I have had an HH hammock for about 5 years now. I do most of my backbacking in the Sierras and right away I needed insulation. I started by using pads but really didn't like those. Half the time they would slide out from underneath me and I would get condensation on their surface. An under quilt seemed like the best solution and now 5 years later I am convinced it is the best way to go by far. I got my idea to make an under quilt from some guy named bluecanoe on the Thruhiker.com website. What makes this under quilt best is that is shaped exactly like the bottom my hammock with me lying in it. In fact that is how it was made. I lay in the hammock while my friend shaped the pattern underneath. Now every commercial under quilt I've seen so far are basically rectangles held in place with some sort of shock cord system that pulls it tight to the bottom. A lot of people complain about voids and cold spots and I can see how that is a problem. The real trick in making the under quilt is by cutting what they call darts into the pattern to allow it to take the shape of the hammock bottom. I have no voids. My under quilt has 11 darts cut out. My friend is a grader for the clothing industry and he has made a computer generated pattern that prints out onto pattern paper with a giant printer he has in his office. So I really had an advantage in making the quilt. Hammocks are the best. I get a better nights sleep then in my bed. Who would have ever thought that. Backpacking and a good nights sleep can go together
I've added pictures. You can see from the first 2 pictures how this quilt holds it shape without shock cords or cinching up anything. The next pictures show how it fits on the hammock with . pillows in it. It fits better with a body in there. the last 3 photos I have tried to show the darts. They are the stitch lines that aren't parallel to the baffle stitch lines. Not easy to make but I did it and I never sewed anything before.
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