Overquilts and underquits??

[TinaLouise]

Thanks so much guys. I think I might make an attempt to make them to be honest.

Oh yeah, Jofish, what'd you use for the insulation in the one you made?

I've found that making my own top & under quilts to be very rewarding. By doing this yourself, you can custom fit them to YOU!! Widths and lengths, whatever color you like, type of insulation(down or climashield) weights (summer or winter) over stuffed, even the rating of the down plays a big part in the quilt. These are the things that cause hammock quilts to cost so much, oh yea and the labor to make them. When you buy a quilt, all those things are into the price. Plus there's the testing. You will be doing the testing of your design if you make one. But buying one, someone else has gone through a lot of trouble to try and make something that will work for your hammock. (just to give you some idea of why they cost so much). Get yourself a large cup of coffee (or beverage of your choice!!) and start reading the DIY posts here. Lots of links to where to buy materials too.
TinaLouise

[bear bag hanger]

Info I haven't seen yet - I love underquilts, but they aren't very good if you have to go to ground. Usually not a problem. When I did a thru hike of the AT, I went to ground two times during a six month hike. Where you run into problems is when you decide to camp at a commercial campground - they usually don't allow you to hang from their trees, or there are so few of them you can't. A pad will allow you to at least be warm enough when on the ground. As for overquilts, look at Nunatak Arc bags for inspiration. I've been using a Arc Alpine, without the two or three straps, for years now. It's only 18oz, but has gotten me down to the 20s (but I do have to wear fleece).

Second item, double layered hammocks. Between the two layers is a great place to put a pad so it isn't so much of a bother. The downside is the hammock will now weigh about twice as much. If doing DIY, something I always thought might work, but haven't seen yet, is the second layer made of a lighter material.

Third item - try out your gear on overnight camping trips before you go on your AT hike. You don't want to be two days away from nowhere and find out what you thought would work doesn't!

[jofish]

Thanks so much guys. I think I might make an attempt to make them to be honest. I just can't see myself putting out the money for the ones on the internet. I definitely need to brush up on the jargon because it can be quite confusing when you are just now getting into hammocking haha. Anyway, I appreciate all of you guys taking your time to explain this to me.

Oh yeah, Jofish, what'd you use for the insulation in the one you made?

Wow, I'm bad at checking some of the threads I've been posting in. Sorry for the very late response. For the top quilt I made, I used down. I bought my down from the Speer website. Thru-hiker's site is another popular source for down.

[MedicineMan]

quilts not good if you have to go to ground?
Couldn't let this one pass me by. I used top quilts long before I was a hanger.
I started though with a Rab Top Bag which was a sleeping bag with just a nylon bottom with no insulation-I had it modded into a sleeve to keep a pad in. Next I moved to an Arc Alpinist--years ago and was on the ground with it for countless trips. That same alpinist has now been in the hammock over 4 years.
I bet I'm not the only one who believes that quilts rule for the non tossy turny type.

[lori]

I think he means underquilts, for bottom insulation. They really don't make good bottom insulation....