Are UQ's temps rated correctly?

**Backtrack** · 11-29-2011, 20:01

Thanks everyone for the advise on the 3/4 UQ. I cant wait until this chilly weekend to put your suggestions to work!

**kayak karl** · 11-29-2011, 20:02

i have beat everyone by 10 degrees. te-wa and jrb.

**DemostiX** · 11-29-2011, 20:05

Look at the furrows. The ratio of furrow area to volume under the quilt is staggeringly high. Further: Change your leg position with many hangs, especially with tighter ones, and the location of furrows unexpectedly and dramatically changes. Furrows may have been sealed for your first position, but maybe not after you shifted your weight. Unfortunately the feedback to tell you it has gone bad takes a while to reach you. And then you are cold.

Have someone put a hand between the hammock bottom and the UQ after you have been in the hammock awhile. If it is cold in there, greater quantitites of down are just going to help block air flow. Very expensive way to do that, down is. But, I think we make far too much of the ease of "just clipping on" the UQ, as though the seal we get is as good as the of an oven door against the oven. Closer to the truth for comfort is that the incomplete seal may be as bad for performance as failing to mill a cylinder head before reinstalling it does for compression.

Other suggestions to check for leakage:

Put a highly reflective safety vest between the hammock bottom and UQ. Then, in the dark shine a light down those furrows to see if there is a straight shot for light, and therefor air to shoot in.

Put a lightweight flashlight, such as a 2 or 3 x AAA headband model between the UQ and hammock bottom, with the light pointing to the hammock ends. If light leaks out the furrows in the dark, then so does air; and the down at the end of the hammock is incompletely sealing.

I believe that for many hammocks draft tubes / stoppers are needed, either as part of the UQ, or sewn across the hammock, especially the foot end. When the thread arrives, I intend to try that on a test-bed: A strip of air-impermeable nylon 4" (100mm) wide will capture the end of the UQ. A draw-cord on the ends of thefree side of the fabric strip will clip up over the hammock end, as hangnout suggests the shock cord for the UQ should be routed, to compress gently onto the UQ, preventing all air going up the forrows from escaping.

**Trooper** · 11-29-2011, 20:09

I've got a 3/4 20° Underquilt which I've found to be accurately rated. My feet did get cold, but that's a learning curve to determine how thick of a pad I need.

I took quite a bit of slack from the shock cord, but only slightly tightened the end channels. I think we have the same hammock and UQ. I like to sleep with plenty of down at home in bed, so I consider myself a very cold sleeper.

**Backtrack** · 11-29-2011, 20:16

Originally Posted by Trooper

I've got a 3/4 20° Underquilt which I've found to be accurately rated. My feet did get cold, but that's a learning curve to determine how thick of a pad I need.

I took quite a bit of slack from the shock cord, but only slightly tightened the end channels. I think we have the same hammock and UQ. I like to sleep with plenty of down at home in bed, so I consider myself a very cold sleeper.

I guess the end channels would pucker and allow air in if they were too tight. Thats another great point...Thanks.

**Sidewinder** · 11-29-2011, 20:37

Originally Posted by Mancat

Imo... It all depends if you are a cold sleeper or a warm sleeper. Unfortunately as accurate as they try to be the ratings are still very subjective. I sleep very cold so I add 10-15 degrees to the rating so I know I will be warm.

What he said.

**FireInMyBones** · 11-29-2011, 20:42

I think that HG is now putting draft tubes on their 20F and 0F Phoenix. Adam mentioned putting one on the one I just ordered.

I tried not using a pad under my legs and noticed that my whole body got cold at 15F warmer than my old quilt's rating. With a pad I easily got lower than the rating. I never knew it could make such a difference.

**pgibson** · 11-29-2011, 21:28

Being sure feet and head are well to the comfortably warm side makes a big difference to me as well. This fall with down socks and hat on I had to pull my tq off totally for several hour on night in the 40's as I got to hot with the quilt on. I never felt to hot on my feet or head but keeping them from getting cold makes a huge difference in keeping the core warm.

**Bannerstone** · 11-29-2011, 21:46

The way I check my UQ for adjustment is, while laying in the hammock, I grab the channels about mid way and with both hands at the same time tug firmly upwards. If there was a sag underneath you will feel/hear a definate but soft slap/pop as the UQ comes against your underside. Snug your suspension and repeat. Took me about 3 adjustments to finally believe how tight the suspension had to be.

David

**stormcrow** · 11-29-2011, 23:48

@Backtrack, or any others that are having trouble adjusting their quilt, give me a call if you are at your wits end.

We rarely hear from customers that are not able to reach (or at least get very close to) the temperature rating on our underquilts. Many times they can get lower. Having said that, when they are not able to do so, it is almost always because the quilt is pulling away from the underside. Not because of compressed down. I always suggest tightening up the suspension first. As the temperature drops, the main suspension can relax a bit requiring an another adjustment for that temperature setting. This is because the main suspension is 14 feet long and if the cold weather affects it just a little, it can be significant to cause an issue. Fixing this can be as simple as adding another knot down from the stock setup that effectively shortens and therefore tightens the suspension.

Hangnout also makes a good point. Since the main suspension is focused on pulling quilt up from the long sides, and because the quilt is adjustable from end to end, you can sometimes get a slight "accordion" effect that can bunch up or shorten the underquilt. This can lead to some sagging in the center. If this does happen, it can sometimes help to try to straighten it out again. You can do this by making sure you slide the quilt by pulling it from the ends. Another idea is to utilize the loops at the corners of the fractional quilt as points to grab on to with some additional shock cord or extra line of some kind. That little bit of extra support is sometimes just what the doctor ordered.

Regarding draft collars. I have not used them in our quilts thus far because I rarely have customers that say they really wish we had them. Most people can get the quilts adjusted after some playing around with it. But, there are a number of people that DO have a harder time. This got me thinking and I know now that it is because there are so many different body types and so many different ways/positions that people lay in hammocks, that what works for some....does not work for others. So, in an effort to eliminate just a little more of the learning curve, we will soon be rolling out our 20 and 0 degree under quilts with draft collars. I do not have a set date when this will happen but some have already gone out (unofficially). There will be a slight weight penalty (approximately 1/2 ounce) but I think most people will like this change. I am also figuring out a "best way" for users with draft issues to retro fit their quilts with new draft collars.

Thanks everyone!

~Stormcrow