UQ's seem like they'd be too short?

**cradcore** · 04-16-2016, 13:45

Sorry for the newb question, but, well, I am new to hammock camping and very new to this forum

Anyway, I've been camping in my hammock a few nights last summer, and so far, I've either used a sleeping pad or just a blanket to insulate my bottom side, but I'm ready to take the plunge and invest in an under quilt. There's one thing that concerns me though, and it's that pretty much every UQ I've looked at is only ~5 or 6 feet long. Now, I'm not super tall (5' 10") but sometimes I do sleep with my arm under my head, which elongates my length to ~8 feet.

It seems like all the UQ's would not cover the entirety of me, and therefore I would have cold spots and wake up because of them. I know a lot of people just get an extra foot pad, but this seems like extra work and effort when I could just get an UQ that completely covers me. Can someone clarify if this is just me overthinking these or direct me to longer UQ's. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

**Slugger** · 04-16-2016, 14:39

Sounds like you've been looking at 3/4 length under quilts. Look at Hammock Gear Incubator series...they are full length UQ and have 3 length choices - short @ 73", regular @ 78" and long @ 83". I'm 6' and have a regular length UQ and that covers me from head to toes no problem.

**SilvrSurfr** · 04-16-2016, 15:46

I'm 5'11". If temps are above 30* F, I use a 3/4 Phoenix UQ with no pad. If temps are below 30* F, I use a full-length 0* Incubator. I personally don't think the pad is necessary unless you're trying to make a 3/4 UQ work in lower temps. For example, I would never buy a 0* 3/4 UQ because once temps get that cold, I'm not as concerned about weight.

**gnomad** · 04-16-2016, 17:18

Two other notes:
I use an insulating pillow for my head so the uq only need hit shoulders and I am laying at an angle to the uq orientation which also makes it functionally longer.

**hutzelbein** · 04-17-2016, 05:59

I'm 5'4" and the HG Incubator short which is 73" according to the specs covers me completely with a little bit of wiggle room. Of course you could get an 8' underquilt to also cover your extended arm - but is the added cost and weight really worth it to you? If I were to sleep that way and wanted protection for my arm, I would buy an underquilt that covers me from head to toe, plus a pair of arm warmers if necessary. What are currently doing about your arm? Is your pad long enough?

**sr1355** · 04-17-2016, 06:45

While there certainly are short UQ most FULL quilts will cover the typical occupant. Take our FULL, it is approximately 77" long when fully extended, this alone will cover most user but when you consider you also sleep slighty on the diagonal in the underquilt as well the effective lenght is increase. For reference I'm 6'1" tall and a 7/8 UQ (~66") provided very close to full coverage for me with just the back of my skull remaining off the quilt with the quilt wrapped over the bottom of my feet.

**GoatHanger** · 04-17-2016, 07:06

Gnomad and sr1355 mentioned something important, that you are laying on an angle. The diagonal of a rectangle is the square root of the length squared plus the width squared.

So if the underquilt is 6' long by 45" wide:
72 x 72 = 5184
45 x 45 = 2025
Square root of 7209 = 84.9

Just over 7'. Not 8', but not bad at all. You'll be surprised at the coverage you get, even on partial length UQ's.

My Jarbidge is 58"L x 42"W. Most of the time, I have plenty of coverage as it is. I'm 5' 10". My head extends over a little, and so do my feet. When it's really cold, a beanie on my head and a partial length foam pad in the footbox of my top quilt are plenty.

I do like one a bit longer, just because it's simpler, but I've never been too cold in a partial if setup correctly. For that matter, you could have an UQ that extends the full length of your hammock, but if it isn't setup correctly you could be cold.

It's really personal preference for length of quilts. If backpacking long distance, you may want to save weight with a partial length. If car camping, maybe go all out with an 80" quilt. Or maybe get something in between for multipurpose. Whatever you get, just make sure you set it up well. Shug and others have videos to help you out with that. Good luck finding quilt nirvana!

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

**Shug** · 04-17-2016, 07:59

Originally Posted by cradcore

Sorry for the newb question, but, well, I am new to hammock camping and very new to this forum

Anyway, I've been camping in my hammock a few nights last summer, and so far, I've either used a sleeping pad or just a blanket to insulate my bottom side, but I'm ready to take the plunge and invest in an under quilt. There's one thing that concerns me though, and it's that pretty much every UQ I've looked at is only ~5 or 6 feet long. Now, I'm not super tall (5' 10") but sometimes I do sleep with my arm under my head, which elongates my length to ~8 feet.

It seems like all the UQ's would not cover the entirety of me, and therefore I would have cold spots and wake up because of them. I know a lot of people just get an extra foot pad, but this seems like extra work and effort when I could just get an UQ that completely covers me. Can someone clarify if this is just me overthinking these or direct me to longer UQ's. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Loco Libre makes very long UQs.......check it.....http://www.locolibregear.com/gear.ht...=0&sort=normal
Carry forth
Shug

**locknload** · 04-17-2016, 08:38

I'm 5'10", my Hammock Gear Incubator 20* is 78" but I ordered my Loco Libre Gear Habanero 0* at 80". If I go semi or full fetal I can get full coverage (over the top of my hear to beyond my feet) in either UQ but I wanted full coverage while stretched out on my back in colder temps. Since my LLG 0* is for extreme temps, I wanted the entire area around my head insulated from the cold air, not just where my pillow insulates. Warmer temps would be a different story. If I buy a 40* or 50* UQ, it will be much shorter if not a partial length.