quilt question

[BEAS]

I am a bit confused about the underquilt method of insulation. I have a hhulbp and need something for the bottom side. The supershelter is my first thougt but I see that some use underquilts. Doesn't that take a large amount of space in your packs? I am already some what strapped for space now. I am section hiking the A.T and go for 10 day walks with no resupply. I need some extra insulation. Last year I put my pad in the hammock which was fine for the first 2 nights both sub freezing. But the remainder of the nights I sweated on the pad when it got to the 40's. I carry the pad on the outside but want to nix that thing. ( I have post about the Smokey Mt section running right now also).
How much space does the supershelter take up vs the underquilt?

BEAS

[angrysparrow]

Most of the commercially available underquilts are filled with down, so they compress tremendously - far smaller than pads in many cases.

[Buckeyebuck]

How much space does the supershelter take up vs the underquilt?

BEAS

I have the under portion of the SuperShelter (SS - hammock liner and foam insulation. The liner does not take up much space and fits into the snake skins though it can be tight if I don't roll the system as I'm sliding the skins on.

The foam is what takes up the space, though it's not horrible, it is about the size of 1.5 - 2 Nalgene bottles in volume, in my estimation.

My opinion only: a good down underquilt will pack smaller and do a better job insulating, but that is only based on my observation of a friend's down UQ.

My homemade Kickass Quilt will not stuff smaller than my SS. I've not used it yet, but I expect it to be a better insulator assuming I get it tensioned properly. Based on this, I ultimately expect to make a down UQ and just use the SS during warmer conditions.

b

[warbonnetguy]

you have to take into account the warmth that the insulation provides. for the warmest and lightest, ideally you would make yourself a torso sized down uq and have a thin foam sit pad under your legs or use existing items from your pack to insulate your legs. a pad for your legs only, can be alot narrower, shorter and thinner than the pad you used before. such a pad can easily be straped to the outside of your pack and still maintain a very low profile. i can see a setup like this achieving sub freezing range at well under 20 oz. with the down torso uq packing very small, and the thin ccf going on the outside of the pack, thus taking up no internal space.

[lori]

My two JRB quilts (one for top, one underquilt) take about the same space as one cheap synthetic summer bag, and probably less space than a winter bag. Each packs to about the same size as a grapefruit and I can tuck clothing items in around the packed quilts in the bottom of my pack. These are three season quilts, not the bigger winter quilts.