About ready to dive into an underquilt build or more accurately a winter hammock build . Im wondering if there is a really complete comparison of loose fill synthetic to down anywhere . Also how much loft for -10 Fahrenheit .
Where is a good source of loose fill synthetic .
Thinking of synthetic mainly to save money just in case this thing is a failure .
Or am I insureing failure by going synthetic ?
Define failure. Too heavy? Not warm enough? Falls apart?
Have faith and patience. There are legitimate reasons to choose synthetic. Cost, wet climate, or purpose (e.g. canoe camping) are all valid reasons, but fear of failure isn't imo. Start with the right materials (calandared ripstop, polyester thread), take your time and ask questions when concerned, and you'll be fine. If you're worried about about your sewing skills then buy a cheap bag of scraps from simply light design and practice, and consider sticking with cheaper 1.1 ripstop instead of pricier more slippery fabrics.
For -10 you'll need about 3.5" of loft.
You could also consider buying a shell from underquilts.com and filling it. Great quality, you'll need to finish one seam and add suspension.
Buy the best and you only cry once.Originally Posted by riverjoe
I bought 2 of the quilt kits from Thru-Hiker each with the extra down. I made a top quilt form one and a bottom quilt from the other. I have about 3 1/4" loft in my top quilt and have slept really warm to the mid 20s. I think it could easily go to the mid teens. Not sure about negative numbers. The loft could be fine but I'd want to add some more overstuff to make sure i get as much of that loft as possible.
That top quilt only weighs 1# 10 oz.
The bottom quilt also has about 3" of loft but I didn't overstuff it properly and it didn't fluff up as well as it should have. I ended up buying 3 more ounces of 850 down from Wilderness Logics. Their prices were pretty competitive and they will package your down in 1 ounce or half ounce bags which make stuffing it much easier. With the extra 3 ounces of down (which is an additional 2550 cubic inches of loft) the bottom quilt is much warmer. My bottom quilt weighs 1# 13oz with the suspension.
So I guess I'm saying to go with down for the best warmth/weight ratio. Especially if you want to go to temps that low. Since we carry 2 quilts that doubles the weight. If you go to a synthetic fill you'll have a quilt which is much heavier but you'll also find that it won't compress as well and it will take up a lot more room in your pack.
That's my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
Wow that is light . I guess Id be satisfied if it comes in under 5 pounds since my present quilt is about 12 pounds . In winter I will always use a sled .
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