Props out to MacEntyre

[Oxblood]

I recently received my IX UQ from MacEntyre. There was a bit of a delay getting it, as he explained he had redesigned the UQ and is now offering the "Universal" model. So, after much anticipation, the UQ arrived mid week last week.

My first impressions were how light the UQ is. Wow. Talk about being featherweight! And while IX is perhaps not the most compressible material out there, it was small enough to fit in a Tyvek mailing bag, which the postie was able to put into the small apartment mailbox assigned to me. It's a tiny package.

This last weekend, I decided to try it out. I was camping up near Lillooet, BC for a few nights by the Seton Reservoir. For those not familiar with South Western BC, Lillooet is a remote, small town 4 hours North of Vancouver. The most direct route is a twisty, narrow, high altitude "highway". Take Hw99 up to Pemberton (past Whistler), and keep on 99. The section between Lillooet and Pemberton is colloquially known as the "Duffy Lake Road".

The road takes you from the lush, verdant country of the North Cascades into the semi-arid, desert like boundary between the Thompson and Chilcotin regions. In winter the climate is bitterly cold with a lot of snow (hence why there are so many hydro projects up there), and in summer, hot, and dry. Did I mention hot? It is quite common to have temps nearing 100F in mid to high summer. This last week was kind of cool, at about 90F (30C). Now, you may be wondering why someone would need an underquilt in such hot weather.

Ir is simple, really. Like most arid regions, temps can drop dramatically overnight. It averaged with an overnight temp of about 60F, or 15C. With Mac's lovely quilt suspended beneath me, I was toasty and comfy even as the temp dropped. It was delightful, and no more hassle of the sleeping pad inside the hammock!

The UQ is well made, light, and easily attached. I clipped the bungy cord at each end to the Hennessy's adjustable tarp clips on the suspension lines, and used those to tighten the fit of the quilt. Easy peasy. To say the least, I like this quilt, and it will accompany me on all my future long rides.

Mac, thanks for a nice piece of kit.

[MacEntyre]

You are entyrely welcome! Thank you for the kind words.

I love your description of the area. Someday, I'd like to visit.

- MacEntyre

[Oxblood]

If you ever do, let me know. Honestly, you can spend an entire lifetime exploring BC, and never get to all of it. From muskeg, to prarie, to boreal forest, to the Rockies, to highland playeau, the coastal rainforest, and near desert like areas in the south central region. Lots of lonely, paved highways to get around on, numerous graded backroads that take you to tiny hamlets populated by maybe 30 people, alpine lakes, rivers galore with some of the best whitewater around. It boggles the mind.

[Oxblood]

Well, I spent another weekend out in the hammock. I went down to Wenatchee National Forest and camped out in the Tumwater camp ground. At night temps dropped into the low 50's. The IX UQ kept my bottom side nice and toasty warm. Awesome piece of kit.

[BillyBob58]

Well, I spent another weekend out in the hammock. I went down to Wenatchee National Forest and camped out in the Tumwater camp ground. At night temps dropped into the low 50's. The IX UQ kept my bottom side nice and toasty warm. Awesome piece of kit.

Thanks for the reports! Is that a 2 layer set up?

[Oxblood]

Thanks for the reports! Is that a 2 layer set up?

Yes, It would be two layers, with the "Insultubes" between the layers at the torso end. I believe all of Mac's UQ's are two layer, with additional single layer inserts that you nest between the UQ and hammock also available.