You're Doing Underquilts All Wrong. Get A Clew ;-)

[JT4446]

Put the Gemini to the test ' last night. I made mine with an option for a full three layers for winter. Used it as a three layer. 30 degrees no problem. Used a reflective Bivy as an UQP. Think that.may have helped too. Really think colder would have been no problem. CDQ Top quilt worked great too!
20180121_130347.jpg20180121_130401.jpg

[feoTX]

Okay, I read through all 55 pages, I'm somewhat less confused.

I think.

Has anyone tried this on an AHE New River? Like the quilt, but maybe I move too much at night.

Of course, I could sew two strips of Velcro loop to the inside of my hammock, and glue matching strips of Velcro hook to my posterior, that'd keep me still.

[Jiblets]

I was sewing up a prototype of my first full length quilt this past weekend, and stumbled on this thread. I didn't have any grosgrain, or snaps, so I sewed up a scalloped edge with fabric loops to match each baffle.

I didn't weave the clew as I only had 6 channels (so 7 attachment points). The smallest shock cord I have is 3/32", and with the 7 points, it is holding up my heavy quilt very well.

I used 1 short piece, and 3 double length pieces of shock cord. For the long pieces, each end of the bungee was tied onto adjacent fabric loops using a taut line hitch (with a little overhand knot added on the ends to help keep the hitch from untying). I then added a loop in the middle using a Figure 8. This way I reduce the number of loops connected to the Sbiner. (I suspect it'll also help reduce tangles)

I've only hung indoors, but I'm liking this suspension method a lot. I can shift into various positions, and the quilt automagically corrects and snugs up to my body. No cold spots, and no need to manually adjust the quilt, or slide/shift in the hammock to find the warm sweet spot.

I'm a little curious to know if I had used some stretch material for the scallops, if I could use mason's line for the "clew" portion, but am hesitant to do it as I don't know how resilient they are over time (and I'm too cheap to go buy some stretch material) .

Thanks to Leivoia for the OP, and all the contributors. This is a great thread.


p.s. I'm also liking the potential of the KAM snaps, so those have been ordered.

Funny - the first pic is upside down... sry

20180205_193934.jpg20180205_194516.jpg

[leiavoia]

You could have used stretch fabric for the "scallopy" part, but it would not have created a better product and sewing stretch fabrics may require a different set of tools and skills. What i know does NOT work is putting elastic horizontally across the short side of the quilt to try to prevent the scalloping. For this kind of suspension, the quilt tends to prefer not being gathered up like that. All that ends up doing is make it slide off your foot.

Another thing you could have done is use an 8" band of stretch fabric instead of shockcord. However, the shockcord is going to be more versatile, adjustable, easier to swap out, and probably weigh less too (depending on what size you got. 1/6" is pretty light).

Thanks for the feedback and pictures..

[Theguywitheyebrows]

great job on the clewed build jiblets! your ingenuity is appreciated!! i like how you used different lengths to accomplish the same goals, instead of several similar lengths.

[QFT]

Apologies if this has been mentioned in the previous 55 pages. If you're having trouble keeping your nettles neat during transport, I have a suggestion. A snakeskin style sleeve on the nettles would help with this, and an example of this already exists.

HammockTent 90 degree hammocks have suspensions that work much like the Clew, and they use a sleeve with snaps keep things from turning into a tangled nightmare when packed. You can watch a demonstration in this video (link)

Sleeve stays at the very end of the suspension while it's hung, and slides down to gather the nettles together when you pack it up. Put a snap at the quilt end to keep the sleeve deployed; put another snap at the narrow end of the suspension to keep the sleeve out of the way when hanging.

[sqidmark]

You mean sumpthin' like this?

[QFT]

You mean sumpthin' like this?

Yes. That looks excellently done. I hope Lieavoia adds that to the page at some point, it's a great finishing touch.

Side note - how heavy are these suspension components compared to a traditional UQ suspension? I saw the comparison on how building a quilt can be made lighter with this since you use less material for side channels etc.... but what I want to know is: if I remove the suspension from my HammockGear full length quilt, and put a Clew on it, how much weight does that add or remove?

[leiavoia]

if I remove the suspension from my HammockGear full length quilt, and put a Clew on it, how much weight does that add or remove?

It might save an ounce. This assumes you are using grosgrain ribbons and kam snaps for the anchors, and either 1/16 or 1/32 shockcord for the clews.

Side channel suspensions weigh in at about 2.5-3.0 oz, while clews are about 2.0. Varies by model of course.

If you remove your side channel suspension, I recommend retaining the end channel cinch cord. That continues to be handy.

[QFT]

Cool. I'm just glad to hear it doesn't add a lot.