The GEMINI Underquilt: $65 DIY, No-Sew, All-Season, Down, Convertible

[Buckaroo]

I have my underquilt made and installed and now I am going to start on the Pollux , my question is are all the cam snaps that are shown on the Pollux required so that you can make all three configurations shown ? If you have and make multiple quilts can you just have one for a top quilt with fewer snaps just for the foot box and the one for Pollux would only need snaps for making the fall or winter mode ?

I don't mind using the snaps I just don't like all the hardware that I might be able to feel ?

[leiavoia]

If you will only be using it as a double underquilt, there are some snaps you can remove on Castor. The extras are used for either Winter Mode or for Topquilt mode.

If you want a dedicated top quilt, then I would actually recommend choosing a different design for that. This design is mostly meant to provide an effective double layered underquilt. A single layer is only going to be useful at the top of Summer.

[professrh]

Here are some tricks I employed in the rigging of my Gemini set:

Clews: I made the clews out of braided mason's line, then tied elastic shock cord at the ends, and finished off with a small loop of braided mason's line. The nettles can be individually adjusted by taking out a slip-knotted loop in the mason's line. You can see at least three such loops in the photo. The hammock is 11.5'. (I had to lie on the floor under it to get the shot, so please pardon the weird perspective).

Clew jig: I made a tee-shaped jig out of scrap lumber for weaving the clews. The ruler is there for perspective.

Adjustable attach point: I did as leiavoia suggests in the plans and tied off the clews with a length of mason's line so I can easily adjust the position of and tension on the UQ, and/or switch between hammocks of different lengths. You can see a bit of that line at the top of the photo.

This is admittedly a rough and experimental prototype. I'll update after the upcoming field tests. . . .

clew mod 2.jpg

clew jig.jpg

[TxAggie]

Here are some tricks I employed in the rigging of my Gemini set:

Clews: I made the clews out of braided mason's line, then tied elastic shock cord at the ends, and finished off with a small loop of braided mason's line. The nettles can be individually adjusted by taking out a slip-knotted loop in the mason's line. You can see at least three such loops in the photo. The hammock is 11.5'. (I had to lie on the floor under it to get the shot, so please pardon the weird perspective).

Clew jig: I made a tee-shaped jig out of scrap lumber for weaving the clews. The ruler is there for perspective.

Adjustable attach point: I did as leiavoia suggests in the plans and tied off the clews with a length of mason's line so I can easily adjust the position of and tension on the UQ, and/or switch between hammocks of different lengths. You can see a bit of that line at the top of the photo.

This is admittedly a rough and experimental prototype. I'll update after the upcoming field tests. . . .

clew mod 2.jpg

clew jig.jpg

I made my jig much like yours, except I put mine in an arc with the two outermost pins about an inch closer to the top pin. This keeps all of the tension equal except for those outer two which are brought in a little tighter to keep the sides pulled up.

Interesting concept using just a section of shock cord. I’m interested on how it fares for you.

[jdy98p]

Here are some tricks I employed in the rigging of my Gemini set:

Clews: I made the clews out of braided mason's line, then tied elastic shock cord at the ends, and finished off with a small loop of braided mason's line. The nettles can be individually adjusted by taking out a slip-knotted loop in the mason's line. You can see at least three such loops in the photo. The hammock is 11.5'. (I had to lie on the floor under it to get the shot, so please pardon the weird perspective).

Clew jig: I made a tee-shaped jig out of scrap lumber for weaving the clews. The ruler is there for perspective.

Adjustable attach point: I did as leiavoia suggests in the plans and tied off the clews with a length of mason's line so I can easily adjust the position of and tension on the UQ, and/or switch between hammocks of different lengths. You can see a bit of that line at the top of the photo.

This is admittedly a rough and experimental prototype. I'll update after the upcoming field tests. . . .

clew mod 2.jpg

clew jig.jpg

Very nice. How is the smaller amount of shock cord working out? What diameter did you use?

[professrh]

I used 1/16" shock cord for this one.

I made a set of full-bore elastic clews first--they were really tight (I used a bigger-gauge shock cord, I think)--and that's when I started using the adjustable attachment cords.

The idea for the mason's cord clews came soon after, and I redeployed the original set on an experiment using a $8.00 sleeping bag from academy sports as an underquilt (it works--especially with the clews--but it's heavy and bulky). I haven't taken the new rig out in the field yet, but it works great in the "extra" bedroom better known as The Hammock Lab. . . . I'll bring a field report when I have one.

As a bonus, the little sections of shock cord will be easy to replace if/when they fail.

[leiavoia]

Yes, trying to make clews with 1/8" shockcord is never going to work well, especially on this design. I understand some people will say "yes, but i already have a bunch of it! Why should i buy more? It's not a big deal." But those people didn't do any of the research and development and don't understand the ramifications of that decision.

Because this design is not a differentially cut quilt, it needs to be treated very lightly so as not to crush it. 1/8" cord would crush the quilt flat before it engages any of the elastic. The force of 26 strands of 1/8" cord is enough to rock climb with! 1/16" works much better, but still firm. 1/32" provides the lightest touch while still being useful for snugging the quilt to the hammock.

Removing elastic length from the clews and replacing with static line may work, but the more elastic is removed, the less range of stretch it provides. This means it reduces the ability to provide a light tension, makes it more prone to quilt-crushing, reduces loft and effective temperature rating, etc.

[professrh]

Removing elastic length from the clews and replacing with static line may work, but the more elastic is removed, the less range of stretch it provides. This means it reduces the ability to provide a light tension, makes it more prone to quilt-crushing, reduces loft and effective temperature rating, etc.

That's the problem in a nutshell. My next set of clews will be 1/32" shock cord all the way. (I'm using the heavy-duty ones with an indoor-only quilt rigged from an $8.00 sleeping bag from Academy Sports. Quite effective in that weight class.

[professrh]

Okay, so I’ve finished my Gemini UQ and acquired another pair of CDTs for my TQ. I’ve also made a snap-on UQP using 1.1 oz ripstop: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-1-oz-Nylo...IAAOSwc2FZdlEr

I’ll be using this with my 11.5’ DIY gathered-end hammock, a Fronkey-style bugnet, and a 10x10 tarp in diamond configuration (14.14’ tarp ridgeline). The tarp: https://www.amazon.com/Vigor-Hammock.../dp/B07CKL9JRY

My question is about protection from splashback, mist, wind-driven rain, etc. Staying with the DIY model, I could treat the one I have with Scotch-Gard (making it definitely breatheable and hopefully water repellent), or with the 4:1 DIY silicone mix (making it definitely waterproof and not breatheable). Or I could buy a different piece of fabric and make a new one. Trust me, I have plenty of KamSnaps!

Assuming I’m able to batten down enough to be safe from driven rain, what are your thoughts about weatherproofing the UQP?

[Equalizer]

Wow, I'm really impressed!

I read your other thread, and see this update and looks like a full time engineer put this instructional together in easy to understand manner.

Will do as summer starts to cool off.
Like the snaps. They should work for lots of projects.

Thank you very much ,

Equalizer
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