Under-leg pressure w 2/3 or 3/4 UQ

[DemostiX]

After further tinkering with an AHE Lost River UQ last night to ensure a good seal against cooler temps and breezes, I made myself uncomfortable with under-calf pressure from a too-tight closure-cord at the foot end. It was the first time this has happened after a dozen or more uses of this UQ, and it took me several seconds to realize what I had done.

Coincidentally, this morning I read in another thread here Two Tents comment:

Best I can tell you is try and borrow a partial length and use it in cool/cold weather and see if you like it. Some folks don't like the pressure on the legs you can get with a partial length quilt. If you are OK with it then you'll have to figure the use for that quilt.

I don't think I have ever read of this usage problem before.

The question: How do the several other makers of partial UQ's overcome this?
With baffles that cushion the cord?
With draft tubes?
With instructions to the user?

[BillyBob58]

After further tinkering with an AHE Lost River UQ last night to ensure a good seal against cooler temps and breezes, I made myself uncomfortable with under-calf pressure from a too-tight closure-cord at the foot end. It was the first time this has happened after a dozen or more uses of this UQ, and it took me several seconds to realize what I had done.

Coincidentally, this morning I read in another thread here Two Tents comment:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Two Tents
Best I can tell you is try and borrow a partial length and use it in cool/cold weather and see if you like it. Some folks don't like the pressure on the legs you can get with a partial length quilt. If you are OK with it then you'll have to figure the use for that quilt.





I don't think I have ever read of this usage problem before.

The question: How do the several other makers of partial UQ's overcome this?
With baffles that cushion the cord?
With draft tubes?
With instructions to the user?

That is interesting. I also had not heard of this. Yet another way to have calf discomfort in a hammock. I have never had this problem with my WB Yeti style torso UQ, no matter how much I have tightened it. But for one thing, the bottom quilt edge goes no where near my calf, it is just not long enough.

[DemostiX]

Well, you've got more experience than most!! Of course, with a foot pad, you wouldn't feel the cord, either.

As I was in a rarely-used synthetic TQ with its foot-box and had just gone a tighter on the hang, my first thought was "Oh, I over-tightened: furrows."

But, the ridge was in the wrong direction; and it was easily fixed, reaching forward and loosening the draw string of the UQ. What with the sheet-insulation of the Lost River UQ, the pressure of the cord was also distributed a bit.

But, the point remains that these draw-string adjustments are likely not yet as evolved -- can I say that here? -- and completely thought through as they will be in several years. The additional baffles and draft tubes on sleeping bags today are not just new baubles to make the bags more expensive to make. They're there on some to maximize the benefit of the rest of the loft.

There is a taper and there are furrows in gathered-end hammocks, both of them opportunities for drafts and heat loss. I was happy to read Two Tents' prior observation that the shock-cord / draw-string solution was known to sometimes be problematic. Again, careful adjustment and a foot pad can make the problem go away.

[BillyBob58]

Oh, it just occurred to me: When I say I have never had that problem with my torso length WB Climashield UQ, I guess it would be impossible for me to have it. Not only because it does not even come close to my calf, but it does not have any foot or head end "draw-string adjustments".

So, no matter how tight I adjust the main shock cord suspension, whatever "seal" on the ends I get from that is all there is. I don't have anything on the ends to tighten up any further.

[FLRider]

Admittedly, I've only spent one night with my PLUQ set up correctly, but I didn't notice any under-calf or under-shoulder pressure with it once I got the suspension right.

With the suspension done wrong, I was getting some under-shoulder pressure. However, that was due to running the shock cord (well, cuff elastic, really, which is another issue in and of itself) through both shoulder-side mason line suspension eyes in a continuous loop. This pulled them together when I tightened the shoulder suspension up to snug the PLUQ against the hammock, both causing a shoulder ridge feeling and a huge air gap.

I doubt that you're having that issue with a commercially made underquilt (those guys are smarter than I am, and an whole lot more experienced with construction techniques), but I thought it worth mentioning.

Once I ran individual suspension lines to the fixed eyes on the mason line, I had no problem with calf or shoulder ridges. I'm 6', and right now about 195 lb., and the PLUQ is 5' long and ~3.5' wide. I didn't use the shock cord tie-outs on the HH Ultralight Explorer since I spent the night with the netting pulled back.

Hope it helps.

[OutandBack]

I have found that no matter what hammock I use the minute I install a 3/4 UQ the hammock feel is different. The more I lay asym the more cord pressure I feel at my legs.
The balance of UQ tight seal and minimal cord pressure is a close one for me esp if the tree distance varies/ hammock angle changes from camping spot to camping spot.
My 3/4 UQ has a high fiddle factor...I don't experience this with my full length UQ.