Noob lesson learned for an underquilt- snugging foot and head ends.

[JSH]

I hung in my backyard this weekend starting with Friday night in the low 20's. I have a 20 degree HG under quilt and a 20 degree JRB top quilt. I've used both without issues at similar temperatures this winter. That said, Friday I got cold. I didn't pay close enough attention to my under quilt suspension simply hooking the carribiner to the hammock suspension then putting my under quilt protector on. It was dark and cold Friday night when I set up and I took short cuts including not double checking things.

During the night I got cold shoulders, then cool feet something not expected because I was wearing my normal clothes for hanging at these temperatures. It was too dark to fiddle around with anything during the night Friday so I just added clothes to get through the night.

Yesterday I pulled the tarp off and looked closely at my under quilt. I realized that I hadn't tightened the primary suspension with a Dutch guilt hook, something I've dialed in previously. While the quilt looked to be hung properly the extra bit of snugness on head and foot ends wasn't there and cool air could seep in.

The first picture below shows how my under quilt foot end was hung. Head end was hung similarly. Note I've pulled my tarp back for this picture which explains the yellow threads.
UQ without Dutch ridge line quilt hook.jpg

Look closely at the position of the top of the quilt in this picture, then check the two pics below where I've inserted a Dutch quilt hook. You'll see that the quilt is a little higher and snugger to the hammock. The second picture shows the hook pinching my primary suspension tighter.

I wouldn't have thought that difference would be apparent but I'm a believe now. I slept last night with the hook quilt in place on both head and foot and did fine. Lesson learned for me on this one.
UQ with Dutch ridge line quilt hook.jpg
Dutch quilt hook on UQ suspension.jpg

[wa4chq]

Hi Jsh. This something I need to work on with my diy ug. The other day I attached 'pullout' lines to the four corners. I make them off to the bungy uq suspendsion. I haven't tested it on an overniter yet but I needed to get the uq up closer to my butt. I'm thinking the dutch hooks would help a lot.
In your pix, what is the other grey black lines for? They appear to go straight out towards the ends instead angled up....
Tnx

[MAD777]

Excellent pictorial demonstration!

[JSH]

Hi Jsh. This something I need to work on with my diy ug. The other day I attached 'pullout' lines to the four corners. I make them off to the bungy uq suspendsion. I haven't tested it on an overniter yet but I needed to get the uq up closer to my butt. I'm thinking the dutch hooks would help a lot.
In your pix, what is the other grey black lines for? They appear to go straight out towards the ends instead angled up....
Tnx

I believe you're asking about another set of suspension lines. Believe they are called the secondary suspension. It was loose in the picture.

Not embarrassed to admit I haven't figured out all the interactions with both suspensions. I pull the secondary up but not as aggressively as the primary or larger lines above. I did adjust the primary suspension the way Shug suggests in his under quilt video with the footbox side tighter to keep my feet from being exposed.

Still have much more to learn. Basically this weekend taught me to respect the snugness on foot and head ends.

[NM_Leo]

one thing you may find...I don't know if there was some weight in the hammock when you took the pic, but you can tighten the ends too much. once I get in the hammock I do "fine tune" my cordlock and cordage that goes across the hammock. I'm 6'1", so I do need to keep the UQ as long as possible. Another thing to check, is how shug shows adjusting the suspension to be on an angle...vs perpendicular to the hammock. This allows the UQ to form some what of a foot box...that is really nice. Keep on experimenting.

[JSH]

one thing you may find...I don't know if there was some weight in the hammock when you took the pic, but you can tighten the ends too much. once I get in the hammock I do "fine tune" my cordlock and cordage that goes across the hammock. I'm 6'1", so I do need to keep the UQ as long as possible. Another thing to check, is how shug shows adjusting the suspension to be on an angle...vs perpendicular to the hammock. This allows the UQ to form some what of a foot box...that is really nice. Keep on experimenting.

I had the adjustment per Shug's advice in place. You're right about the pics taken without anyone in the hammock.
As I think about last Friday night, I rushed to set up everything. It was cold and I took short cuts. Wanted to get my tarp up and just threw my hammock and quilts together. Just snapped them together and let it go at that. Aside from learning how to adjust the under quilt better, I'll remember to double check things. Sort of like a carpenter measures twice cuts once.

[wa4chq]

I made some temp. tie outs for my UG, taking the slack out of the bottom. Set the hammy up and raised the tarp to head height and put her in porch mode. This was the day before yesterday. Went out around 9pm and fell asleep until 11:30. Temps were around 34. Didn't feel the cold spots like I diid before. However, bailed out due to issue with neck otherwise would have stayed the night. Taking the slack out of the UG made a big difference.

[JSH]

I made some temp. tie outs for my UG, taking the slack out of the bottom. Set the hammy up and raised the tarp to head height and put her in porch mode. This was the day before yesterday. Went out around 9pm and fell asleep until 11:30. Temps were around 34. Didn't feel the cold spots like I diid before. However, bailed out due to issue with neck otherwise would have stayed the night. Taking the slack out of the UG made a big difference.

Glad you missed the worst of the snowstorm yesterday/today. Agree with you about taking the slack out but I will be careful not to squeeze too much. Just looked at an overnight trip report from last night put out by 12trysomething. He'd added a shock cord attached to the primary suspension about midway down his underquilt and looped the cord over his ridge line. He was using a 0 degree quilt, I think, which is probably pretty heavy making it easier for the UQ to sag? Thought it a good idea.

[wa4chq]

Hi JSH...Sorry I missed the snow. I know I would have been fine. Yes, may still have to fine tune the setup but it is so much better then before. The last overnighter, I had cold spots but I could also feel a huge gap between my butt and my UG. When I made the adjustments and hung partialy the other nite, I didn't have any cold spots...I was like a furnace...sorta...any, the future looks good.

[Boomer]

one thing you may find...I don't know if there was some weight in the hammock when you took the pic, but you can tighten the ends too much. once I get in the hammock I do "fine tune" my cordlock and cordage that goes across the hammock. I'm 6'1", so I do need to keep the UQ as long as possible. Another thing to check, is how shug shows adjusting the suspension to be on an angle...vs perpendicular to the hammock. This allows the UQ to form some what of a foot box...that is really nice. Keep on experimenting.

I've found the same thing. If your feet are popping out at night or the draft is a little much, you might loosen the end channel (across) to better fit. The hooks help a bunch though.