/2 ounce of down left over. Maybe I'll post my entire down quilt tutorial to answer some of the questions (that I had) for any would be DIY'ers. Im warning you tho... just reading the instructions might lead you to make a quilt, even if you have no previous desire. Yea!
here's a pic of the quilt I made w/ Momentum 90 and nanosee-um with speer's 900 down, shown with footbox closed:

[Mule]

Claytor Hammock Rock. Mule

[Annie]

:::shoots Muleskinner with her waterpistol!::::::

[Coffee]

Get the lightest one that will work for you. I had the hh ultralight and it did the job. I, along with a lot others, use a larger tarp for better weather protection.

[Lost]

I have all three - Down, Synthetic, and Super Shelter. That's also the order of my preference. The underquilts pack a LOT smaller than everything I personally needed to stay warm in the SS. Might like it better in warmer weather when I don't need so much insulation.

I have a HH Explorer delux (netless) and an ENO double nest. I've used the underquilts on both. I prefer my ENO set up, because I am a side sleeper and have a hard time with that in my HH. If you know someone who has different types of hammocks, see if you can try them out.

[tight-wad]

Tell me what to do so I don't have to make a decision? ::laughing:::

Buy the quilt kit (Momentum) from Ayce, thru-hiker.com, pick the colors you like best, add 3 oz of extra down if you expect really, really, cold, follow Hammock Engineer's Red River Gorge instructions, adjusted for your height.

I wanted to buy from Ed, but by the time I added up all the piece parts + shipping, the thru-hiker package was a hands down winner.

You will need to budget plenty of your time to go through all the steps, but the $ savings will be significant, and they aren't that hard, it just takes time.

I don't have a clue about the supershelter except a lot of folk talk about it and use it. It just never fit into my budget.