Who has the best buy for UQ's?

[dkurfiss]

Same thing I said a few days back. Make yourself a list of what you want and then call the vendors. All the vendors here are good to work with and provide a superior product at a reasonable cost.

here are some questions to ask yourself

Down or Synthetics
Dry down and regular
700/800/900 fill
Weight
Volume compressed
3/4 or full
Suspension kit included or extra
Type of hammock you are using (Gathered or bridge)
reputation of vendor (check the forums to see how they respond)
delivery time (some deliver within a couple of days, some a few months)
price

Personally I got mine from Jacks R Better. I have The Nest and Old Rag mountain. I choose JRB for a number of reasons but The Nest is made specifically for my HH bottom entry (mobility issues here) but can be used with any hammock. JRB also has a stock of his inventory so I can get delivery with 72 hours of ordering (we are both in VA). JRB was willing to answer all of my questions in a timely manner via phone and email. The price was reasonable for the product I received. Let's say that I was please enough with The Nest (I have had it well over a year now) that this Christmas, I went back to JRB for Old Rag.

[dakotaross]

Money is always an issue with me, I've been called cheap, but I like to think of it as frugal, dont mind spending the money but if I spend a dollar I want a dollar's worth of value.

Weight is very important, if I can't get my set up as low as my ground set up I probably wont use it. I've worked thru the numbers and can get there if I take a little weight off my tarp, which I can, and have a total weight of 2 lbs for the TQ and UG, I'll do the UQ first and if that works out proceed with a TQ.

OK, I understand frugal all too well, but if you're saying you need a hammock setup to compare to your ground setup, and you need the UQ and TQ to be 2lbs to compare to your bag and pad, and you need to shave ounces on your tarp to get there, then I'd say you already know something about spending money on quality light gear. I'd be curious to know what you're comparing to.

The HammockGear quilts are about the lightest around with the Argon material, and cost is close to the same as everyone else. If its more, fine, but not that much more. I think DIY is fine if you understand the principal of trial and error and you have confidence in that being a cost efficient thing for you to do. The question is DIY really going to be less expensive, AND get you a lighter product. For me, the answer was no and no.

[hutzelbein]

If weight is that important to you, and you are looking for a 3/4 underquilt, have a look at the Warbonnet Yeti. The last time I checked, it was the lightest 3/4 underquilt on the market. I own a 3-season Yeti, and to me it seems crazy light and small. If I were a warmer sleeper, this would probably be my go-to uq. As it is, I end up using my Hammock Gear Incubators most of the time.

[Drybones]

[QUOTE=dakotaross;1214772] I'd be curious to know what you're comparing to.
QUOTE]

Currently have
TT Notch tent - 1.75 DIY tarp - 1.75
Exped Synmat 7 UL pad - 1.125 DIY hammock - 1.125
REI Sub Kilo bag - 2.188 UG - ?
Total 5.063 TQ - ?

[Drybones]

This is what my cost estimate is to make an UQ:

Item Cost
Outer Material - Momentum 90MR - www.thr-hiker.com $19.90
Inner Material - Momrntum 90T- www.thru-hiker.com $19.90
Down - 850 - www.wildernesslogics.com $87.50
Bungy Cord $5.00
Cord Locks $2.22
Nanoseeum netting - www,thru-hiker.com $7.95
Total $142.47

[dakotaross]

[QUOTE=Drybones;1214906]

I'd be curious to know what you're comparing to.
QUOTE]

Currently have
TT Notch tent - 1.75 DIY tarp - 1.75
Exped Synmat 7 UL pad - 1.125 DIY hammock - 1.125
REI Sub Kilo bag - 2.188 UG - ?
Total 5.063 TQ - ?

As I suspected, your math doesn't work in comparing the setups...

tent --> hammock & tarp
pad --> UQ
sbag --> TQ

Its a common mistake. Yes, you can absolutely save on your tarp. Here's my light, not U/L, setup for comparison...

hammock & suspension 1.4875 + tarp & lines 1.0 = 2.4875 > the TT tent 1.75
JRB MW short (Greylock equiv) 0.95 < synmat pad 1.125
Golite Ultra TQ 1.2 < REI bag 2.2
Overall... my hammock setup (hammock/susp/net/tarp/lines) 4.6375 < 5.075 for your tent setup
(I forgot stakes)

Actually, math is fine, its really about where you placed items in your mind that led you to state that you needed the TQ and UQ to be 2lbs, which would be pushing it. If you look at it the correct way, you can see that you can take out the pad altogether, which in your format would mean that the TQ/UQ would need to be about 3.125, which is very doable AND would allow you to consider some less expensive, heavier options like the Arrowhead KA quilts.

[Drybones]

[QUOTE=dakotaross;1214984]

As I suspected, your math doesn't work in comparing the setups...

tent --> hammock & tarp
pad --> UQ
sbag --> TQ

Its a common mistake. Yes, you can absolutely save on your tarp. Here's my light, not U/L, setup for comparison...

hammock & suspension 1.4875 + tarp & lines 1.0 = 2.4875 > the TT tent 1.75
JRB MW short (Greylock equiv) 0.95 < synmat pad 1.125
Golite Ultra TQ 1.2 < REI bag 2.2
Overall... my hammock setup (hammock/susp/net/tarp/lines) 4.6375 < 5.075 for your tent setup
(I forgot stakes)

Actually, math is fine, its really about where you placed items in your mind that led you to state that you needed the TQ and UQ to be 2lbs, which would be pushing it. If you look at it the correct way, you can see that you can take out the pad altogether, which in your format would mean that the TQ/UQ would need to be about 3.125, which is very doable AND would allow you to consider some less expensive, heavier options like the Arrowhead KA quilts.

What I had typed got garbled when I posted it, guess that was due to using the bold function...anyway, my current tent set up is at 5.063 lbs. That means the total of a TQ and UQ will need to be at 2.188 lbs to be the same weight. I see that as doable for above 25 or so degrees but may have to use the tent for winter hikes.

[Floridahanger]

Currently have
TT Notch tent - 1.75 DIY tarp - 1.75
Exped Synmat 7 UL pad - 1.125 DIY hammock - 1.125
REI Sub Kilo bag - 2.188 UG - ?
Total 5.063 TQ - ?

What I had typed got garbled when I posted it, guess that was due to using the bold function...anyway, my current tent set up is at 5.063 lbs. That means the total of a TQ and UQ will need to be at 2.188 lbs to be the same weight. I see that as doable for above 25 or so degrees but may have to use the tent for winter hikes.

Your TQ and UQ weights need to match to the SB and pad to compare, unless you plan on using your pad in combo with your UQ.

Your pad is 1.125 and bag is 2.188 for a total of 3.313. By replacing both pad and SB, you would need to get TQ/UQ combo at 3.313. Depending on your winter clothing, you should be able to do winter camping with TQ/UQ combo at or just a little over 3.313, but, with the added comfort of a built in chair to put on your boots and easier to stand up from sleep position and better nights sleep, so on and so forth(my opinion, of course).

Good luck on your search and show us pics of both ground and hammock setups to compare. It would be nice to see both.

[youbet]

Winter hikes I double up my underquilts expending how cold it is. Pulling a pulk im not as picky as far as wieght. I have a 0 deg and 2 40 ish diy quilts was toasty warm at 27 below and a good wind. Summer im much more weight oriented.

[c0wb0y_hubs]

I second the Underquilts.com suggestion. I am very pleased with mine. It's the 3/4 UQ Foyle and it is really long for a 3/4. At $55 for the majority of the sewing, I jumped on that. I am super cheap and like to make all my own gear, but I also know my time and skill limits, so I went for it.