Whipped together a Climashield TQ this weekend. (Well perhaps "whipped together" implies less time that it really took - I made one anyway )
I used 30D Coyote brown ripstop from Magna Fabrics. Wow, that stuff is light! Without any coating it feels great but definitely will have to treat it well. For insulation I used a single layer of 2.5oz Climashield APEX from Thru-Hiker. That Climashield was a lot sturdier stuff than I thought it might be - after seeing it I understand how just sewing the edges is enough. The 2.5oz stuff is pretty thin though - little over 1/2 inch loft but then this is just supposed to be 1 season - hoping it'll do 45-50* (Plan is to create a 2nd TQ to nest with it - that's what the little black tabs are to connect it to it's yet to-be-made mate).
For those who like details for their own projects (know I'd never have tried this without all the helpful post others have left!):
- Inner shell: 57"x82"
- Outer shell: 59"x84" (to ensure room for loft)
- Insulation: ~58"x82" (since the stuff's 60"wide and I had the differential for loft I decided to make it a little wide to maximize insulation and not really have measure and cut the width)
- Sew shells together with ~24" unsewn part at foot end.
- Lay out shell on-top-of insulation. Pin
- Run line of stitching ~1" in from edge all the way around (except previously mentioned opening). Sew with the CS on the bottom else the sewing machine foot will snag it!
- Reach in through opening and turn rightside out - the insulation will now be on the inside and your seams hidden.
- Close off opening.
I went with a sewn footbox (~22") with a cinched bottom so I can still vent. Thought I was all done then went to cinch it shut only to find that the 1 1/2" grosgrain I'd used was just too stiff/thick and the best I could do still left a 6" opening. So out came the seam ripper followed by a good hour plus of picking out stitches. The next afternoon I redid the end channel with doubled over ripstop and it cinched down much better (and looked cleaner too).
Finished weight 19oz (7.7oz was shell) - a bit more than I though but still a good 11oz less than the bag I've been using so win.
Stuffed size isn't too bad - not tiny but again a marked improvement over what I've been using. In the pics it's still somewhat loosely packed - it can be squashed down more but I made the sack a bit oversized so it'll conform better inside my pack. Think mini-basketball size.
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