My DIY down top quilt

**rb_daniel** · 05-02-2013, 18:11

Thanks for the compliments.

CatSplat, the document I'm referring to is a collection of calculation spreadsheets that's on Google Drive. I think I saw the link for it in Te-Wa's instructions thread, but I'm not sure. It's called "DIY Quilt Calculations," and the owner is listed as Ed Graham V. It's the square taper TQ spreadsheet.

Gnar, I think it took me 6 hours or so. I did it all on Sunday.

**c0wb0y_hubs** · 05-02-2013, 18:19

Great job! The quilts (top and bottom) seem like the hardest of the DIY projects, so kudos to you.

**CampWalker** · 05-02-2013, 22:25

What craftsmanship....

**rb_daniel** · 05-02-2013, 23:07

Thank you. I've now made my hammock, an IX UQ, and now this, and I'm the most proud of this TQ, although I love them all. DIY is the way to go. Totally excited to hang this weekend.

Also, I ran some bungee cord through the channel at the head end with a couple of cord locks, and it really helps the quilt wrap around the shoulders and seal in the heat.

**HappyHiker** · 05-03-2013, 00:37

Nice!

**CatSplat** · 05-05-2013, 22:53

Originally Posted by rb_daniel

CatSplat, the document I'm referring to is a collection of calculation spreadsheets that's on Google Drive. I think I saw the link for it in Te-Wa's instructions thread, but I'm not sure. It's called "DIY Quilt Calculations," and the owner is listed as Ed Graham V. It's the square taper TQ spreadsheet.

Aha, OK, I did an UQ calculator that's also available through Google so I was worried there.

Quilt looks good!

**rb_daniel** · 05-06-2013, 21:52

So I was able to test the TQ out this past Saturday. I volunteered to man a checkpoint for a mountain bike race called the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race (PMBAR). I would normally be racing in this 14 hour event, but just being back to riding again after ACL surgery last summer, I couldn't prepare for it. The forecast was rain, and they weren't kidding. I hung out under my tarp all day in the cold, mist, and rain. After I tightened down the tarp and got cozy, I was immediately warm. The quilts did a great job. But at some point during the night, it started monsooning, and I discovered that my tarp had a slight leak at one of the extra tie-outs, right by my footbox, and my hammock and quilt started getting wet. I had to change my position, and all was well after that.

It rained hard all night, leading to major swelling of creeks and rivers. I couldn't go out the way I came in due to the 12 creek crossings which I did on my bike coming in. Those shin-high crossings were likely to be chest-high. So I had to take the long way back, pushing my bike six miles, with a crazy heavy pack on because I had to pack out the checkpoint equipment and everything was wet. Three hours later, I was finally at my car, soaked and freezing. Thank God for whiskey.