Great feedback! Thanks guys!
Great feedback! Thanks guys!
Just to clarify my understanding: I guess the only determining factor in picking an UQ (assuming you have one that will keep you warm enough - and excluding cost) is bulk/weight?
Lower rated (down to lower degrees) UQs don't make it hotter, they just prevent you from getting cold at lower temperatures...so if bulk/weight wasn't an issue - you might as well get a really,really low temp rated UQ, right?
In the most basic sense, yes, that is correct.Originally Posted by chrisgarrison888
I don't live far from Birmingham, AL., and I've been primarily using my full length 0 degree under quilt all fall/winter without issue, and I'm a very hot sleeper. The highest temps that I've used it in, however, have only been about 50-55 degrees degrees. If I wake up hot, I just vent my overbuilt. A friend of mine who backpacks with me a lot (and is a smaller guy than I am) uses a 20 degree uq and I have had him tell me he has gotten cold a few times, usually is it's a windy night when the temps were in the 20's.
Yes, in retrospect, I think I should have gotten a 0* UQ because it is easy enough to just vent in warmer weather, but would get me down to some colder temps.
I'm considering selling my HG Incubator 20 so I can afford to purchase an overstuffed 0*.
What does the "overstuffed" do? More insulation/heat I'm guessing? I've seen how a bunch of manufacturers will add extra ounces for $x. ??
That probably settles it for me. I'll get a 0 degree UQ.
Any thoughts on 3/4 length vs full? I'm all for saving weight/space but not at the expense of having to rig/jack around with stuff all night long.
I like the full length. I tried really hard to make the 3/4 Phoenix work, but I like the ease of my Incubators. Jump in the hammock and you're done head to toe.
After I bought a Phoenix and saw them side by side, the bulk wasn't a big deal, and the 6oz difference wasn't worth it.
If I ever do get into a 3/4, it will be for warmer nights (40°+) where it's not really a big deal to keep warm anyway. As it gets colder (below freezing), getting cold can make or break a trip and keep you up all night. I refuse to ever do that again.
I don't know about a 0* overstuffed Incubator for Alabama. I'm from Alabama and can't imagine carrying that much weight for the temps you'll see.
My general rule of thumb is to have a 10* cushion above the expected lows. So if the low is 50* F, I'll bring my 40* HG quilts. If it's 30* F, I'll bring my 20* quilts. Anything below 30* F, and I'm probably going to bring my 0* quilts. A couple of weeks ago, the advertised low temps on Weather Channel were 30* F, but it got down to 17* F. Of course, I only brought my 20* Phoenix and Burrow and my feet got cold. Last week, it got down to 16 or 17* F again, but this time I brought my 0* Incubator and Burrow. I was toasty warm.
Here in NJ, I use my HG Phoenix and Burrow 20* quilts 80% of the time.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
I've never owned a quilt with extra stuffing, but yes, it's supposed to add more insulation for lower temps.
My immediate area is not the only place I go and I've been caught out with it getting too cold. It really depends on your intentions. If I had to do over, I'd rather have a 0* UQ and maybe some extra stuffing. Given the money for 2 UQ's, I think I'd rather have a 0* and a 40*.
I've only owned to one UQ and it's a full length. I don't think I'd care for a 3/4, except maybe for the 40*, maybe.
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