underquilt nitty gritty

Okay guys,

I have my poncho liner here. It has ties on each corner and in the center of each side.

How do I fasten it to the hammock in order to get a "poormans underquilt". NEO says he uses one in this application. It's rarely below 50 here in Florida, so the liner should be enough.

I have read and looked at Speer's and Jacks r Better's pages on the subject. And everyone else's pages I can find. I know how to tie the cord to the hammock line. The rest is a mystery. (Since I have never seen one in the flesh.)

My questions, specifically are.
1.Shock/ elastic cord needed (Yes or No)
If yes, does WalMart sell it or do I have to mail order?

2. Are there side to side ropes/ ties/ lanyards? to pull it up to the hammock body?

3. Can I at least test the concept without sewing?

Any and all help appreciated.

Tom

I have never used a poncho liner, but I would use shock cords for any type of underquilt just to be sure not to overload the quilt fabric. If you used cord or rope you may end up with the quilt supporting your weight instead of the hammock supporting it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by teblum

Okay guys,

I have my poncho liner here. It has ties on each corner and in the center of each side.

How do I fasten it to the hammock in order to get a "poormans underquilt". NEO says he uses one in this application. It's rarely below 50 here in Florida, so the liner should be enough.

I have read and looked at Speer's and Jacks r Better's pages on the subject. And everyone else's pages I can find. I know how to tie the cord to the hammock line. The rest is a mystery. (Since I have never seen one in the flesh.)

My questions, specifically are.
1.Shock/ elastic cord needed (Yes or No)
If yes, does WalMart sell it or do I have to mail order?

2. Are there side to side ropes/ ties/ lanyards? to pull it up to the hammock body?

3. Can I at least test the concept without sewing?

Any and all help appreciated.

Tom

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Tom,

Neo's poncho liner is a resized one of a kind JRB Nest replica made by Peter Pan as an experiment and later sold to Neo since he does not do down...It has all the normal attachments of a JRB Nest...it is no where near a stock poncho liner... When used alone, I would not expect comfort below 60 degrees from poncho liner quilts, primarily due to the extremely loose weave of mil standard poncho liner nylon and overall thinness.

Pan

I converted a thinsulate GI poncho liner to an underquilt using the KAQ pattern from http://www.kickassquilts.com/Make1.html. I just trimed the liner to the dimensions listed, sewed the border ribbon that I ripped from the original edges of the liner to the new trimmed edges, inserted shock cord from a tent pole repair kit purcahsed at Academy Sports just as described on the KAQ web site. Works great for my HHULB. Used it two weeks ago in the Spsey Wilderness with a 1/2" CCF pad at 31 degrees and a 15 degree down bag as a quilt. Slept fine except from some minor condendsation on pad.

Sounds great, southmark - have any pics?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by southmark

I converted a thinsulate GI poncho liner to an underquilt using the KAQ pattern from http://www.kickassquilts.com/Make1.html. I just trimed the liner to the dimensions listed, sewed the border ribbon that I ripped from the original edges of the liner to the new trimmed edges, inserted shock cord from a tent pole repair kit purcahsed at Academy Sports just as described on the KAQ web site. Works great for my HHULB. Used it two weeks ago in the Spsey Wilderness with a 1/2" CCF pad at 31 degrees and a 15 degree down bag as a quilt. Slept fine except from some minor condendsation on pad.

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I think a 1/2" pad and a 15* bag would probably get me to around 30* by themselves, though....

What's the liner/quilt weigh, btw?

The Poncho Liner underquilt weighs 18 oz. I'll take some photos this weekend. I have it set up in the backyard as it is going down to the low 30's tonight and I am going to test it it without the 1/2" CCF. Just ponch liner underquilt, smart wool long underwear, wool socks and fleece cap. At age 59 I tend to sleep cold. One photo attached from Sipsey trip. I'll take some of just quilt this weekend.

Just Jeff,
I sewed attachments to my Granite Gear silnylon pack cover and converted it to A Just Jeff Gear Hammock/Pack Cover. Thanks for the idea. Works great.

Glad you like the gear hammock. What kind of pack is in that picture?

Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus. Love it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter_pan

Tom,

Neo's poncho liner is a resized one of a kind JRB Nest replica made by Peter Pan as an experiment and later sold to Neo since he does not do down...It has all the normal attachments of a JRB Nest...it is no where near a stock poncho liner... When used alone, I would not expect comfort below 60 degrees from poncho liner quilts, primarily due to the extremely loose weave of mil standard poncho liner nylon and overall thinness.

Pan

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:D :) yeah its an awesome poncho liner,thanks jack:cool: neo


i have used it down to the low 50,s alone and down to 28 degrees by adding dry leaves th the poncho liner :cool: neo

Thanks guys

I get the picture a bit clearer now.

With some cord and a few rubberbands, I have prototyped an underquilt that won't get ripped at any rate and might work.

More in the morning, if I make it through the night. cold front coming here in florida. low in mid forties.

If I do live, I will take a picture or two to share this wonderful thing. <G>

Tom
back porch hanger for two week now.

Well, the jury is in and the underquilt failed.

I almost made it through the night, but somewhere around 5 AM, the overnight lows got here. 48 degrees was forecast. I don't know the actual.I awoke to the feeling of my *** freezing off. I bailed and went inside.

I have newfound respect for you 30 degree people. I've been down to high 30's on the ground, but hanging is another story.

I couldn't get a good picture the way the light is this afternoon. This one will have to do.The poncho liner , mounted with three ties (two corners and a middle) tied off to each end, witha big rubber band at one end worked okay. It hung loosely at the ends, but was close in the torso region where I got coldest.

The idea of stuffing the space underneath with insulation occured to me, but at 5 AM the flesh was weak (and tired).

I think the next step is a double layer hammock with the 24 inch pad in the space provided

I tried to post a picture, but it got lost. It was 96 Kb and jpeg format. Size limit said 3 meg

I wonder what happened.

Tom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by teblum

Well, the jury is in and the underquilt failed.

I almost made it through the night, but somewhere around 5 AM, the overnight lows got here. 48 degrees was forecast. I don't know the actual.I awoke to the feeling of my *** freezing off. I bailed and went inside.

I have newfound respect for you 30 degree people. I've been down to high 30's on the ground, but hanging is another story.

I couldn't get a good picture the way the light is this afternoon. This one will have to do.The poncho liner , mounted with three ties (two corners and a middle) tied off to each end, witha big rubber band at one end worked okay. It hung loosely at the ends, but was close in the torso region where I got coldest.

The idea of stuffing the space underneath with insulation occured to me, but at 5 AM the flesh was weak (and tired).

I think the next step is a double layer hammock with the 24 inch pad in the space provided

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Teblum,

Like I said earlier, poncho liners start to fail most folk beginning about 60 degrees and by about 50 for sure it is bail time....

FWIW, you got cold in the torso precisely because it was loose on the ends... Loose ends are an "open window" summer technique...Any warmth your body was generating was lost thru the dual chimneys on both ends.

Pan

Thanks for the tip, Pan.

Your advice was spot on. I'm a see for myself kind of guy, so I had to go there.

I'm going to sew on another layer and slip the pad in there.

Luckily, the material I made the original hammock out of was still available in the Walmart $1 bin.

By the way, I weighed the 4 yards I bought this time. It weighs about 18 oz and has 6.4 sq yards of material for 2.8 oz per yard. Kind of heavy, but the entire hammock, with two ply will weigh less than 2 lbs. So goes it in the bargain bin!! <G>

I may make an X pad (ala Sgt. Rock), if the single dad doesn't get the job done.

If I come back to an underquilt, I will sew it up to fit. (or---Gasp!!) buy one.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

Tom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter_pan

Teblum,

Like I said earlier, poncho liners start to fail most folk beginning about 60 degrees and by about 50 for sure it is bail time....

FWIW, you got cold in the torso precisely because it was loose on the ends... Loose ends are an "open window" summer technique...Any warmth your body was generating was lost thru the dual chimneys on both ends.

Pan

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I only made it to 54 degrees Saturday night with my homemade poncho liner underquilt. Of course now I no that I can use it late spring and early fall. I added my CCF pad and slept to 7:30 am right through the 33 degree low. Photos of unerquilt attached.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by southmark

I only made it to 54 degrees Saturday night with my homemade poncho liner underquilt. Of course now I no that I can use it late spring and early fall. I added my CCF pad and slept to 7:30 am right through the 33 degree low. Photos of unerquilt attached.

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Sounds like that is an "Amen".

Remember, with the Mil Issue PL open weave nylon breeze/wind will really reduce even this effectiveness quickly...

Pan

Last night was in the 40's . I put my mat (Walmart Blue 24 in. ) inside the poncho liner underquilt. I rerigged my rubberbands and found some small bungees to get a tighter fit. I was comfortable with the Sportsman Guide lightweight bag and a bag liner used as blankets. I wore a sweat suit and socks.

Today,I converted my homemade hammock to a Zhammock. It is supposed to go down to around 40 degrees, with wind chill (feels like)near freezing . I'm using the mat, the chintzy underquilt and a 20 degree synthetic down bag. I will keep the SG light weight bag as a backup blanket.

Report follows tomorrow.

Ain't it fun to reinvent the wheel???

Tom

good morning!!

Things worked out well. Weather dot com says 41 degrees at 6 am.

I slept through the night with one pit stop. I was quite cosy., although, when a body part got off the mat and against the hammock, a cold spot developed.

I screwed up the quilt rigging so it hung down a lot. since I wasn't cold, I didn't try to improve the setup. There is room for improvement when needed.

The two layer hammock is a treat. The ability to move around is a welcome change. My thanks to Risk and Just jeff for the instructions on "how to".

Now that my gear is workable from the thermal point of view, it's time to look at packing and space. I need to see how small the hammock will stuff. and maybe add a ridge line for ease of setup.I know the hammock itself weighs about 36 ounces. plus zip ties and hanging rope. Lighter than any of my tents and pole free, which make packing easier on a motorcycle.

Have a good day
Tom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by teblum

good morning!!

Lighter than any of my tents and pole free, which make packing easier on a motorcycle.

Have a good day
Tom

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What kind of MC...I ride a K1200LTC....Beemer....100k cluber...

Pan

Hi Pan

I have 3 bikes right now.

My traveler is a Stripped Honda ST1100 that I reclaimed from a wreck. It has cruise control and GPS.
http://mysite.verizon.net/teblum/June%2021.htm

I went to Maine and to Michigan on it in separate trips last year. I'm hoping for Mexico this winter, if things come together.

Your K bike is a lot like the ST in many ways. Designed for the road.

I also have an 85 Honda V65 Sabre and a 2000 Suzuki SV650.

Tom

teblum,

Checked your bike....Looks like a fun project...Rubber side down...See you in the wind some day.

Pan