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  1. #1
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Video : The Making of a Cuben Fiber Karo Step Under-Quilt

    Sometimes making a new DIY piece of gear---and for that matter, making a video about it---is like raising a child. Takes a long time, a lot of devoted effort, doesn't come out quite the way you expect, but you love it anyway.

    So here's my latest DIY gear and video child. A couple of years ago I made a summer-weight under-quilt where the layer closest to the hammock was made of cuben fiber. After starting the project I had the inspiration to make both layers of cuben, but by that time a bit too much jury-rigging would have been needed to try and pull it off. A couple of years of experience with this, and I've had no condensation issues that you might anticipate with something non-breathable so close to the body. I like very much the idea of keeping my down dry, so ever since I've had the notion to make an under-quilt from first principles that is nearly all cuben fiber, and minimizes sewing. Just for the challenge of it. Seeing various Karo step baffled quilts I thought I throw that into the mix as well. Again, for the challenge of it.

    I did that this summer and shot some video of the steps along the way, but more shooting was necessary, and July is not an inspiring season to be showing off an under-quilt. Life got real busy, but I've found some time this last week to finish the filming, and make the video. Happy Thanksgiving!

    Here's a teaser---watch to see how much of a hash I make of stuffing the down. I end up looking like the abominable snowman!

    Last edited by GrizzlyAdams; 11-23-2011 at 21:38.
    Grizz
    (alias ProfessorHammock on youtube)

  2. #2
    Senior Member lostinthewuds's Avatar
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    Well done once again Grizzly!
    "The question that oft' makes me hazy... am I or the others crazy?" Albert Einstein

    "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

  3. #3
    Senior Member Hawk-eye's Avatar
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    Thumbs up

    Great HOW-TO video Grizz! Also shows me why I really don't want to make any more down gear! Ha!
    Really a great piece of gear! Loved the video opening! Slick presentation!

    WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.


    "A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
    Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin


    Home of the Gorge Rats: Linville Gorge
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  4. #4
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lostinthewuds View Post
    Well done once again Grizzly!
    Hey thanks! You get the "first" award, posted mere minutes after the video went up. Not that there's a lot of competition Tinny or shug I'm not.

    Quote Originally Posted by Hawk-eye View Post
    Great HOW-TO video Grizz! Also shows me why I really don't want to make any more down gear! Ha!
    Really a great piece of gear! Loved the video opening! Slick presentation!
    Thanks Hawk-eye. On all the down projects but this one I worked SO HARD to avoid losing any to the air when stuffing. New philosophy---forget about it! That's what shop vacs are for, to clean up afterward.

    I do like this quilt, although lightening up the suspension is a work-in-progress. Want to find a way to pull the center in and up without shock-cord through the channel. That shock cord is heavy!

    When I saw the interior of the empty shell I knew I wanted a shot of wandering through it. Waited to fill the shell with down until I got a webcam that would give me that shot.

    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Grizz
    (alias ProfessorHammock on youtube)

  5. #5
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    Wow. Impressive as usual Grizz. I wondered how one attached a series of baffles inside and now that bit of curiosity has been satiated. Looks like a lot of work. Nicely explained.

  6. #6
    Senior Member aboyd's Avatar
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    Great explanation, and great video. Thanks for the info.
    "I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come." - Abraham Lincoln

  7. #7
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    Colonoscopy cam))))))) Been interested in this.
    Now off to watch.....
    Ok....I am back. Very good. I like the camo accent on the sides of that lofty cuben.
    Most excellant.
    Shug
    Last edited by Shug; 11-24-2011 at 10:56.
    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  8. #8
    Senior Member WV's Avatar
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    Griz,

    Thanks for posting - looks great.

    As you know, I favor bonding cuben, but for an underquilt the stresses should be much lower than they would be on a tarp seam. Do you think someone could sew a cuben UQ more easily than taping it? The baffle connections are subject to peel forces, though they should be so small that it doesn't matter. Nevertheless, a sewn baffle may resist peel force better than a taped one. All the DIYers who are comfortable with thread injectors but haven't jumped into cuben taping and bonding might like a project that works just as well with sewn cuben - if it works. Would it?

    As you use this UQ, please report on any condensation issues in different weathers (and with different users, if possible). Transpiration (is that the right word? - "Sweating") is such an individual thing. If only hammocking didn't involve people we'd have no problem with temperature ratings or humidity factors.

    I have some of the aluminized cuben, and I've thought it would make a good top layer for a winter underquilt. That could be a good application for it, as it would be less likely to get wet (barring extreme condensation). I believe it has been withdrawn because its different fabrication makes it less satisfactory for tarps, etc. Further thought: if the aluminized cuben were the bottom layer of an underquilt (or, as in my case, an insulated hammock) it should re-radiate through the down, right?

  9. #9
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BER View Post
    ... I wondered how one attached a series of baffles inside and now that bit of curiosity has been satiated. Looks like a lot of work.
    Yep, it was a lot of work. But much of the enjoyment is in the process, so the time commitment was OK.

    Quote Originally Posted by aboyd View Post
    Great explanation, and great video. Thanks for the info.
    Thanks for watching.

    Quote Originally Posted by Shug View Post
    Colonoscopy cam))))))) Been interested in this.
    Now off to watch.....
    Shug
    Ha! We 50-somethings have colonoscopies on the brain...
    Quote Originally Posted by WV View Post
    Griz,...
    As you know, I favor bonding cuben, but for an underquilt the stresses should be much lower than they would be on a tarp seam.
    yep.
    Quote Originally Posted by WV View Post
    Do you think someone could sew a cuben UQ more easily than taping it?
    I think it might be easier to sew long traditional baffle channels than taping, because of the pressure to keep those tape lines absolutely straight. I think taping the Karo step might be easier than sewing though, if only because you're not constantly fighting the sewing machine's presence in getting things lined up. One reason I taped instead of sewing is that I didn't want ANY passage of body moisture into the quilt, and didn't want to seam seal all the seams to avoid that. Probably a wash w.r.t. weight of tape vs weight of thread and seam sealer.


    Quote Originally Posted by WV View Post
    The baffle connections are subject to peel forces, though they should be so small that it doesn't matter. Nevertheless, a sewn baffle may resist peel force better than a taped one.
    All true. If one of those interior baffles peels off, ...., But I'm not seeing how to get significant peel forces inside, so I think it's OK.

    Quote Originally Posted by WV View Post
    As you use this UQ, please report on any condensation issues in different weathers (and with different users, if possible).
    For the last couple of years I've used a combination cuben fiber + mom-90 under-quilt where the cuben was next to the hammock. Used in temps ranging from low 30's up to low 60's. Variety of humidities. I never had any condensation issues, which led me to hope and expect that that this new one would work for me just as well. But, that's me . I suspect this is a pretty individual thing.

    Quote Originally Posted by WV View Post
    I have some of the aluminized cuben, and I've thought it would make a good top layer for a winter underquilt. That could be a good application for it, as it would be less likely to get wet (barring extreme condensation). I believe it has been withdrawn because its different fabrication makes it less satisfactory for tarps, etc. Further thought: if the aluminized cuben were the bottom layer of an underquilt (or, as in my case, an insulated hammock) it should re-radiate through the down, right?
    I don't see why that shouldn't work if the top layer were cuben also.
    Your next project!
    Grizz
    (alias ProfessorHammock on youtube)

  10. #10
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Nicely done video! I just finished my 1st karo quilt this summer also. I did not find it any easier than the several conventional quilts that I have made. In fact, I prefer the conventional method.

    I have two questions about the results of using cuben for the underquilt, which can be answered only after using it a few nights.
    1. Is condensation a problem
    2. Does the quilt make excessive noise when you turn (I toss & turn a lot).

    One thing that impressed/scared me was to see how you were not at all gentle with the quilt and the fact that you used a single fold a cuben for shockcord channels. You're a brave man!
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

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