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  1. #21
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Just Jeff View Post
    So Joker got in trouble we couldn't go camping this weekend,
    Joker in trouble???... surely you jest.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  2. #22
    Senior Member Just Jeff's Avatar
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    Haha - nope, his mouth thinks he's already a teenager...

    It got down to 21 by my thermometer. More details to follow.
    “Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished from the public councils because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” ~Judge Joseph Story

    - My site: http://www.tothewoods.net/
    - Designer, Jeff's Gear Hammock / Pack Cover by JRB

    IMPOSSIBLE JUST TAKES LONGER

  3. #23
    Senior Member Just Jeff's Avatar
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    Details on 22 Dec test...

    Gear:
    - JRB Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock (BMBH)
    - JRB Mt Washington Underquilt (MWUQ) underneath
    - Sierra Designs Wicked Fast 30F sleeping bag + JRB Nest on top
    - Worn: Mtn Hardware fleece beanie, Serius neofleece face mask, Montbell ThermWrap jacket, synthetic T-shirt, silkweight polyester long johns, synthetic hiking shorts, SmartWool socks
    - JRB Gear Hammock Pack Cover hanging on head end for windblock

    Weather:
    - Low temp 21F recorded on Brunton
    - Winds 5-7 mph (weather.com)
    - Humidity ~40% (weather.com)

    My yard was muddy from the recent rains so I set up on the back deck. It's still exposed to the wind on three sides but the house provides a pretty good windblock. I set everything up and went back inside, then went out to bed just before midnight with ~25F temps. Saw a shooting star as I was getting in, then the static lightshow that nylon gives when it's very dry outside. Humidity was the 40% range...pretty low for NC.

    The MWUQ was attached to the BMBH exactly as shown in the instructions. I had hung the BMBH too tightly so I had some gaps when I first got in...I lowered the hammock into the MWUQ and most of the gaps disappeared. I could feel the heat coming back to my torso almost immediately when I laid down. Good stuff.

    I did have some gaps on the sides of my legs, though, and I'll have to play with it to figure out how to fix it. The MWUQ was snug against the hammock along the centerline, so if I laid right down the middle even my legs were warm. The gaps started around my butt and extended to around my ankles. Since I spent most of the night sleeping on my side, kinda leaning against the left wall of the hammock, I had to adjust my legs to the warm part of the insulation.

    Still, I slept pretty well to the low of 21F. I woke up a few times but it wasn't b/c of cold legs. My wake-ups were b/c I was sweating inside the sleeping bag. I even tried to dress lightly, with no thermal top on under the ThermaWrap like I usually wear. Since I was zipped into the sleeping bag with the Nest on top, I had to unzip and fold the Nest down off my torso to vent. Little bit of a hassle, which makes me very excited to see how the MWUQ will perform as a top quilt. (I currently don't have a winter-worthy down sleeping bag or quilt except for the MWUQ.)

    Remaining items to test:
    - Measure the loft while the hammock is occupied.
    - Fix the gaps on the sides of my legs when used on the BMBH. I'll start by loosening the end drawstring next time.
    - Test for performance on HH, homemade Speer-types, and Warbonnets.
    - Test for performance as a top quilt. This will be the narrowest top quilt I've used but that may be ok in a hammock.
    - And of course find the low temp...my torso was toasty so if I can get the leg issues worked out I predict it'll be true to 10F for me, and I sleep pretty warm. Might be good to 0F for others.

    Can't wait to try it out at Mt Rogers!! If I can make both nights I'll do one as an underquilt and another as a top quilt.
    “Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished from the public councils because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” ~Judge Joseph Story

    - My site: http://www.tothewoods.net/
    - Designer, Jeff's Gear Hammock / Pack Cover by JRB

    IMPOSSIBLE JUST TAKES LONGER

  4. #24
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Just Jeff View Post
    Details on 22 Dec test...

    Gear:
    - JRB Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock (BMBH)
    - JRB Mt Washington Underquilt (MWUQ) underneath
    - Sierra Designs Wicked Fast 30F sleeping bag + JRB Nest on top
    - Worn: Mtn Hardware fleece beanie, Serius neofleece face mask, Montbell ThermWrap jacket, synthetic T-shirt, silkweight polyester long johns, synthetic hiking shorts, SmartWool socks
    - JRB Gear Hammock Pack Cover hanging on head end for windblock

    Weather:
    - Low temp 21F recorded on Brunton
    - Winds 5-7 mph (weather.com)
    - Humidity ~40% (weather.com)

    My yard was muddy from the recent rains so I set up on the back deck. It's still exposed to the wind on three sides but the house provides a pretty good windblock. I set everything up and went back inside, then went out to bed just before midnight with ~25F temps. Saw a shooting star as I was getting in, then the static lightshow that nylon gives when it's very dry outside. Humidity was the 40% range...pretty low for NC.

    The MWUQ was attached to the BMBH exactly as shown in the instructions. I had hung the BMBH too tightly so I had some gaps when I first got in...I lowered the hammock into the MWUQ and most of the gaps disappeared. I could feel the heat coming back to my torso almost immediately when I laid down. Good stuff.

    I did have some gaps on the sides of my legs, though, and I'll have to play with it to figure out how to fix it. The MWUQ was snug against the hammock along the centerline, so if I laid right down the middle even my legs were warm. The gaps started around my butt and extended to around my ankles. Since I spent most of the night sleeping on my side, kinda leaning against the left wall of the hammock, I had to adjust my legs to the warm part of the insulation.

    Still, I slept pretty well to the low of 21F. I woke up a few times but it wasn't b/c of cold legs. My wake-ups were b/c I was sweating inside the sleeping bag. I even tried to dress lightly, with no thermal top on under the ThermaWrap like I usually wear. Since I was zipped into the sleeping bag with the Nest on top, I had to unzip and fold the Nest down off my torso to vent. Little bit of a hassle, which makes me very excited to see how the MWUQ will perform as a top quilt. (I currently don't have a winter-worthy down sleeping bag or quilt except for the MWUQ.)

    Remaining items to test:
    - Measure the loft while the hammock is occupied.
    - Fix the gaps on the sides of my legs when used on the BMBH. I'll start by loosening the end drawstring next time.
    - Test for performance on HH, homemade Speer-types, and Warbonnets.
    - Test for performance as a top quilt. This will be the narrowest top quilt I've used but that may be ok in a hammock.
    - And of course find the low temp...my torso was toasty so if I can get the leg issues worked out I predict it'll be true to 10F for me, and I sleep pretty warm. Might be good to 0F for others.

    Can't wait to try it out at Mt Rogers!! If I can make both nights I'll do one as an underquilt and another as a top quilt.
    Good report. I am working on many of the same issues, mostly having to do with the legs, and mostly with gathered end. Still, I was warm enough at 18* and lots of wind with the gathered end BB, But I just know things can be improved on the foot end for even more warmth.

    In the BMBH, I think my feet/lower legs were a bit cool ( compared to toasty back) on one trial. I think ( not certain) I tightened up the foot a tad and things were much better, resulting in a toasty nap. But, I have no way of knowing what is going on contact vs. gap wise under my legs in the BMBH. And there is none as far as I can tell. If I sit up and try to look, the weight shifting kind of invalidates things. But in a gathered end, I can lean out to the side and see some gaps at the foot end, and sometimes an opening at the very end. But maybe even then shifting my weight that way is messing things up?

    Maybe soon I can get an adult willing to work with me in the back yard as we try different adjustments in different hammocks.

    I have not so far had any trouble keeping warm, but I feel if these things are not optimized I won't be able to reach the rated temps.

  5. #25
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    I have been experimenting with added grip clips and shock cord over the ridgeline of the Blackbird, about 1 foot further towards the middle than the original ( and in addition to) JRB suspension. First impression is that this seems to really help with pulling the section beneath and to the left of my legs up into contact with my legs. Though I'm not sure in what way it effects, if at all, the foot end closure. I think it is going to make it easier to reach this quilts potential, at least in the legs.

  6. #26
    Senior Member Just Jeff's Avatar
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    WOOHOO!! Cold fronts are awesome!! Snuck in another test of the MWUQ and updated the page.
    http://www.tothewoods.net/GearTestJRBMWUQ.html

    Weather:
    - Low temp 11F recorded on the Brunton
    - Winds 3-5 mph (weather.com)
    - Humidity ~20% (weather.com)

    Gear:
    - Hennessy Hammock Explorer Ultralight
    - JRB Mt Washington Underquilt (MWUQ) underneath
    - Wiggys 0F mummy bag as top quilt
    - Worn: Mtn Hardware fleece beanie over a Blackhawk balaclava, 300wt fleece sweatshirt over a cotton T-shirt, 200wt fleece pants, thick hiking socks, 200wt fleece gloves

    We finally got a good cold front that put the MWUQ to the test! I had just flown in from D.C. Friday morning (where it was 9F at takeoff) so I couldn't rightly sleep outside Friday night without making my wife mad (I only have a few priorities above hammocks, but that's one of them!), so I slipped out of bed before sunrise Saturday to set up the hammock on the back porch. Definitely a successful test...over the next few hours, the MWUQ kept me warm to a measured low of 11F. Details below...

    I connected the MWUQ suspension lines as described in the directions, and I used the mid-point suspension JRB adds to their quilts now. These seemed to really help the underquilt's fit underneath my knees, but I still got some gaps along the sides of my legs. This was barely an issue in the 20s because my bag provided enough insulation, but as the temps got closer to 11F I had to put a travel pillow on that spot to stay comfortable. Of note, I didn't use the HH side tie-outs and this may eliminate these cold spots.

    I had another issue that side tie-outs would have helped. The MWUQ is narrower than other underquilts I've used so it needs more attention to make sure I stay on the quilt. As I moved around in the hammock the MWUQ would slide towards the right enough that my back wasn't protected by the MWUQ when I laid on my right side. I had to reach out of my bag and slide the MWUQ to the left to stay warm. Using the side tie-outs would keep the MWUQ aligned so this isn't an issue...I'm just not used to using them so this might take some change in my hiking style. (As I think about it, I wonder if I had the mid-point tie-outs too tight and that caused the MWUQ to slip over to one side. Next time I'll try loosening them a bit to see if the MWUQ still lists to one side.)

    Right around the low temp, I got some cold butt syndrome (CBS). It wasn't cold enough to get me out of the hammock for adjustments, but I think eliminating the leg gaps would have helped with the CBS. Climbing inside the sleeping bag might have been enough to make it comfortable.

    One problem - after about 3 uses one of the micro-biners stopped closing all the way. I've had this problem before with similar micro-biners that I got from Walmart. I've been able to fix it but it's a little bit of a hassle in the field. This is why I like the wire-gated micro-biners better.

    So based on this test, I think JRB's 0-10F rating is probably accurate. I usually sleep cold so I predicted that the MWUQ would be good to ~10F for me. If I can fix the leg gap issue and pick wind-protected sites, I think I can be comfortable to 10F and acceptable to 0F.

    Remaining items to test:
    - Next time I use the MWUQ with the HH, I'll use the side tie-outs and not tighten the mid-point suspension so much. I think this will fix the gaps on the sides of my legs.
    - Test for performance as a top quilt. This will be the narrowest top quilt I've used but that may be ok in a hammock.
    - Measure the loft while the hammock is occupied.
    “Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished from the public councils because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” ~Judge Joseph Story

    - My site: http://www.tothewoods.net/
    - Designer, Jeff's Gear Hammock / Pack Cover by JRB

    IMPOSSIBLE JUST TAKES LONGER

  7. #27
    Senior Member
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    Right sliding MtWashington

    Jeff, similar right sliding of the MWUQ on the Blackbird. Seems only to happen when I first climb into the BB. Just need to remember to do a quick check and reposition once in the BB. No side tie outs used. Maybe just a quirk with asymmetric hammocks? Found the microbiners to be sometimes unreliable regarding durability. Have switched over the the #1 Nitez(?sp) mini biners. The ones rated for only a #5 load. Bit more $s but just as light. Hopefully more durable.
    Noel V.

  8. #28
    Senior Member Just Jeff's Avatar
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    I noticed my half-underquilt sliding right on my Warbonnet El Dorado as well...I just figured it was that big side wall or something but maybe it is something with asym hammocks. Never happened with the other JRB quilts, though...I think I can fix it like I posted above. I'll report back on it after Mt Rogers.
    “Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished from the public councils because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” ~Judge Joseph Story

    - My site: http://www.tothewoods.net/
    - Designer, Jeff's Gear Hammock / Pack Cover by JRB

    IMPOSSIBLE JUST TAKES LONGER

  9. #29
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    i think it's more noticeable with narrow quilts, the quilt wants to sit centered on the hammock, while your torso (in diagonal position) is shifted over to the side, for even coverage, the uq needs to ride to the left, when it wants to ride centered. with my uq's, i just have to pull it left after i stop moveing around.

  10. #30
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Great report, Jeff. I have not been able to test on our one 11* night! At warmer temps(20s), I have not noticed the leg gap issues that you did with the BMBH. But, I have been using my grip clip/shock cord cheater at about calf level, maybe that helps? Or maybe I have just found the correct tension. But I just felt there might be a potential problem with my heavier torso pushing down on the torso end of the quilt( snug fit) causing the quilt foot end to drop a similar amount. But with my not as heavy legs not pushing the hammock down to snug up against the quilt on the foot end. I don't know if I even need this, but your "gap" experience makes me think maybe so. Anyway, it is almost weightless and doesn't seem to hurt anything. I am also thinking of adding another pair of grip clips about lower mid-level to get a tighter seal along the edges. I don't know if this would actually make any dif, but I don't think it would hurt.

    But in my WBBB, the grip clip cheater over the RL seemed to be a major help with a gap on the left side of my legs. Just a little extra suspension support where it is most needed. Maybe with practice I can figure out how to hang it where I don't need any cheater. But what the the heck, again, it weighs nothing and is easy to do.

    Whatever, practice makes perfect. As it stands, my most comfortable cold weather lounging yet has been in the BMBH/MWUQ, with my Golight 20* quilt. On either side or partly on my side or flat on my back, it has been great. I have had some great experiences with my other gear, and each set up has it's pros and cons. But this has been the most comfortable, which is saying a lot. A particular pleasure is having each body part covered no matter how I move. For ex, if I am on my side ( or back) with my hand under my pillow and my arms or elbow above my head on either side, I am still on an insulated spot. Same for my feet no matter how I move them. This is a really good set up.

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