I received a torso length UQ shell from www.underquilts.com and finally got a chance to work on it. I finished it to 52 inches and 9 ounces of 850+ down from WildernessLogics.
I was finishing it off when I noticed the weather report for the night.
As soon as I mentioned that the night's low was projected to be in the lower 20's, Braden (my 10 year old son) knew exactly what he wanted to do; he wanted to camp. I pulled out the tent and that's when he let me know he would be sleeping in the tent alone. Pretty adventurous for a 10 year old to want to brave such low temps alone, even if it is just in the backyard.
Since I wouldn't be staying in the tent, it was up to him to set it up (he's learned from Cub Scouts that's he's old enough to not need an adult to set up camp). With daylight fading and temps already down to 28, he grabbed the tent and headed out to set it up.
I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try out the new UQ. I grabbed the Warbonnet Traveler and a tarp and headed to the yard. Not knowing how the UQ would do, I also grabbed my DIY summer underquilt. I put the summer UQ on first, then the new UQ from underquilts.com. For a TQ, I used my Jacks 'R Better Nest.
My previous low in a hammock was in the 30's. Not knowing what to expect in the low 20's, I boiled some water and put it in a Nalgene and threw it in the hammock before hopping in for the night. It wasn't long before I was sweating. First my jacket came off. Next was my hat, then the top quilt. It was 26 degrees and I was in a long sleeve shirt and pants with just the UQ's and the Nalgene hot water bottle.
About 1:30 AM, I started adding items back. With the TQ and hat back I was toasty warm all night. In the morning I was surprised to see that the temp got down to 19.6 degrees F. A new personal low! I never once felt a cold spot under the UQs. I don't know how the new UQ would have done by itself, but I'm looking forward to another cold night to try it out.
Tarp tensioners were made for nights like this.
For the price and ease of finishing it off, I'm very happy with the new underquilts.com torso length UQ. It fills a gap in my gear nicely.
As for Braden, he was like a little heater in the tent. Despite the low temps, he was sound asleep when I got up in the morning to check on him. He was so warm he didn't want to get up.
Ice on tent.
Down goodness.
A backyard hang? Yes. A new personal low for both me (in a hammock) and my son (in a tent)? Yes. Another shared adventure added to our memory banks. That's what it's all about.
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