Does 3/4 Length Allow For Wider Lay?

[Cory Hess]

I'm hoping that I can get some clarification before I spend a bunch of money on a hunch. I'm a person that prefers a wide body hammock, as I can't get a comfortable lay in a standard hammock. I have an 11' hammock in Robic XL and a 12' hammock in the same fabric and both are very comfortable as long as I'm not using an underquilt. I currently have a 70" long 48" wide underquilt. It's a great quilt, but I've come to realize that I'm not nearly as comfortable when using it. I tried an experiment the other night where I hung my quilt like normal and then when I laid down I took my normal extreme diagonal lay, and ended up with my legs draping over the side of my UQ and found that I was much more comfortable except that the suspension for the UQ was digging into my legs. I then pushed the UQ all the way to the head end of my hammock to simulate a partial length quilt and had the same experience, much more comfortable but I could tell that the suspension was stuggling to figure out why I had moved it in such a weird way and it was pressing into the side of my leg.

My hypothesis is that if I buy a 3/4 length underquilt and use a pad under my legs I should be able to lay more diagonally and therefore get a more comfortable sleep. I know that others use shorter quilts, but I guess I don't know why they usually do this. I'm hoping that somebody can verify my hypothesis or let me know that I'm using flawed logic before I lay down the cash for another underquilt. Any help would be greatly appreciated. My current plan is for a 55" long 48" wide underquilt.

[TrailSlug]

That or get an extra wide UQ to match your hammock. If you aren't worried about your lower legs and feet getting cold then go for the shorty. What ever makes you comfortable is what is important - HYOH.

[Cory Hess]

I did a search before starting this thread and in a previous thread about extra wide UQs George from Loco Libre said that 50" is about as wide as you can go. He said that past that and you start to have problems with gaps. My first thought was to get a 55" wide quilt, but after reading George's thread I started considering a shorter quilt. I'd prefer a full length quilt that doesn't require me to use a pad, as I have poor circulation and my feet are always cold. However, warm feet don't do me any good if I'm not comfortable enough to sleep anyways.

[GadgetUK437]

the suspension was stuggling to figure out why I had moved it in such a weird way and it was pressing into the side of my leg.

The suspension should go OVER your legs.


--
Gadget

[Campdavid]

Had similar problems and almost gave up on the UQ altogether. Decided to make one full length (not 3/4) and actually an inch or two wider than my hammock. Instead of running suspension the length of the UQ I just secured it at the corners and then added “knotty mods” to deal with the gaps.

Not ultra light but I get total coverage and comfort.


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[sqidmark]

I suspect that clews are your answer. Here's my first (and so far only) attempt at a clews suspension.

It's a 3/4 CDT. It's the full 60" width, but because it does not have conventional suspension it is free to float to whatever width it needs to be. The main benefit of clews is that you don't have primary suspsension cord pressure on the sides. Those same primary cords also pull the sides up, thus making a practical limitation as to how wide you can make it. Since clews pull from the ends only, it will always pull the quilt up against your butt regardless of the width. I'm sure there must be a point of diminishing returns but I doubt anyone would need to go wider than 60" anyway. Keep in mind that this is not baffled so the tubes are free to float close together or farther apart

All that said, I would not recommend clews suspension on a 3/4 because of the way the cords interact with legs/feet. I've been using mine nearly every night since spring and have gotten used it. One of my winter projects will be to make a 60" wide full length.

A full length 50-55" wide baffled clews quilt might be just the ticket. On the other hand, there is the wooki.

Head end:


Foot end with nobody in it. Changed from 1/16 to 1/32 nettles.


Foot end with a body in it.

[OneClick]

I always thought a La-z-boy chair was more comfortable than a bed...so I'm not on this "lie flat as a board" bandwagon. Or even a little incline like those adjustable beds.

Have you tired lying at less of a diagonal? Or is your comfort zone at a wide angle? Sometimes I feel like the "standard" is to lie wide as possible just because someone said it years ago and it sort of stuck. Personally, I keep my body at a fairly slight angle and feel it eliminates any UQ issues. I feel flat with my head slightly elevated. But of course comfort is key, which depends on your hammock, height, etc.

[Cory Hess]

The suspension should go OVER your legs.

I can envision what you're saying here. I'll throw my current UQ on again tonight and experiment with trying to make this happen. Thanks for the tip.

Had similar problems and almost gave up on the UQ altogether. Decided to make one full length (not 3/4) and actually an inch or two wider than my hammock. Instead of running suspension the length of the UQ I just secured it at the corners and then added “knotty mods” to deal with the gaps.

Not ultra light but I get total coverage and comfort.

Interesting. I've never seen a knotty mod on an UQ. I'll have to do some looking into this.

I suspect that clews are your answer. Here's my first (and so far only) attempt at a clews suspension.

I've skimmed the clew thread before. However, I've never sewn anything and frankly with my limited time I'd rather be using equipment than making it. I understand that with a CDT I could make up an UQ without any sewing, but I plan to hammock in all four seasons and it seems to me that I'd be better off finding a commercial solution so that I can order up a set of quilts with a wide temperature rating. Then again, maybe I should butter up some forum members and see if I can't find somebody willing to assist me in the construction of a set of clewed quilts.

On the other hand, there is the wooki.

I've considered this. My big hangup is that I get the impression that Warbonnet doesn't do too much customizing of their products. I can get the XL version of the Wooki fit my 11' hammock, but what about the 12' hammock? I might be able to add some CLs to the end of the Wooki to get it to fit the 12 footer, but I don't know and with Warbonnet marketing the Wooki as being specifically for their hammocks I haven't contacted them to ask. As stupid as it sounds, I also like to have my equipment match and my current hammock gear all has a blue/orange theme and Warbonnet seems to be one of the only cottage vendors that don't offer different color choices. I have considered the possibility of buying a chunk of Robic XL and having somebody sew my current UQ to it to make a Wooki clone. Only fear of ruining the quilt has prevented that so far.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm going to do some research into each one. If anybody else has experience with this issue or another possible solution I'd love to hear about it.

[Campdavid]

The knotty mod on my UQ was the answer to gaps created by connecting the suspension at the corners. It’s not something I’ve seen elsewhere either.

As for the clew suspension, I’ve tried it on two DIY UQ now and it is awesome! I made mine a bit differently than the “suggested method” due to materials I had on hand.

The whole reason I switched from having the shock cord run the whole length is that it messed up my diagonal lay. It just never felt right. So I tinkered with things and these have proven to be good solutions.


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[GadgetUK437]

I can envision what you're saying here. I'll throw my current UQ on again tonight and experiment with trying to make this happen. Thanks for the tip.

Let Shug show you (at 1:32s).

HTH