DIY Materials Source

[Strategic]

You might want to reconsider Primaloft for your quilt. There are other products out there that have better weight/insulation values and are also more stable. I think it's a good choice for clothing, but I'd go with something continuous filament for a quilt.

Thanks much for the warm welcome all.

Blackbishop, I know the problems with using a short staple insulation like Primaloft, but the stuff I'm using is the prequilted Primaloft One, which should be sufficiently stabilized (or at least, I think it will be sufficiently stabilized ) and has the best weight to insulation ratio I could find. With a clo of .84/oz it seemed like the right choice, since by my calculations I should end up with a 12oz quilt (and that's with a doubled layer under the torso too) that should be good for me down to about 30 with normal sleep clothes. I'm open to suggestions (though I already have the Primaloft) if there's something better out there, but basically I'm looking for that three-season adaptability, so nothing too heavy (I'll likely build a special winter underquilt later, but I'm not much of a winter hiker in any case.) I did consider Climashield XP, but it seemed to work out heavier for a given insulation value no matter what weight I used (2.5oz or 5oz) though of course it doesn't have the stabilization problem and wouldn't need to be layered under the torso. I'd be glad of some advice on handling any kind though, since it's been awhile since I've worked with any kind of insulation.

Thanks again all.

[Strategic]

I submitted your link to be added Links Directory under Materials. Welcome to the forum and good luck with your underquilt!

Thanks Redtail!

[schrochem]

I just found a cool place
http://www.berkeleypoint.com/

I was looking around at their hardware and found some titanium rings (if anyone wants to spend the cash )
Titanium Rings

[Cannibal]

I just found a cool place
http://www.berkeleypoint.com/

I was looking around at their hardware and found some titanium rings (if anyone wants to spend the cash )
Titanium Rings

The rings are cheap! Did you check the price on the titanium biners?

Great find, now to the store for lottery tickets.

[schrochem]

Yea, there are some stainless steel rings as well. I also saw some 7/64 spectra. Pretty cool place.

[Strategic]

that stuff is not sil, just pu coated, i looked at some too, might work for what you're thinking about using it for, it's not breathable though. i would also like to add that in my opinion s.f. is a total ripoff, you can generally find the same stuff at owf or quest for a fraction of the price. for instance, silnylon from s.f was 10.50/yd last time i checked, little plastic cord locks are 3-4 times as expensive as most places, everything is way more there than anywhere else, and they don't give volume discounts for buying 15-20 yards like owf and quest do. they do have a large selection though, also, havent seen that heat reflective ripstop anywhere else.

I'm not so sure it's not a form of silnylon. The SF site actually says it's both pu and sil coated (which I suppose is possible) but the stuff they sent feels like silnylon. I am a bit concerned about the non-breathable part, but since I'm only using it for the shell and not the liner, I think it will be an advantage rather than a liability (i.e., wind barrier, good secondary rain protection, etc.) Still, I just might end up "stewing in my own juices", so to speak, so it is a bit of a gamble.

As for Seattle Fabrics, I can't speak to their prices beyond what I bought, since that's all I've really priced there (I already had other sources like Thru-Hiker.com from what else I needed.) They do seem to have odd things that no one else carries though, like this heat reflective ripstop. I will say that they're service is excellent. I ordered materials from them and Thru-Hiker within minutes of each other, and the SF stuff made it here 2 days ahead of the other order. That's not to say that they both didn't take care of business perfectly, since they did, but the time difference was...interesting.

By the way, there is one other site I found by accident (though this one seems a bit speculative to add to the links page just yet) when I was researching my HH purchase. It's the manufacturer of the Cuben Fiber that Tom H. is talking about using for flys on his lightest models. I have no idea if this stuff actually lives up to the hype but apparently Tom fitted a Hyperlight with a Cuben fly as a test and the weight dropped to only 17oz from 24oz. The problem is there's virtually no info on which Cuben he used and the Cuben site is not exactly easy to navigate unless you really know a lot about sail fabrics (which is what Cuben is.) The prices are very hard to work out and they measure everything is sailmaker's units, so it's hard to even know what to order. Still, if this stuff is half as good as what I've heard, it has real promise.

[Coffee]

I just found a cool place
http://www.berkeleypoint.com/

I was looking around at their hardware and found some titanium rings (if anyone wants to spend the cash )
Titanium Rings

Hmm I think I will get those right after I upgrade to cuben fiber.

[GrizzlyAdams]

As best I can tell, what you get going with these Ti rings as compared with the SMC descending rings is a smaller ring, at the same weight, ball-park same strength, and times 5 impact on the bank account.

What's not to love about that?

Grizz

[FanaticFringer]

I just found a cool place
http://www.berkeleypoint.com/

I was looking around at their hardware and found some titanium rings (if anyone wants to spend the cash )
Titanium Rings

4 rings for the ring/buckle set-up would be $50.56 for Titanium vs. $10.00
for SMC rings.www.rei.com/product/471123
Think I'll stick to the SMC rings. Those are the first load rated non welded
rings I've seen other than the SMC rings.

[beamarshall]

How badly do you need 4 rings? I have my testing hammock set with webbing through rings on one end, a structural ridgeline and just rope/webbing on the other end. I'm using the ring end for the final tensioning step, mostly.
Betsy