Stacking Down and Synthetic Quilts Together

[Wraith6761]

I've got a 20* UGQ Zeppelin, and a 4-season (10-15*?) AHE New River. I'm going out to the Mt Rogers winter hang this upcoming weekend, which has been known to get into the negatives at nighttime (it's already hit -7 out there this year). I'm figuring that by stacking my underquilts, I should be fine, but that raises the question: which order should I stack them in? Both quilts are full-length, so I shouldn't have to worry about creating air gaps, I'm just mainly concerned with down compression. Should the down quilt be next to the hammock body and the synthetic be on the outside? Will that compress the down so much that it can't perform as it should? Or should I just put the synthetic quilt next to the hammock body and the down outside of that?

[SilvrSurfr]

Down on the outside - no brainer - don't even mess with down compression.

[Keep Calm And Hike On]

I agree with silvrsurfr. I use primaloft and down together in two of my quilts the primaloft is always againinst the hammock with the down on the outside. I find it works out great that way. I also use insultex in my 4 season along with down and the primaloft. It works great. I need to get outside now that it's getting really cold here in Jersey and try it out again.

Ryan
www.keepcalmandhikeon.com

[Otter1]

To limit down compression, keep the down outside.

Where synthetic needs to be outside is for moisture management.

[Wraith6761]

Ok, that's what I was thinking but I wasn't sure for some reason...thanks for all the replies

[hutzelbein]

Well, there is another school of thought that says synthetic on the outside helps to keep the down free from condensation (http://thunderinthenight.blogspot.de/2011/04/thunder-on-tundra-gear-sleep-system.html). At home, I have 2 down underquilts stacked, and I actually like the feel. Yes, the inner down underquilt probably is a bit compressed (it depends on how tight you pull the outer underquilt), but it also closes all the little gaps I have when only using one underquilt. I feel warmer this way. Maybe try it both ways and see which way gives you better warmth.

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm not sure I buy the moisture management argument for stacking synthetic on the outside. The overriding factor is that down needs to loft to be at its maximum effectiveness. Moisture management is a secondary consideration. I have a Patagonia NanoPuff Primaloft jacket, and a down puffer jacket. The Primaloft won't suffer from compression; the down will - therefore NanoPuff is worn on the inside.

[WV]

For temps below 20 ° F. put the down on the outside. Unfortunately, you're more likely to have nighttime temps in the high 20's this year. I'd put the synthetic layer out, especially if it's misty.

[Bubba]

I tend to agree with VW. For really cold temps, synthetic on the inside acts as a vapour barrier liner. If it's not as cold the synthetic on the outside would act as a Uq protector.

[WV]

I tend to agree with VW. For really cold temps, synthetic on the inside acts as a vapour barrier liner. If it's not as cold the synthetic on the outside would act as a Uq protector.

Bubba, the synthetic insulation will pass moisture the same way the down will, so it's not a vapor barrier. The reason it's better to have it on the outside is that as the water vapor moves through the two insulating layers it is going from warmer to colder, and at the outside it's more likely to reach temperatures cold enough for the vapor to condense into liquid form, which could be absorbed by down insulation. The synthetic fibers might get a bit wet, but they won't collapse the way the down might.

SS, my suggestions (my guesses, really) are for these quilts under these (likely) conditions. The down might compress a little bit, as hutzelbein notes, but that would just make air infiltration less likely. A 20° quilt + a 15° quilt don't need to work at optimum efficiency for the nighttime temps predicted.

[Bubba]

Sorry, I was thinking about my insultex uq that is not breathable.

[Wraith6761]

Hmm, that brings up an interesting point that I hadn't considered...frost. I'll also be using one of 2qzq's UQPs, the "breathable" ripstop style--very first time I've ever used it outside. Would that allow the moist air to get through it before becoming frost, and thus protect the down quilt from collecting frost (if I put the down quilt on the outside)?

I'm probably completely overthinking this, and most likely will not need this much insulation, but between trip reports from years past and some hard-learned lessons of my own past, I'd rather not tempt Ma Nature by planning only on what the weathermen say.