Cold in Wookie 3 season at 30 degrees. What gives?

[FY01CPO]

I went out and slackened the ridgeline but didn't really see much in the way of gaps because my trees aren't close together and I was too close to the ground with the added slop. I definitely think trees that are close together would allow the pre-defined length of the wooki to sag or not be very snug. I forgot to mention earlier that it should be difficult, if not impossible, to move the wooki side to side while you are in it. If you can move it pretty easily, I'd say it's entirely possible gaps could exist.

I'm interested to hear to hear more about your experience so we can all try to learn from it, be it user or equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MisterS]

I went out and slackened the ridgeline but didn't really see much in the way of gaps because my trees aren't close together and I was too close to the ground with the added slop. I definitely think trees that are close together would allow the pre-defined length of the wooki to sag or not be very snug. I forgot to mention earlier that it should be difficult, if not impossible, to move the wooki side to side while you are in it. If you can move it pretty easily, I'd say it's entirely possible gaps could exist.

I'm interested to hear to hear more about your experience so we can all try to learn from it, be it user or equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

+1. I am very interested in the cold weather performance and user reports are just starting to show up. I recently was on a trip and used my Ridgerunner and it worked well. However, surprisingly, I did not realize that campsites with the trees too close together would rule out a site that my XLC could easily fit in. I look forward to your experiments before I commit to a Wookie.

[NCTrout]

I also think it might be the slack in the ridgeline causing the issue although I didn't verify it. I slept out back last night, barely a breeze and my thermometer read a low of 28F. I was snug as a bug in a rug. I still have it set up outside so I'll slacken the ridgeline and see if I notice any gaps before I take it all inside. I also had the superfly battened down and about a foot and a half from the ground on the bottom edges.

Also, have you been warm in other setups or did you change your going to bed routine where you may have started off chilled? Did you have fresh socks, eat something before bed, etc? FWIW, campsite location plays a factor too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi, I have been warm in an Incubator 20 if I fiddle enough to get the gaps out. I used the same top quilt and a similar night-time routine. I'm starting to think the slackness in the ridge line help create the gaps. I appereciate all the helpful comments.

[TrailSlug]

Hi, I have been warm in an Incubator 20 if I fiddle enough to get the gaps out. I used the same top quilt and a similar night-time routine. I'm starting to think the slackness in the ridge line help create the gaps. I appereciate all the helpful comments.

Let us know if you figure out what the issue is as I'm sure we may all run into an issue at some point.

[vuanguyen]

I just sold two 0 degree incubators so I can buy the winter wookies. Now after reading your post, I am no longer sure if I made the correct decision

[massis]

I just sold two 0 degree incubators so I can buy the winter wookies. Now after reading your post, I am no longer sure if I made the correct decision

I wouldn't worry about it. Took my 3 season wooki out with 44°F last week and was more than toasty warm in my boxershorts & tshirt. A comfort rating is always made taking into account "appropriate clothing", so for 30°F that would mean at least a base layer of thermal underwear, but I'm confident I can take my 3 season wooki down to 25-30°F in just my boxers & shirt and down to at least 20°F with thermal underwear.

Heck, OP is talking about using a 15° TQ AND an extra wool blanket at 30°F, so he/she is just a REALLY cold sleeper it seems, I've taken my old 40°F sleeping bag down to 30°F with no problems or extra insulation in my tent...

[Dublinlin]

I just sold two 0 degree incubators so I can buy the winter wookies. Now after reading your post, I am no longer sure if I made the correct decision

Like Massis said, I, too, would chime in that I don't think you have anything to worry about. I think if you are in the habit of setting up your Blackbird per the instructions on the WB site, then your properly sized Wookie is going to fit right the first time and every time without any fiddling or gaps...and it will be toasty.

I am loving mine and have had zero issues. It's the easiest and warmest bottom insulation I've ever tried.

[TrailSlug]

I just sold two 0 degree incubators so I can buy the winter wookies. Now after reading your post, I am no longer sure if I made the correct decision

Wow, what about the other numerous posts that laud this quilts qualities? Don't let one review ruin it for you. There are those of us who sleep cold and there are the others. My Wookie is comfortable to around 34 and that's as cold as it's been here. After this I would go to a lower rated quilt anyway. If you can find your own "15°" rule you'll never sleep cold in a hammock provided you have the equipment.

[BeechGirl]

I just sold two 0 degree incubators so I can buy the winter wookies. Now after reading your post, I am no longer sure if I made the correct decision

I have both the 0* Incubator and the wooki. I have not used the wooki below 30*, but I have gotten too hot in the wooki which has never happened to me in the incubator. I think it was a setup issue with the incubator, but that is why the wooki is so great. For the record I am a cold sleeper. After I get some colder days in with both I will let you know. But I seriously never got too hot with the incubator even in the 40s, and I definitely was surprised to get too hot in the wooki at 30*.

[warbonnetguy]

My thoughts...

It's odd that you were cold in specific spots and not all over, cold spots point to problems rather than simply hitting the limit of the quilt (which is more of a dull, even, cool-all-over feel).

I do not think a sagging RL has anything to do with the fit, the Wooki is sized/designed to match the length of the hammock body, the RL length was not even factored into the design... the outer layer of a double layer hammock always conforms to it's inner layer the same regardless of RL length/sag, the outer layer of a double layer hammock won't sag more than the inner because you shortened the RL or vice versa.

The only thing I can really think of is that maybe you didn't fluff the quilt and make sure the down was evenly distributed before using it. Alot of people that are new to down quilts (and some who aren't) just don't know to do this or often don't do a good job of doing it either. Just because it looks like the quilt is fully inflated doesn't mean there aren't a bunch of thin spots hiding throughout. We try to minimize this with filling it a little dense, but down still can and does shift when you stuff and un-stuff so you have to pull it out and get your hands all over every inch of it and physically feel the density of the fill (compress it between your hands to feel the resistance/density), it should feel about the same all over, there shouldn't be any spots that are more or less dense than other spots, and if there are you need to shift the down to even it back out. You should spend a minute or two doing this every time you set up an underquilt....then of course you also need to make sure to block the wind with a tarp or sock which is also very important.

Only a few results are in because it's not that cold most places yet, but I think most people (especially those with lots of UQ experience) will be able to meet or get darn close to the rating. I never once got cold along my right side last winter, and that was before I even added the tieoff loop to the design (all this does is make it so you can pull toward your left shoulder once you're in and not worry about pulling the quilt away from the footbox/shelf in the process)

You should certainly try again, making 100% sure the down is evenly spread out and make sure you have a full windblock if it's cold out and i'm betting you'll have better results. If you consider yourself a cold sleeper at all you should definately be sleeping in some kind of light or mid-weight baselayer at a minimum. I'm a cold sleeper and fel like I can take it to it's rating if i'm sleeping in pants and a fleece top.