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  1. #1
    Senior Member vampiresmiley's Avatar
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    Ultra Heavyweight Winter Down Quilt Set

    I've aquired two down pillows with 39 oz. of 600+ fill down each (78 oz total) and am starting on design of an ultra heavyweight winter top and bottom quilt set for my hammock. Because this will be used only for winter camping only the overall weight of the final product is not as much of a concern, but I am wondering just how much of the down I should use. Thanks to the great calculators developed by forum members (Meteor and gt7599a quilt spreadsheets) I am able to calculate just about any weight quilts, but I don't really know how that will translate to warmth.

    Has anyone had experience with either DIY or custom made down quilts targeting sub-zero temperatures? And how much down and and at what fill power have you used?
    Last edited by vampiresmiley; 09-29-2012 at 12:12.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Orion X's Avatar
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    I haven't made any sub zero quilts..however I have made quite a few quilts for different temp ranges. The amount of warmth the quilt provides is a product of the amount of loft. The more loft you are seeking equals the amount of down that will be required. The amount of down is then related to the fill power of the down. With that said most quilts that are in the 0° range are around the 4ish inches of loft range. I'm not on my computer now but there is a great thread in the under quilt sub forum that discusses the relationship of loft and warmth quite well. I hope that is of some help.

  3. #3
    Senior Member vampiresmiley's Avatar
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    How much loft for sub-zero temps?

    I can get a fairly good estimate of the loft required for various temps down to 0 degrees, based on the nice variety of quilts from the various cottage makers. However, I'm guessing there probably isn't a larget market for sub-zero quilts as I haven't seen any commercially availible.

    I can calculate the amount of down required based on fill power, but I guess what I really need to know is how much loft will get me the a given temperature? E.g. What temperature range would a 5 inch or 6 inch loft achieve with a 15-20% overfill? Are there any commercially availible quilts with sub-zero ranges?
    Last edited by vampiresmiley; 09-29-2012 at 15:06. Reason: added question about commercially availible quilts.

  4. #4
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
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    I'm no expert with this in any way and there are a number of folks here who hang in sub zero temps and hopefully they'll chime in. One thing you might want to keep in mind is the fill power your using and what that will weigh in the end to achieve sub zero, not so much for the TQ but the UQ. You might need to have extra suspension just to keep it directly under/against you.
    Good luck with your project.

    bill
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  5. #5
    Senior Member stairguy's Avatar
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    Have recently overstuffed my TTTG Polar Pod. Stock polar pod measures 10.5'x7.5' w/30 oz. of 900fp down. I added 20oz. of 850fp. 10 channels,2 oz.over stuff per/channel. This gives me a total of 54 oz.of down,I forgot I ordered the pod with a 2 oz. over stuff. I did this based on Fourdog's 16 oz. overstuff of a Speer Pea Pod. I also added a suspension system to carry the extra weight. I've personally have gone down to a -20 F, using different combinations of 0deg f UQ's, pad's. sleeping bags and TQ's. What I'm working towards is the least fiddle factor necessary. Everything takes longer in the winter.
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  6. #6
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    Just a slightly different thought. Would using 2 UQs be a more flexible option? You should be able to attach a second one to the same points on the hammock. Most UQs give you a range below what you could comfortably sleep. But adding 2 together may not be exactly 1+1=2 it may work out to a 0 degree plus a (I'm assuming Fahrenheit) say 10 degree may get to to minus 10 to 15F. I read some survival guy talking about buying 2 sleeping bags for maximum use, a warmer one and a cooler one, combined they'll keep you warm to very low temps and be a lot cheaper than a single low temp bag.

  7. #7
    Senior Member vampiresmiley's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbiraman View Post
    One thing you might want to keep in mind is the fill power your using and what that will weigh in the end to achieve sub zero, not so much for the TQ but the UQ. You might need to have extra suspension just to keep it directly under/against you.
    Very good point. I had planned on using heavier shock cord, and an additional ridge line support in the middle, but given the weight, I may start with two additional supports. If I start from scratch, I should still have amble time for testing and modification before the temperatures really drop.

    Quote Originally Posted by stairguy View Post
    Have recently overstuffed my TTTG Polar Pod. Stock polar pod measures 10.5'x7.5' w/30 oz. of 900fp down. I added 20oz. of 850fp. 10 channels,2 oz.over stuff per/channel. This gives me a total of 54 oz.of down
    This is good information. For this pod, the equivalent volume of down in only 600 FP would be about 74 oz. I had my eye on better quality down, but since I was able to get 78 oz. of new 600 FP down for only $50, I couldn't resist. For my summer and fall gear, I plan on using smaller amounts of the good stuff.

    Quote Originally Posted by yaddayaddajoe View Post
    Just a slightly different thought. Would using 2 UQs be a more flexible option? You should be able to attach a second one to the same points on the hammock.
    I'd like to have this be just a dedicated winter set, all in one package for convenience and consistency in use. Also, that way I still get to shop for lighter weight gear for backpacking, and everyone knows more is better.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Orion X's Avatar
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    I made it back to my computer and did some rough temp calculations based on using 600fp down..I am no math whiz, but from the quilts iv'e made i have been pretty accurate..
    So for a quilt that is 72L X 52W with 9 baffles and 10% overstuff with 4 inch baffle height with a maximum hight of 4.5 inches.

    The amount of down per chamber would be approximately 3.35 oz per for a total of 30.15 oz of down. This would produce an average loft of around 4.25 inches and approximately -10 to -15ish degree rating based on my calculations.

    As always YMMV, and these calculations are just some quick math based on down density and average loft that would be achieved to calculate the temp rating. I hope that makes sense

  9. #9
    Senior Member vampiresmiley's Avatar
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    Calculator for temperature ranges?

    Thank you for the information, that is helpful, and gets me in the right range. Has anyone made a calculator or chart that approximates temperature ranges for various loft heights? You indicated 4.5 inches of loft with the 10% overstuff might get to -10 or -15. Any experience with loft sizes over that?

  10. #10
    Senior Member Orion X's Avatar
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    What temp range are you looking for? I will be happy to run a few numbers for you Like others mentioned thought your suspension set up will be very important when your talking about these kind of weights for a quilt to keep it snug or you will loose the benefit of the hight amount of loft. I can calculate approximately any loft to temp ratio..how it will perform in the real word however may be another matter. I will be happy to run some more numbers for you like a said, and they you should just go for it that the only way to find out if it's going to work for you. Here in the Middle Ga area and most of my hiking grounds in N GA even in the dead of winter if it gets in the teens it's cold

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