I have had a couple of nights to try out the 1-piece Z-liner now.
The Z-liner fabric is cut and sewn in such a way that it fits evenly along the entire width and length of the hammock. Rather than being a flat rectangular piece it is more bowl shaped like a football that has been sliced in half end to end. Attached with Velcro along the entire length on both sides it won’t shift out of position and has no air gaps.
I found that I could stuff the hammock with the quilt in place into the storage pocket (but not the outer protector) but it was a tight fit. When hiking I usually stuff my bedding, hammock, and quilt into the bottom of the pack without stuff sacks so I will be able to leave the quilt attached if desired.
It’s hard to tell exactly, but the Z-liner looks to have about 1” of loft. It looks about the same as the loft on my 20* Wiggys bag which has similar type insulation.
On the first night I set up and slept indoors. I wanted to see if the Z-liner would be too warm for summer use. Nothing conclusive but at 64 degrees I was comfortable.
First night outside – predicted low temp = 8* actual = 17* calm, dry
I set up under the deck, on the patio, no tarp.
I slept in running tights, long sleeve running shirt, socks.
I used a Wiggy’s 20* bag inside a Military Patrol bag.
I was very comfortable all night although I could tell that my bottom side was cooler than my top side but only right in the hip region.
Second night outside – predicted low temp = 8* actual = 14* calm, dry
Same setup under deck – same sleeping attire – same sleeping bags.
This second night was not an ‘apples to apples’ test of the UQ because I wanted to see just how warm and toasty I could actually get so I placed a windshield reflector between the hammock body and the UQ. That did eliminate the slight coolness I had felt the night before but for some reason my feet got very cold about 3am and were cold the rest of the night.
So, no firm conclusions yet but I am confident I can be comfortable with that setup down into the low 20’s at least (gotta figure out that cold feet issue though). I could probably have done without the doubled sleeping bags and just used one. Temp inside the hammock with weathershield mostly closed was 33*.