UQ Build vs Buy?

[stevebo]

One more thing to consider, if Hammock gear has a good sale on black friday---and you can afford it, that would probably be the way to go verses DIY---Adams quilts are soooo nice-------he truly is a master craftsman, and if you ever have to sell them, you would probably get your money back. (always a hot item on the for sale section of the forum) Might want to wait until Friday to decide! So, you have lots of options to think about---------might want to keep an eye out for a used one too?

[sr1355]

Most UQs you buy wont have 18oz of down in it.

Our 0* Full Length has 18oz 850DWR down more if you count the additional 1.5oz in the draft collars....

Just very frustrated with the cost of Down

Supply versus demand, High Fill power down is expensive due to limited supply and high demand. We will be offering some crazy pricing during our Black Friday Sale on all our quilts.... Making DIY even a tougher choice if your looking to save $$$.

[Rain Man]

There is something cool about showing off a really complicated piece of gear and saying I made this. Getting into DIY for the cost saving was the biggest lie I ever told myself. But I really am proud of every piece I ever made.

Got to agree 100% on all counts. I made two DIY UQs last winter/spring. Financially, a bad choice. Satisfaction-wise, a great choice. Plus, store-bought are "one-size-fits-all," whereas I crafted mine to the contour of my body in my hammock. Therefore, the right UQ for the job and not a "make do" fit.

Yes I won't have the satisfaction of building it myself and bragging about that fact, but man right now I need some advice. Build vs Buy

Only a decision you can make, but "buy on sale" has lots of benefits.

P.S. After making the two DIY UQs, I purchased a TQ from UGQ and am very happy with it too.

Rain Man

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[sargevining]

Big Fan;

You live in TX. You can get away with synthetics rather than down. You just don't need Alaska specs for Texas winter.

Making a Climashield UQ is a good deal of fun, and that's because its fairly easy. You can get away with no more than $75 in materials.

[bigfanboy]

sargevining, yeah TX winters are not winters at all. They have saying down here, "if you don't like the weather, wait an hour". I have seen 6 inches of snow come down over night and have it all gone by noon.

However two things are driving me towards a deep winter Full UQ.

When my house sells, by the way anyone interested in a 4k Square foot house in McKinney TX, I will be moving to the PacNW. We are looking at land NE of Seattle by about two hours, in the foothills of the Cascades. Once I am there I will be close to much more code weather camping, as well as BC Canada.

The other is more near term, as my house has been on the market for 6 months and I do not see if moving so fast, I would like to go to the MN Frozen Butt Hang in Jan. I used to live in the NE, north west of NYC by 2 hours. I grew up winter camping, there and deep into the Appalachian Chain.I actually grew ON the AT, I could literally walk out my front door to a part of the AT in Tuxedo NY in Harriman State Park. One of my fondest and scariest memories is heading off with my dad and best friend into a blizzard that ended up dropping over 5 feet in one night. We found a great place against a bluff, used a small cave and enhanced it with a snow cave, no shortage of building materials. We had a great fire because we had worked hard gathering wood.

Anyway great memory, I have done some winter camping here and there and always enjoy it. At 44 I am settling down now, have 3 kids and plan to stay put in one place for a while(after this last move of course).

Wow that's a lot of crap that has nothing to do with the topic really.

I think I have an idea, Hangs like the Frozen butt hang (not the only extreme gathering I am interested in joining) is not a hiking trip. If I understand how it and others are run, it's a car/truck hang. Where there is some hiking in aspect, you use a sled to bring your gear in. With this in mind, does it make sense I could make a "heavy" DIY UQ with cheaper 500 down, or even with duck feather/down from pillows or one of these M1949 military sleeping bags, where I am putting 2lbs of feather/down into a 4+ inch loft DIY FL UQ. Knowing that I am making something that will not be the size and weight of a Nalgene?

Putting my skip through memory lane aside, does this last part sound about right for you senior hangers?

I would then focus on building or buying a 3/4 3 season with 800+ down to make sure my old back could carry the load into the back country.

I just did a short car camp to test my new HH Safari in Big Sur a few weeks ago, all I did was stare into Botcher's Gap wishing I was 15 miles deeper into the Forest, solo, hunting squirrels for dinner.

Thanks for all the GREAT advice.

[Mouseskowitz]

Another source of down is damaged eBay. There are a fair number of My Luxe pillows and comforters that show up. They theoretically have 800 fill. This spring I picked up several for under $2.50/oz shipped. This does take some time and patience. This weekend I'm going to find out what the bottom end of the uq I made with it is. I'm hoping to get down to 10 but would be happy with 20. If you do DIY, I highly recommend drifters down blower.

[Mackinac]

I am 100% clueless and new to all of this I also struggled with the same question. I decided if I could do it cheap enough then it was worth my wild to give it a go! Last week I ended up making 2 UQ for under $20 (See Pictures)

[Mackinac]

More pictures!

[streamline]

I started diy with a small tarp with fabric from Wally World. That was for practice to make a hammock, I am sorry but if you don't save money making your own hammock, you are doing something very wrong. So then my interest was perked even more with tarps, use 2nd's and again, you will save money. That led to a down UQ, and again I saved a good deal of money.

What I enjoy is making original designed pieces of kit. I also enjoy saving money and then passing deals on to another member when I am ready to start on a new design.

[vanRijn]

After making a set of diy quilts I realized that when it comes to quilts, it just makes more sense to buy. I have since put this logic to work and own two more sets of hammock gear quilts....and they are better and warmer than I could have made.

I am going through the exact same conundrum right now and I've come to the exact same conclusion. And all the more so if I can get a great UQ for a better-than-normal price for Black Friday or whatever. =:)