DIY: 5oz Apex/Argon TQ

[dangerous]

I was so excited with how my top quilt came out I just had to share it. I’ve made a simple sewn foot box top quilt once before, but this time I wanted a little more flexibility. I went with 5oz Apex from Thru Hiker and Argon from Dutch. It measure 45X75(tapered to 35 at the foot box) and weights 19.3oz. It should be rated down to 25-30 degrees.


I sewed in a small flap of fabric that I’m calling a "summer foot box". This way when I’m using the quilt opened flat and I have my legs stuck out the side. I can slide my feet down to the bottom and hook the "summer foot box" to keep the quilt over me.


In traditional TQ mode there is an 22" zippered foot box with a drawstring cinch. Let me tell you that sewing in the zippers was pretty hard, but it came out exactly the way I wanted.






The top of the quilt has grossgrain tabs with snaps and a shock cord drawstring to cinch up around my neck/shoulders.





This quilt fits perfect and I’m hoping that it will be a very useful year round quilt.

[kerryandjane]

Top job!
Your many hours of sewing looks like it paid off.
The summer flap is a great little idea too.

How many yards of the 5.0 Climashield Apex did you need for this? Did you have to quilt the Climashield?
For some reason the last picture reminds me of the seen of the rich kid in Willie Wonka's factory. (Colour is like the golden goose egg.)

[Steelwolf]

Great looking TQ. Do you have a pic of it packed down? What was your total costs?

[dangerous]

Top job!
Your many hours of sewing looks like it paid off.
The summer flap is a great little idea too.

How many yards of the 5.0 Climashield Apex did you need for this? Did you have to quilt the Climashield?
For some reason the last picture reminds me of the seen of the rich kid in Willie Wonka's factory. (Colour is like the golden goose egg.)

I used little over 2 yards of CS Apex and I only sewed it down around the perimeter. So far this method has worked great on my summer weight TQ/UQ.

Great looking TQ. Do you have a pic of it packed down? What was your total costs?

\

I don't have a pic of it packed. I don't use stuff sacks, I just shove my quilts down to the bottom of my pack and pack everything else on top. I did try a stuff sack that I have and it packed to about the size of a two liter soda bottle. Material cost was around $90, could have been lower but I wanted to get the best materials I could.

[XTrekker]

It looks great...Very lightweight too. Good job..

One thing that concerns me is the zipper against the hammock material...I would be afraid that it could snag or cause the hammock fabric to rip.

[chickenwing]

Beautiful work. I really like the colors. The summer foot box is a fantastic idea.

[Bec]

Great job and pics. Yep, I think you will enjoy that one.

[dangerous]

UPDATE: well I just spent the last three hours hanging in my new bridge hammock (thanks Miyanc for the trade) @ 29 degrees with this TQ and was perfectly toasty warm. It's also just big enough to pull completly over my head which is kinda nice to keep my face warmer. I made a matching under quilt yesterday and it was holding its own but I did have to add a small piece of relectix under my lower back. I"m really happy with how these quilts came out and can't wait to get some real woods time with them.

[Scoot]

Looks great. Would you mind posting details on your underquilt? I'm looking to do the same. How much did the UQ end up weighing and what dimensions did you make it?

[dangerous]

Looks great. Would you mind posting details on your underquilt? I'm looking to do the same. How much did the UQ end up weighing and what dimensions did you make it?

The underquilt is 44x75 with the the outer shell being oversized by about an inch to help retain loft. Weighs 21-5 oz. All four sides have grosgrain channels and shock cord suspension. I also added draft colars help get the most out of it I could. In planning the next one i'm probably gonna go a little bit more narrow to fit the bridge body and save weight.