latest on UQ elastic suspensions?

[gargoyle]

An earlier post was not noticed, so I take the liberty of posting it again.
For a tighter fit one need to move the suspension of an UQ inwards.

This will not solve problems with the elasticity of shockcord at low temperatures, but results in shorter lenghts of shockcord pointed in the right direction.
The necessary adjustments I made for my HH explorer and Crowsnest are quite simple. I took a loop of stiff webbing and placed it under the knot of the hammock suspension and on top of the ridgeline.

The Crowsnest came with S-biners for attachment. I now connect with a loop and toggle.

Probably not as elegant as "thingys", but done in 10 minutes!

Cheers, Tjalling

Excellent solution Tjalling. Simple and effective.
One of the reasons the triangle thingies were created was to disperse the load over a larger area and save the netting from damage.
Any indications that the netting is wearing badly with the webbing/uq supports?

[Tjalling]

I did not perform durability tests, but expect it to work well. I used it once and their was no contact of the shockcord with the netting.

You need stiff material for the loop and possition it well to make sure it stays well on top of the ridgeline. I used 2 cm. (.8") wide polyamide strap.

[BillyBob58]

If you are going for really cold hang(around 0 dg fahrenheit) try using some thin silicone tubing(the same stuff they use for aquariums but even thinner) they should be good down to around -40dg(silicone looses its elastic properties around -58 - so theres still a good safety margin)

If you have troubles running it through the channels of your UQ try using baby powder(talcum) just a little will do.

/Bomber

That sounds like a possible solution. At what temps should we expect trouble with the usual shock cord on Yetis or JRBs? Fin has had no trouble in Wisconsin, but a few others have reported problems.

Cannibal used the same UQ I have below zero. Which I suppose is the same cord used on current Yetis. Cannibal, did you notice any problem getting enough tension with the shock cord? Brandon(WBG), how about you, noticed any trouble at a certain temp?

Or hey, I know who should know: Shug! How bout it Shug of the frozen Great White North, any trouble with shock cord on a Yeti or whatever you are using?

Hey y'all, how about this winter start up in WA state and the west? Impressive! Alta Utah already has ~60" of snow on the ground, another 10-18 forecast for tonight with lows of minus 7, all before thanksgiving!

Look at this and notice the amount of daily snowfall back ob Oct. 31!:
http://www.alta.com/pages/snowfallhistory.php
Think I'll post this in a new thread!

[Peter_pan]

The specific lower limits are probably well below zero.... These same shock cord have seven winters of actual field use with little to no recorded freeze issues....Including Turks Artic Circle hang.

It is also worth noting that once suspended, if the shock cord were to freeze it would still accomplish the purpose of suspending an under quilt and it would approximate the exact positioning in the frozen mode.

The expected use below zero is quite rare in the first place and the fact that a frozen suspension will in all probability be in an optimum or near optimum set, makes questioning the use of shock cord more academic than factual under field conditions.

Pan

[BillyBob58]

The specific lower limits are probably well below zero.... These same shock cord have seven winters of actual field use with little to no recorded freeze issues....Including Turks Artic Circle hang.

It is also worth noting that once suspended, if the shock cord were to freeze it would still accomplish the purpose of suspending an under quilt and it would approximate the exact positioning in the frozen mode.

The expected use below zero is quite rare in the first place and the fact that a frozen suspension will in all probability be in an optimum or near optimum set, makes questioning the use of shock cord more academic than factual under field conditions.

Pan

Thanks, Pan, that removes the JRBs from any worries in any temps I ever expect to see!

Still, I remember a couple of folks reporting problems waking up with gaps under them in very cold temps after starting nice and snug at bedtime. It was assumed this was caused by the cold temps, but I suppose there could be other causes.

If memory serves, I believe this was in all cases with non-JRB quilts, and maybe even all were torso quilts.

I can personally report that a full length MW4 stayed totally snug under me, all night long, at ~10F. But some are trying to use their quilts at much colder temps.

So this raises another question, are all of these brands well known to us using the same material for shock cords? And, could a longer shock cord, as used in a large loop around some of the torso UQs, be more prone to trouble at some very cold temp?

Or is it that temps were not even really the problem, but something else? Maybe Cannibal will report in soon. But I'm pretty sure he had no problems, even with a full perimeter cord on the original synthetic Yeti, at well below zero.

[Just Jeff]

I've had my shockcord suspensions below zero a few times and into the teens lots of times...never had an issue with it freezing. These were a couple different versions of JRB's set, the Warbonnet set, and a couple DIY sets.

I've had an issue with the tubing on tarp tensioners freezing in the extended position, though. The light brown (like a sling shot) and green (like JRB uses) can freeze in the teens. Interestingly, one time I had one JRB STL frozen solid and the other three were barely even stiff, and were still tensioning the tarp.

Not doubting that others may have experienced shockcord problems...just reporting my experiences.

[Jsaults]

Way back when I was in outdoor retailing (30 years ago) TNF had the first "arrow shaft" tent poles in their Oval Intention and VE-24 tents. There were some reports of shock cord freezing while in the stored position and not allowing the poles to properly seat.

The solution was to vigorously stretch the cord several times - apparently it warmed the elastic and cleared any ice crystals from the cover.

Jim

[BillyBob58]

I've had my shockcord suspensions below zero a few times and into the teens lots of times...never had an issue with it freezing. These were a couple different versions of JRB's set, the Warbonnet set, and a couple DIY sets.

I've had an issue with the tubing on tarp tensioners freezing in the extended position, though. The light brown (like a sling shot) and green (like JRB uses) can freeze in the teens. Interestingly, one time I had one JRB STL frozen solid and the other three were barely even stiff, and were still tensioning the tarp.

Not doubting that others may have experienced shockcord problems...just reporting my experiences.

Way back when I was in outdoor retailing (30 years ago) TNF had the first "arrow shaft" tent poles in their Oval Intention and VE-24 tents. There were some reports of shock cord freezing while in the stored position and not allowing the poles to properly seat.

The solution was to vigorously stretch the cord several times - apparently it warmed the elastic and cleared any ice crystals from the cover.

Jim

My concern was not so much with freezing. That should freeze in a correctly tensioned (UQ) position, unless it froze in the pack(very unlikely for me). Although it could be a PIA during pack up I imagine.

No, my concern was with loss of elasticity at cold temps, causing the quilt to sag as it gets colder during the night, or an inability to snug up from the get go. Like a couple of folks have mentioned. Also, thinking of some mishap Turk had with tensioners at super cold temps, but I don't think freezing was the problem.

I guess what I should do is just put my WB UQ in the deep freeze for a few hours and see if they are still elastic after that? That should solve any questions, at least to those temps ( 0F*?).