Can an UQ be too wide?

[amwolffman]

The title basically asks my question.
I have a DIY JCP Puffer jacket underquilt that is wide enough to wear the edges rise almost to the height of the sides of my hammock.

Does this cause any heat to be lost due to gaps on the sides between the UQ and the hammock?

[Junebugdawn]

I have my UQ attached directly to my hammock sides. There are no gaps. I have seen UQs that actually rise up above the sides of a hammock.

[sargevining]

My quilts are all 60" wide and I don't lose any heat. They wrap around me like a warm hug from my momma.

[Ratdog]

I like them to rise a little above the edge of the hammock in case I am side sleeping.
Plus it's nice and warm when your shoulder is against the edge of the hammock.

[gunner76]

Then there is the PeaPod that encloses the whole hammock.

[amwolffman]

Good stuff,
I made mine extra wide because I too like the extra comfort and range it provides.

I was wonderingm since there are sometimes gaps between the hammock and the UQ edge due to the width, wouldn't that cause the air trapped underneath to become colder?

[OutandBack]

Good stuff,
I made mine extra wide because I too like the extra comfort and range it provides.

I was wonderingm since there are sometimes gaps between the hammock and the UQ edge due to the width, wouldn't that cause the air trapped underneath to become colder?

Do you have any picts showing this gap you are talking about?
Proper shockcord placement and tightness should close all side gaps.

[turnerminator]

My biggest winter UQ is 60" wide, I love it. The high sides block lots of drafts and it never shifts out of place in the night.

It wouldn't work with a WBBB though.

[BillyBob58]

Do you have any picts showing this gap you are talking about?
Proper shockcord placement and tightness should close all side gaps.

I have had side gap issues with certain UQs on certain bridge hammocks, at the top edge on the top sides. There are never any issues on the ends with the bridges, like some folks have to deal with on gathered end hammocks and UQs, but a small gap tends to occur with these same UQs on bridge hammocks. It's as though the hammocks switch problems.

But like you say, "Proper shockcord placement and tightness should close all side gaps". IOW, I have been able to deal with these side gaps either by using a single shock cord addition from side to side, or in the case of my short MW3, a "criss-cross" foot end hook up is a total cure.

However, I am not certain these side gaps on a bridge even matter. I have always been warm in these UQ/bridge combos, even when I did nothing about the small gap near the top. So maybe cold air can sink down into that gap. But down where we can't see, where my side or even back is pressing against the hammock and compressing my TQ, does the gap still exist down there? Who knows? But I have not yet got cold, so I might be wasting my time worrying about it.

OTOH, probably a big enough side gap and any kind of gap on the ends and underneath you can be "game over", if the game is keeping warm. (Except in a Pea Pod, where- though no doubt not optimal- a small gap underneath me doesn't seem to matter near as much.

Edit: I forgot to say: I think the only problem with a too wide UQ is unneeded weight and bulk and maybe cost. If there are gaps on the side for me it has been the hammock I was using and can probably be fixed anyway. But if it is wider than you think you actually need, even on oyur side and leaning back into it, then you are buying and carrying what you don't need.

One other problem of a too wide quilt and specific to one particular hammock is with a WBRR bridge. A too wide quilt will interfere with those nifty saddle bags.

[sargevining]

IMHO, the bigger worry is cold air intrusion from the ends, at least that's been my experience until the other day getting a 60" wide Underwoobie on a Hennessy.