I haven't experienced the dryer helping with seam ripping, but sounds good to me. I did run mine through a dryer cycle after I had seam ripped, which seemed to help with "sealing" the holes back up.
Finished the first blanket last night, turned out pretty good. It was particularly windy last night and with the single layer you can definitely feel the cold along the holes where the seams were ripped out. Going to finish the whole shebang today. As far as the instructions go, I was only ever tripped up at the whipping part. I had absolutely no idea what that was much less what a western country whipping was. Some googling solved that though and it was only a slight pause. I also put a snap on backwards that I had to crush in order to remove. Finally the seam ripping was a real chore but I just put on some YouTube trash and got it done.
Fun project, feels good to say "I made this" and big thanks to the OP for the plans.
Pic of UQ on my El Dorado. I went with the 27 inch clews and it was perfect.
That looks excellent, and a great fit on you El Dorado with the clews.
I need to revisit the clews on mine. I didn't string them right, and took them off because I couldn't get it to stretch out/seal correctly. I rigged up some goatrope kind of contraption with shock cord, cord locks and tarp clips.
Ok glad to hear I'm not the only that thought these were thin ... thought I was going crazy! Have to say I don't have much confidence these will provide much warmth below 35º, individually. I'm using the one I have/made as a liner to my existing under quilt and gets me down to 30º and possibly to 25º.
I just wanted to chime in to let people know that these are still being made. Huge kudos to leiavoia for putting the instructions together. This was my first MYOG project and I'm super happy with the results. Pic with it tucked under my WBBB.
IMG_8436.jpg
I'm considering adding a protector to help block the wind, though I'm not too excited about using a traditional setup with another suspension system / shock cord / etc. The snap construction of the Gemini UQ presents a unique opportunity to attach an UQP without suspension.
Has anyone made a snap on protector? I realize this won't offer the most protection in regards to rain and wind through the ends, but I was hoping it would help seal up the seams a bit. Snap attachment should be lighter and easier to setup at camp (it would already be attached!). If I can pack a 4-5oz sheet to eliminate cold spots over 1lb for the Castor, that would be a home run for me.
edit: I'm shying away from a snap-on protector. For as small/light as a proper UQP is, I may as well get a full coverage one and make the most of it.
Last edited by Bray D; 03-31-2021 at 16:39.
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