At Trail Days in June I talked with Adam and Jenny of Hammock Gear on making a set of summer quilts for me.
My Question to Adam was... "How light can you make a set?"
We talked about materials and such and came up with a plan
Description of each quilt:
Phoenix 40°-Custom dimensions (45"W x 46"L), 7D material for both shells,
3.5 ounces of 900 goose down, no hardware. no draft collars,
Primary suspension only, no tabs on sides.
Burrow 50°-Custom fabric. 50" tapering down to 40", 7D material,
3.5 ounces of 900 goose down.
7D fabric upgrade-Fabric upgrade for both quilts (8 yards)
As I was leaving the day I got the quilts I had no chance to even pull them out of the sacks, I just weighed each, packed them and hit the road.
The top quilt, which was a sewn through, weighed 9.1 oz.
The bottom quilt, which was baffled, weighed 8.7
WOW being a gram weenie this was great, but would they do the job?
The first time I put the UQ on the hammock was at about 9Pm on the first night out. Simple suspension and even near dark, no problem.
As with all underquilts you need to know how to tension the suspension for a no draft fit.
The top Quilt was a snap and drawcord footbox and wide enough for a good tuck.
During the daylight, a close inspection of both quilts found them to be true works of perfection. Straight sewing, and attention to detail in every area.
Amazing loft for only 3.5 oz of down.
DWR of both top and bottom quilt was great and fog mist and moisture shook right off.
Temps dipped into the 45 degree range more than one night, but with only a light jacket and my long pants I was very comfortable.
After a real good test, about 20 days of use, in every weather, from pouring rain, fog, to pretty darned hot, I can say with a very positive answer.
YES they work, and do it very well.
These were a key part of the reason I only carried about 15 lbs, with 2 days food included, for the 30 days I was on the trail this year.
Thanks Hammock Gear for making great custom gear.
If anyone wants to read the day by day, here is a link to the
Trail Journal
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