Wool top quilts

[guySmiley]

I need a top quilt, and I'm just going over my options. A really good wool quilt is just as expensive (case in point) so there's not any benefit there.

I, as a basic thing prefer natural fabrics, but not to the point of extreme. Sometime synthetics are just the way to go, especially where camping is concerned.

Have you ever tried/considered trying a wool top quilt in the hammock?

I know there would be a considerable weight penalty, especially compared to down/silnylon quilt, but there are some advantages too.

• Wool retains much of it's insulating characteristics even while wet, which I think could be beneficial in the case of condensation, or just a really humid environment.
• Compression would not be a problem.
• It tends to not retain odors.

It's seems unlikely that I'll go this route, considering that quilt that I linked to would weigh more than my pack, the hammock, my cooking gear, and 2 days worth of food, but if I'm still somewhere around 30 lbs., it seems like a viable option.

[Rushthezeppelin]

I do know somewhere in the processing of wool there is a stage where teh wool is in a down stage and it's fairly light in this stage. I wonder if it could be used as a filled insulation in that way.

[guySmiley]

I do know somewhere in the processing of wool there is a stage where teh wool is in a down stage and it's fairly light in this stage. I wonder if it could be used as a filled insulation in that way.

I didn't know that. That makes me even more interested.

[Rushthezeppelin]

I didn't know that. That makes me even more interested.

Ya I was watching one of those "How do they make it" shows and they went through the processing of wool.

[Shug]

Use what ya' got if you can hump the load. Wool is warm.
I still use my down sleeping bags in quilt mode and once in a while actually zip 'em up and snooze away in total warmth.
Do what you need and add gear as you explore this world of hammocks......

[Ramblinrev]

Having processed a fleece... or rather had on processed for my wife I don't see this a feasible. Wool is washed and then carded. When carded it is picked apart and seperated in fibers instead of mats. But it is not really workable in that stage. It would need to be processed further to help stabize the structure of the fiber. The next step is either rolling or batting. When rolled it is shaped in dreadlocks (or what looks like dreads. Batting is making a sheet of wool so to speak. The rolls are spun into thread and the batting is used for felting.

The carded wool would reduce to matts and lumps too easily.

[Rushthezeppelin]

TY for clearing that up Rev.

[warbonnetguy]

they say that's the problem with using loose short staple poly fiber as a down replacement (or why they don't) because it clumps together very easily.

[MacEntyre]

I also prefer natural fibers. Being tighter than a crab shell (which is water tight) I eschew goose down, and choose synthetic quilts.

I like to use wool outer and silk under garments, both of which I wear to sleep in my hammock. A wool blanket might make sense as raw material for a DIY coat, but not as a quilt replacement.

[E.A.Y.]

Having processed a fleece... or rather had on processed for my wife I don't see this a feasible. Wool is washed and then carded. When carded it is picked apart and seperated in fibers instead of mats. But it is not really workable in that stage. It would need to be processed further to help stabize the structure of the fiber. The next step is either rolling or batting. When rolled it is shaped in dreadlocks (or what looks like dreads. Batting is making a sheet of wool so to speak.

Well, I don't know about that.
I think the processing depends on the ultimate use of the wool.
I had a 40 year old fleece (long story, don't ask) made into two batts. One a twin size and one lap quilt size. I don't recall them being very heavy, but I was not thinking of backpacking with them
Both batts were encased in a coarse lightweight mesh and the twin batt was used for about three years as a supplemental mattress pad. It has compressed quite a bit compared to the unused quilt - sized batt.
The fleece was processed up in Frankenmuth in MI specifically into mattress pads.
I have also made quilts with wool (instead of cotton batting) These are baby quilts, not hammocking quilts
The wool batting sold in quilting stores is very warm and retains its loft very well - and can be machine washed. Saw a much used one year old baby quilt I made and it's held up well, by all reports.
I've been thinking of trying a camping quilt with wool batting.
Have not done anything about it.
The quilting batting is much more uniform thickness but also thinner then the processed fleece.