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  1. #1
    Senior Member Yakfoot's Avatar
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    Trouble w/ synthetic UQ

    I usually don't sleep in temps below upper 30s and have been using a CCF pad and/or an old leaky Thermarest down to freezing without much trouble. I am not backpacking. Since UQs have been talked up so much I decided to get one...had to be so much better. It is a synthetic from a well know manufacturer rated to freezing. I used it several times last year and don't think I could be more dissatisfied. It is full length and tightens up well on the ends. The sides are snug as well and there seems to be a little air space on the bottom so there don't seem to be any fit problems. However, a puff of breeze cuts through it like a knife. I am not talking about wind, I don't even know that a breeze happened until I go from OK to a cold back in 60 seconds and that would be in upper 40s or low 50s. Once that happens all the warmth has been stripped from the UQ and it takes a while to warm up. Unless another puff comes along, then it is hopeless. It seems like I would need some sort of plastic sheeting wind screen around it to make this thing work. I just went back to pads. Does anyone else have this problem? I can't imagine this company staying in business if other people do.
    "To turn from this increasingly artificial and strangely alien world is to escape from unreality. To return to the timeless world of the mountains, the sea, the forest and the stars is to return to sanity and truth." --Robert Burnham Jr.

  2. #2
    Senior Member mattyg's Avatar
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    My synthetic uq works fine it's only rated to 30 but I haven't had the problem you speak of.try something like a 2qzq underquilt protector

  3. #3
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    This morning, I slept in my DB72, the AH New River 30 UQ and a slepping bag as TQ at about 34F and I was really warm and fine. My wife had to call me to get up....

  4. #4
    Acer's Avatar
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    Sure you got it synched up properly? Do you have any air gaps between the UQ and the hammock? Maybe you need to lay in the hammock or have someone else lay in it as you adjust it and get it snug...and not tightened so tightly that your decompressing it. Normally all quilts work perfect when adjusted right. What hammock are you putting it on?
    2nd CAG, CAP 2-1-5 5th Marines, 1st Mar. Div.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Action_Program

  5. #5
    Senior Member dammfast's Avatar
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    It sounds to me like you need to work out the adjustment on your quilt. There is definitely some fiddle factor when trying to get them snug enough. My first UQ was a PLUQ and I eventually had to have someone else lay in the hammock while I worked on adjusting it. The difference was astonishing. When I finally got the thing adjusted right I could use it down to 40ish degrees, before that I would get cbs by 55degrees. Down give up on it yet let someone else take a look at you setup while you are lying in it or get someone to lay in it while you adjust it. You want it snug up to you butt.
    Dammfast

    “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

    ― Mark Twain

  6. #6
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    I also wonder if there is some problem in your set up, which is a very common thing to hear about with UQs in general.

    Although about all UQs are subject to having the warmth stolen right out of them by wind - which is why I am a long time fan of the ~ wind resistant HH Super Shelter - what you are describing seems a bit extreme. Small breezes getting past your tarp should not cause such big problems, though significant wind certainly will. You must have almost all of the wind blocked with your tarp or a separate UQP, UC or sock type of deal, or your 30F UQ will quickly become a 50F UQ, no matter which brand. Most of these UQs are very breathable, and any significant wind will go right through them. And greater amounts of wind can even compress the 800-900 FP down, less of a problem with synthetic.

    Still, the vast majority of the times that I have slept with UQs or PeaPods of several different brands, synthetic and 800-927 down, I have had no noticeable wind problems with standard tarp set ups and no UQ protectors or socks. Even though I have had problems in some impressive wind which I was failing to block with my tarp! Hard to imagine the nylon shell of this UQ you are using being that much less wind resistant than all the other shells. Which leaves me wondering about your set up or adjustments?

    BTW, are you using a tarp?

  7. #7
    Senior Member Caveman's Avatar
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    I would think that it may be set up wrong. I really have to get my uq tight....lifting my hammock about 12" before I get in.

    Could you take some pics, or a video? Perhaps we may be able to help....or, even better...I'm coming to lost maples this weekend for the group hang. That's just down the road from you. Bring it down and we'll check it out!
    If you ain't havin' fun, you're doin' it wrong

  8. #8
    Senior Member Yakfoot's Avatar
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    PM sent to Caveman re. Lost Maples hang which is news to me.

    My setup is a Hennessy Expedition with a KAQ New River. I use a "15 degree" bag which is really about a 30 degree bag. I have never heard anything bad about any KAQ so that is what I just can't understand. But this business of getting a cold slap in the back just won't do. I am going to try it again tonight, forecast is rain, mid 40s and wind 5-10 and I am in a wooded creek bottom so its pretty sheltered. I am going to triple check seals and report back tomorrow morning. And have my old Thermarest rolled up under the hammock just in case.
    "To turn from this increasingly artificial and strangely alien world is to escape from unreality. To return to the timeless world of the mountains, the sea, the forest and the stars is to return to sanity and truth." --Robert Burnham Jr.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Caveman's Avatar
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    Good luck with the test. Pm replied to with all needed information
    If you ain't havin' fun, you're doin' it wrong

  10. #10
    Acer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yakfoot View Post
    PM sent to Caveman re. Lost Maples hang which is news to me.

    My setup is a Hennessy Expedition with a KAQ New River. I use a "15 degree" bag which is really about a 30 degree bag. I have never heard anything bad about any KAQ so that is what I just can't understand. But this business of getting a cold slap in the back just won't do. I am going to try it again tonight, forecast is rain, mid 40s and wind 5-10 and I am in a wooded creek bottom so its pretty sheltered. I am going to triple check seals and report back tomorrow morning. And have my old Thermarest rolled up under the hammock just in case.
    I have had that quilt you posess on 4 different hammocks with no problem down to 30 degrees in 40mph winds blowing snow and been pure toast with a down quilt of 20 degrees on me. Check your setup out on it,,its one of the best synthetic quilts made. Good luck, but I think you can fiddle with it and get it perfect for you.
    2nd CAG, CAP 2-1-5 5th Marines, 1st Mar. Div.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Action_Program

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