Cuben hammock w/built in dual differential cut asym karo step winter UQ - first ever?

**gargoyle** · 09-29-2011, 07:53

I like it!
Now the question of CONDENSATION? With the cuben being waterproof and non-breathable, won't it collect vapor and turn into droplets? Time will tell, please let us know how the testing goes.

But a super job on a creative level.

3club has a sewn on uq/hammock. And his technique for when temps are too warm is to flip the hammock and lay on the insulation, thus compressing it. Seemed to work for him.

**Strung out** · 10-03-2011, 08:39

I have to say thanks to the hammock community and cottage shops for helping me so much during the research stage by sharing so many great ideas.

I could not have done this without all of your help.

Originally Posted by WV

Well done. Thanks for taking time to answer all our questions. I think you'll be warm at 32°. You may be too warm at 38°.

I actually headed to the woods with the wife this weekend, so I slept in a tent most of the time.

BUT

I made sure to haul the new gear out for some testing.

Saturday morning it was 26 degrees out there. I woke up before dawn and got into the hammock with my RAB top quilt.
well, actually, first I took a t-shirt and wiped all of the heavy frost off of the hammock

, then I got in.

Wearing only some thin long johns, I quickly warmed up and was nice and cozy in there.

The TQ was a bit marginal, but the UQ was nice and warm, I was comfy, and dozed off for over an hour.

Originally Posted by sidvicious

i'm a bit slow at the moment and i struggled with your post at first, especially with what the hell i was looking at.
but now i get it.
very neat. i've often wondered why this concoction wasn't more popular with you northern lights.
it looks great to me. i suspect you could vent through the top and therefore use it well into the high 50's or higher?
impressive. saves you lots of trouble, i wager.
cheers,
sv-

Later that day, I took a little nap in this thing. it was somewhere over 50. I was actually very comfortable, no sweat on the cuben problems at all.
Eventually I was in the full sun, and started to roast in that beast!
But that is to be expected.

Originally Posted by Shug

Whoooooooooooooooo Buddy. Looking forward to a Minnesota Chill Night briefing.
You did a fantastic job on that piece of gear.
Shug

26 is the best we could do so far! I'm really curious to see how low this can go.

Originally Posted by Violent Green

I had a hammock from CT2k.08 for a while and had no problems. I weigh 205lbs for what it's worth. It was 11'x4'.
Be careful when stuffing it into the stuff sack, I've heard of some instances where bonded baffles peeled due to the mechanical force used when stuffing. Probably little chance of that happening, but man it would suck on such a nice piece of gear.

Ryan

I did have a baffle let loose a little bit from getting a bit too hasty stuffing. These bonds are great in shear, but peel strength is a bit iffy. I have a solution, but would need to show pictures. maybe I"ll do a repair with photos. Thanks a lot for the tip.

Originally Posted by Oh-No

Actually I had (have) a Cuben tarp (0.58 oz. material) that I made into a double
layer hammock. I liked it but I move around a lot when I sleep
and I started to get abrasion holes in the "mylar".
The fibers didn't break but the holes kept getting bigger,
so I turned the hammock back into a tarp.
Patching the holes was easy.

I hope you make out better with your more robust (.74oz/sq yd ) cuben than I.
If it holds up well to abrasion, I be very tempted to make another one.

Thanks a lot for sharing. I will keep a close eye on any type of wear.

Originally Posted by gargoyle

I like it!
Now the question of CONDENSATION? With the cuben being waterproof and non-breathable, won't it collect vapor and turn into droplets? Time will tell, please let us know how the testing goes.
But a super job on a creative level.
3club has a sewn on uq/hammock. And his technique for when temps are too warm is to flip the hammock and lay on the insulation, thus compressing it. Seemed to work for him.

Condensation seems to be a non issue so far.

I like the flip idea. I might try that this week since it is going to be warm.

**Violent Green** · 10-03-2011, 12:41

Originally Posted by Strung out

I did have a baffle let loose a little bit from getting a bit too hasty stuffing. These bonds are great in shear, but peel strength is a bit iffy. I have a solution, but would need to show pictures. maybe I"ll do a repair with photos. Thanks a lot for the tip.

For something as short as a Karo baffle, some of the contact cements would be the best option for next time. If done properly they have the best peel strength by far.

Ryan

**Shewie** · 10-03-2011, 12:46

Stunning, I want one

**Strung out** · 12-02-2011, 10:15

Small update:

I have spent at least a dozen night in this hammock now.

Last night it was 17F and dropped below 14F in the AM.
Light winds 5-8 mph.

I did some testing in the evening and in the morning.

No tarp, wearing light fleece. stocking cap, and 2 summer TQ with about 13oz of down total. (still deciding on my winter TQ plan...)

This thing is warm.
I made sure to let it "chill" for a couple hours before I got in it last night, and it was definitely cold this morning.

I got in, things warmed up very quickly.
Wind was not a factor.
No condensation issues.
No adjusting of any suspension, or shifting the TQ this way or that, no drafts, etc. You just get in, and it's always right and ready to keep you warm.

I am really enjoying this setup so far.
More testing will be done as cold weather allows.

Thanks for watching,

And please, someone else make one of these.

I'm a busy guy, but if anyone is seriously ready to "co mm it" to building one, I'll try to help you with what I learned.

(weird, the word "co mm it" is censored on this site???) shows up as "******"

**Pipsissewa** · 12-02-2011, 10:47

I ****** to...YOU'RE RIGHT!!!! c-o-m-m-i-t comes out as ********

What the ...?!?!?!

Anyway, dude, arriving late to this party. But I LOVE your insulated cuben hammock!!!! That is awesome!!!! That's just what I need. I may have missed it, but could you do a run-down on suppliers, costs and instructions???!?! I'm not getting how you can tape baffles. THANKS!!!!!

**Fronkey** · 12-02-2011, 10:48

Originally Posted by Strung out

Small update:

I have spent at least a dozen night in this hammock now.

Last night it was 17F and dropped below 14F in the AM.
Light winds 5-8 mph.

I did some testing in the evening and in the morning.

No tarp, wearing light fleece. stocking cap, and 2 summer TQ with about 13oz of down total. (still deciding on my winter TQ plan...)

This thing is warm.
I made sure to let it "chill" for a couple hours before I got in it last night, and it was definitely cold this morning.

I got in, things warmed up very quickly.
Wind was not a factor.
No condensation issues.
No adjusting of any suspension, or shifting the TQ this way or that, no drafts, etc. You just get in, and it's always right and ready to keep you warm.

I am really enjoying this setup so far.
More testing will be done as cold weather allows.

Thanks for watching,

And please, someone else make one of these.

I'm a busy guy, but if anyone is seriously ready to "co mm it" to building one, I'll try to help you with what I learned.

(weird, the word "co mm it" is censored on this site???) shows up as "******"

I saw this in person last week and it was just AWESOME! I can't get over how light it is and you did look comfy when I saw you sleeping from across the woods from me.

I'm not sure if you have yet, but you should take some pics of the "breather" ventilation you put in your set up to allow it to compress and help with condensation issues. I was really impressed with this system.

Also, put up a thread of those flashlights of yours. Alien abduction is the only thing I can compare the brightness to.

Fronkey

**stamati** · 12-02-2011, 14:29

Fantastic setup! I was wondering today why more hammocks don't incorporate a quilt into the design. I think what you've done is brilliant in that it effectively eliminates all those qualms you have about the UQ.

**R00K** · 12-02-2011, 14:35

THIS....IS....TOO COOL!

Also late to the party, but.... I want!

**GrizzlyAdams** · 12-02-2011, 14:47

Originally Posted by stamati

Fantastic setup! I was wondering today why more hammocks don't incorporate a quilt into the design. I think what you've done is brilliant in that it effectively eliminates all those qualms you have about the UQ.

It is a very cool setup! But I can answer the question

why more hammocks don't incorporate a quilt into the design?

and that's because one chooses an under-quilt for a temperature range. I have roughly four ranges I pack for, different under-insulation systems for each. But I can use the same hammock for every one.

But I agree with the sentiment that building the UQ into the hammock eliminates some of the touchy points about using an UQ.