DIY UQ itch

[rip waverly]

hi.
tonight, i got an itch to ditch the pad for an upcoming red river gorge trip next week, so got to thinking about a diy underquilt. being as my sewing skills are still primary, i decided to pick up a cheap sleeping bag, sew some channels and run some shock cord suspension.

i ended up with a cheapo $20 50 degree bag. after cutting and sewing, i ended up with a 48"l x 40"w UQ. no differential anything, no taper. i just finished it, total project running time from store to completion: 3.5 hours. i haven't weighed it, but end product "feels" light enough to not bother me when i go to pack it.

i'm feeling solid about this hopefully successful diy uq, so thought i'd share. only deployed on the hammock will i know if this venture pays off. time will tell. but... i wanted to ask the veterans with uq experience.....

**anything you can see right off the bat that might be an issue?
**any tips you can offer?

[goodcaver]

Congrats on jumping into the DIY world :)

One question: how you planning on attaching it to the hammock?

And your shock cord channels look good, but maybe you want to put in some toggles at each end to make the shock cord easily adjustable. Also one thing that might happen when you get it set up is that you have air coming in the top and bottom, on the other two ends which don't have a way to snug them up against the bottom of the hammock.

But for basic butt coverage--you'll probably be just fine :)

[gargoyle]

I was going to mention the same thing as GC, wheres the shockcord for the head and foot end cinch adjustment?
It might not show in the photo?

Looks great and nice color too.

[WonderMonkey]

Take a Sharpie with you so you can draw lines on the UQ when you get into the wild. You may need to work on the shape of it to get it to snug up to the bottom of your hammock. Mark it while you are out there and you can modify it at home.

Nice job though.

[rip waverly]

Take a Sharpie with you so you can draw lines on the UQ when you get into the wild. You may need to work on the shape of it to get it to snug up to the bottom of your hammock. Mark it while you are out there and you can modify it at home.

gonna give it a go this weekend prior to the gorge- if its one thing i've learned on here - gotta test your assumptions at home. sharpie marking is a good idea



I was going to mention the same thing as GC, wheres the shockcord for the head and foot end cinch adjustment?
It might not show in the photo?

Looks great and nice color too.


Congrats on jumping into the DIY world :)

One question: how you planning on attaching it to the hammock?

And your shock cord channels look good, but maybe you want to put in some toggles at each end to make the shock cord easily adjustable. Also one thing that might happen when you get it set up is that you have air coming in the top and bottom, on the other two ends which don't have a way to snug them up against the bottom of the hammock.

But for basic butt coverage--you'll probably be just fine :)

thanks for the responses!

i have a wbbb, and plan to just sling the quilt up over the whipping, taking a page from the book of of my favorite uq's: yeti & crowsnest ..using a fixed, continuous length of shockcord. thanks for the toggle / adjustability suggestion too... do you mean on each corner.. or one for the foot, one for the head?

my biggest fear / thought when i finished, was "crap, there's gonna be a lot of air flowing in". i'm thinking about adding a channel at the head & foot end, and running shockcord
to make an additional connection the whipping--allowing the 'caps to cinch'--- basically, i think this is what you are recommending.

thanks again goodcaver, gargoyle & wonder monkey-

[gargoyle]

my biggest fear / thought when i finished, was "crap, there's gonna be a lot of air flowing in". i'm thinking about adding a channel at the head & foot end, and running shockcord
to make an additional connection the whipping--allowing the 'caps to cinch'--- basically, i think this is what you are recommending.

That's exactly what I mean. I did the full length shockcord to suspend the quilt, nice for sliding the quilt along the long axis of the hammock.

But you will need the extra channels with shockcord to seal the gaps at the head and foot ends of the uq.

[goodcaver]

That's what I meant as well. And toggles one on the foot and one on the head on the shockcord you already have in there--maybe a little knot on the ends just to make sure they don't slip off.

[BigRed77]

What is the weight of the underquilt?
Thanks BigRed

[rip waverly]

i added head and foot channels, each with lengths of shock cord and locks to cinch close to the hammock.
a quick test today proved that this thing will work. bag rated to 50 degrees....this will be my go-to summer uq.

thanks again for the suggestions and tips!


What is the weight of the underquilt?
Thanks BigRed

BR- uq weighs 14.4 oz

[BigRed77]

Thanks that Is a pretty good weight. I've got an older moonstone 3d bag I've been thinking about making a quilt out of.
BigRed

[rip waverly]

Thanks that Is a pretty good weight. I've got an older moonstone 3d bag I've been thinking about making a quilt out of.
BigRed

go for it!
it ended up being really easy- and for summer, its a no-brainer.
i was happy to see it come in under 1 lb. - it being a cheapo synthetic bag.

i plan to make another one for fellow hanger tendertoe... i may upgrade
the channels by using a ripstop tube, instead of the quilt body itself -- although
laziness might prevent that.

i'll post some action pics when i get back from rrg